Influencing the Growth of Educational Leaders Through Professional Learning: A Qualitative Portrayal of a Pilot Program in a K-12 District

• Main Author: Kramer, Susan Monica
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Adult Basic Education; Adult Learning; Adult Students; Andragogy; Beginning Teachers; Data Analysis; Educational administration; Educational Facilities Improvement; Educational leadership; Educational Opportunities; Educational Strategies; Instructional Leadership; Learning Processes; Learning Strategies; Learning Theories; Literature Reviews; Research Methodology; Standardized Tests; Teacher education; Teaching Methods
• ISBN: 9798684657184

While professional learning is usually provided for teachers and staff, it typically is not as prevalent for educational leaders to have access to job-embedded professional learning, particularly for newly hired or novice educational leaders. This qualitative study explored professional learning for educational leaderships and its influence on their leadership experiences. The professional learning opportunities explored included job-embedded professional learning as well as an induction year for newly hired and novice educational leaders in a K-12 school district. Salient characteristics of professional learning were also identified as perceived by the participants. This study utilized a basic qualitative research design and integrated the theory of andragogy, consisting of assumptions attributed to Knowles. The sample consisted of four educational leaders from a school district located in Illinois midway between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The data consisted of interviews and documents collected from the participants. The findings indicated that salient characteristics of professional learning include relevance, accessibility to resources, and convenience. Furthermore, data regarding job-embedded professional learning showed that the participants benefit from professional learning in which both novice and veteran educational leaders participated. These professional learning sessions focus on district expectations and initiatives. Finally, with respect to the induction year, although the induction program was comprised of four components, mentoring is the component that produced the most data, as participants shared their perceptions of their mentoring relationship on their leadership experiences.