ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS' KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION: IMPACT ON TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS AND ACTIONS RELATED TO READING INSTRUCTION

Abstract

ABSTRACT Harvey, Hannah. Elementary Principals’ Knowledge and Practices of Literacy Instruction: Impact on Teachers’ Perceptions and Actions Related to Reading Instruction. Doctor of Education (Executive Educational Leadership), May 2022, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas This research explored principals’ perceived leadership content knowledge around literacy by examining the relationship between principals’ perceptions of their own literacy knowledge and the actions that they took to support teachers’ literacy instruction. A sampling group included seven elementary principals and 25 elementary teachers from Title I and non-Title I schools in a small, rural public education school district of Louisiana. The instrument for collecting and analyzing data was the Principal Quality Literacy Practices Survey, which was established by the 2004 International Reading Association Standards for Reading Professionals. The research questions focused on how principals perceived themselves as literacy leaders, how teachers perceived their principals as literacy leaders and how principals’ literacy knowledge and practices may have impacted reading instruction.

The findings suggested that most principals rated themselves overall as proficient in all categories based on The Standards for Reading Professionals which describe the five standards and accompanying competencies expected of various reading professionals. The study revealed that teachers rated their principals as exemplary across all five standards by averaging a higher mean than the principals. Although the sampling size was small and unequal, and the significance was a non-factor in this study, the results suggested that principals could benefit from continuous professional development and training that fosters an integrated approach to reading practices. The implication here was that although principals rated themselves as proficient, it is essential to be able to transition from the proficient level to the exemplary level. These results exemplified the concept that principals are willing to continue learning and growing to reach the level of exemplary. This was an indication of having a growth mindset. Principals who had a professional growth mindset led collaborative educational environments where staff members were motivated to engage in continuous dialogue about effective instructional practices. It was important for principals to see themselves as leaders and understand how to develop leadership capacity to increase student achievement and lead effective schools. Keywords: COVID-19, Instructional leadership theory, Literacy, Transformational leadership Approved: _____________________________ Chair, Dissertation Committee