This systematic review, titled “The Power of Coaching in the Professional Learning and Development of School Leaders”, explores how coaching can serve as a meaningful support for school leaders navigating the complex, high-pressure demands of their roles. Recognizing coaching’s growing prominence in education, the authors draw on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to examine how coaching influences school leadership across five domains: individual development (microsystem), school relationships (mesosystem), institutional policy and reform (exosystem), wider sociocultural influences (macrosystem), and time (chronosystem).
The review synthesizes international research from the past decade and highlights coaching as a personalized, context-sensitive, and relationally driven method of professional learning. Key benefits include enhanced role clarity, emotional resilience, self-efficacy, and strategic thinking. However, the review also notes challenges such as time constraints, inconsistent training standards for coaches, and gaps in research regarding systemic implementation and peer-to-peer models.
Reflection for FASD Instructional Coaches:
As you consider your own leadership growth and support roles within complex school systems, how might a coaching framework, grounded in reciprocal relationships and guided reflection, enhance your effectiveness and resilience? In what ways could ecological thinking help you better navigate the layered systems (school, community, policy) that shape the realities of working with students with FASD?