DETERMINING THE KEY ELEMENTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING STRATEGIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK OF MIDDLE LEADERS IN MALAYSIAN SCHOOLS VIA NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE (NGT)

Abstract

Middle leaders (MLs) in Malaysian schools are expected to be effective in engaging teachers towards continuous pedagogical and professional improvement via instructional coaching. However, the scarcity of the instructional coaching continuous professional development framework specifically developed for Malaysian MLs hinders their understanding of the strategies and thus limits their
full potential in mediating instructional enhancement effectively. Through the application of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), this study aimed to establish an instructional coaching professional development framework for Malaysian MLs by exploring and synthesising the key elements of instructional coaching strategies practiced by the School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) and experienced MLs in Malaysian public schools. Prior to the NGT session, semistructured interviews with seven field experts (SISC+ officers and experienced MLs) to closely examine their instructional coaching practices were conducted in the first phase of the study. The thematic analysis had yielded four key elements, namely: i) coaching conversational strategies; ii) coaching content and procedures; iii) observations and feedback; and iv) continuous support and monitoring strategies that encompassed 12 sub-elements. The findings were then synthesised and verified by the expert consensus in the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) session and later mapped into an instructional coaching continuous professional development framework that could serve as empirical guidelines in planning and executing the instructional coaching continuous professional development specifically for MLs in Malaysian schools. This would empower them with essential instructional coaching strategies to thrive confidently in leading, managing and facilitating instructional improvement in schools.