Date of Award:

12-2026

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Committee Chair(s)

Amanda Taggart

Committee

Amanda Taggart

Committee

Suzie Jones

Committee

Ryan Knowles

Committee

Alyson Lavigne

Committee

David Feldon

Abstract

Instructional coaching is one way schools help teachers grow in their practice, but it is not always clear how frequently coaching should occur. This study looked at whether teachers’ confidence was related to the support they received from instructional coaches and how often that support occurred. 

The study included 252 teachers in the Early Years Enhancement (EYE) program, including first-, second-, and third-year teachers, as well as experienced teachers who were new to their district. Overall, teachers who reported stronger coaching support also tended to report higher confidence in their teaching. This connection was strongest for first-year and third-year teachers, where it was statistically significant; for second-year teachers the connection was both smaller and not statistically significant. 

How often coaching happened, by itself, did not appear to make a strong difference in teachers’ confidence. For experienced teachers who were new to their district, both direct coaching and collaborative support were linked to higher confidence, and collaborative coaching appeared even more helpful when it happened more often. 

Overall, the findings suggest that the quality and type of coaching support may matter more than frequency alone. For schools and districts, this means coaching programs may be most effective when they focus on meaningful, collaborative support that helps teachers feel more confident in their work.

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