When There’s No Coach

Type: Article
Topics: School Administrator Magazine, Staffing, HR & Talent Development

October 01, 2025

How school leaders can support instructional growth through coaching and shared decision making

Instructional coaching is an effective model of professional development that helps teachers gather data on student engagement and achievement, set goals, identify effective strategies and implement and adjust those strategies until the goals are met.

In schools that lack access to dedicated instructional coaches, the responsibility for professional development often shifts to school leaders.

Decades of studying leadership and instructional coaching have led us to identify seven factors essential for developing the beliefs, skills, processes and expertise to be successful coaches: (1) partnership principles, (2) communication skills, (3) leadership skills, (4) a coaching cycle, (5) data, (6) high-impact teaching strategies and (7) system support.

We will illustrate how these elements work in practice by sharing the story of Dan Steele, an assistant principal at Aldercourt Primary School in North Frankston, Victoria, Australia, and Alicia Clyne, a 5th- and 6th-grade teacher. Their story demonstrates how a school leader can use coaching practices to foster instructional growth in the absence of a formal coaching position.

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Additional Resources

The authors recommend these resources for additional reading:

 The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching: Seven Factors for Success by Jim Knight (ASCD, 2021).

 Growth Talk: A Coaching Way of Leading in Schools by Chris Munro and John Campbell (ASCD, 2025).

 The Instructional Playbook: The Missing Link for Translating Research into Practice by Ann Hoffman, Sharon Thomas, Michelle Harris and Jim Knight (ASCD, 2020).

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