School leaders face increasing challenges to improve student learning outcomes. Though leaders can influence the school-level conditions contributing to these challenges, they often have few opportunities to receive the support they need to successfully lead continuous improvement efforts. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) between universities and school districts can help provide such support. In this article, we illustrate how a high school principal participating in an RPP used improvement science to build a positive culture in her school with the support of a coach within a leadership coaching community (LCC).
We collected and analyzed data from field notes, artifacts, participant observations and interviews with the principal and her coach to address the following research question: How does a principal participating in an RPP use improvement science to lead change in their school with the support of a coach within an LCC?
We identified three findings. First, the leader learned to use the concepts and tools of improvement science to define a problem of practice. Second, the leader learned to identify and select high-leverage change ideas to improve the problem. Third, the leader applied what she learned to lead systemic change in her school.
Our findings illustrate how leaders can be provided with the professional learning they need to lead systemic change through a personalized approach to leadership development that includes the support of a coach and membership in a professional community embedded within an RPP.
