Summary

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Please check back later for the full article.

Coaching for school leaders is becoming commonplace in the United States. The responsibilities of school leaders have changed dramatically since the early 21st century, and coaching is often seen as a viable and necessary support for those leaders. The advent of legislation, including the No Child Left Behind act in 2001 and more recently the introduction of the Common Core standards, has been instrumental in shifting school leadership from a primarily managerial perspective to that of instructional and transformational leadership. In such a rapidly changing environment, leadership coaching holds promise for school leaders faced with not only operational and personnel management but also leading dynamic change processes in the arenas of curriculum and instruction. Leadership coaching usually involves coaching from a superior within the school district or from an external public or private organization. Successful leadership coaching takes into account the characteristics of the leader and also the context in which the coaching takes place.