EXAMINING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PRINCIPALS WHO USE LITERACY AS AN ...

229 Pages·2012·2.09 MB·English

EXAMINING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PRINCIPALS
WHO USE LITERACY AS AN INTENTIONAL
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT EFFORT

DISSERTATION
Presented to the Graduate Council of
Texas State University-San Marcos
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements

for the Degree

Doctor of PHILOSOPHY

by

Sylvia Segura Pirtle, B.S., M.Ed.

San Marcos, Texas
December 2012
EXAMINING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PRINCIPALS
WHO USE LITERACY AS AN INTENTIONAL
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT EFFORT

Committee Members Approved:

Sarah W. Nelson, Chair

Jesse S. Gainer

Melissa A. Martinez

Michael P. O’Malley

Approved:

J. Michael Willoughby
Dean of the Graduate College
COPYRIGHT
by
Sylvia Segura Pirtle
2012
FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION
Fair Use
This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553,
section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations
from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for
financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed.

Duplication Permission
As the copyright holder of this work I, Sylvia Segura Pirtle, authorize duplication of this
work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only.
DEDICATION
To my husband, Robert, for being so thoughtful and supportive throughout this
process. Your patience, encouragement, and unwavering love have made this possible.
To my son, Jacob for always rallying around me, providing me with
encouragement, engaging in discourse with me around philosophical perspectives and
providing hugs and kisses when needed. Keep them coming.
To my son, Caleb for the pep talks and encouraging actions and words, for always
inquiring about how I was progressing with my writing and for sharing how proud you
are that I pursued my doctorate. The love you send my way is always felt.
To our son and brother, Nathan Reed, for always being with us in spirit. We love
you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the members of my dissertation committee: Dr.
Sarah W. Nelson, Dr. Michael O’Malley, Dr. Jesse Gainer, and Dr. Melissa Martinez.
Your guidance, support, encouraging words, and expert advice have been invaluable to
me as a student, practitioner and researcher. Special thanks to Dr. Sarah Nelson for
committing to helping me successfully complete my dissertation and the insight you
provided throughout this academic journey. Your helping me with my timelines and
checking on progress made was much appreciated. You have had a significant impact on
me personally and your tenacity and approachable style for helping your doctoral
candidates successfully complete their dissertations is commendable.
I also want to acknowledge Mel Winters for serving as my thought partner and
Vicki Dimock for helping me to articulate my ideas and providing feedback. Thank you
Marion Baldwin, Linda Winters, and Debbie Aceves-Torres for always checking on my
progress and having faith in me. I also want to thank all of my professors and colleagues
who challenged and stretched my thinking about leadership and school improvement.
Finally, I want to thank the participants of this study. I appreciate the time they spent
sharing their narratives and insights about leadership at high poverty schools. The work
they have accomplished in the underserved communities they serve is an inspiration to
me and their leadership exemplifies all that is good about the profession.
This manuscript was submitted on October 29, 2012.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY .........................................................................1
Background for the Study ..................................................................................1
Comprehensive School Reform ...................................................................4
Authentic Reforms for Changing Classroom Practice .................................7
Statement of Problem .........................................................................................9
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................12
Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................14
Sociocultural Theoretical Framework to Learning and Development .......14
Teaching and Cultural Competence ...........................................................16
Research Question ...........................................................................................19
Significance of the Study .................................................................................20
Brief Summary of the Literature ......................................................................21
Brief Summary of the Methods ........................................................................23
Definitions of Terms ........................................................................................26

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................................29
Literacy Development ......................................................................................30
Poverty and Literacy ..................................................................................30
Early Literacy Development ......................................................................37
A Sociocultural Perspective of Literacy ....................................................38
School Improvement ........................................................................................41
The Impact of High-Stakes Testing on School Leadership .......................41
Reform Models ..........................................................................................42
School Improvement Factors at the Organizational Level ........................42
School Improvement Factors at the Teacher Level ...................................43
vii
School Improvement Factors at the Student Level ....................................44
Monitoring Progress of School Improvement Initiatives ...........................51
Reformed Pedagogy to Promote a Collaborative
Learning Environment ...................................................................52
Addressing Issues of Cultural Dissonance Between Teachers
and Students ...................................................................................58
Why Literacy Leadership? ...............................................................................62
Leadership Structures and Supports for Effective Literacy
Development ..................................................................................63
Change Theory ...........................................................................................64
Vision and Purpose ....................................................................................66
Effective Leadership for Driving Change ..................................................67
Effective Teacher and Leadership Teams ..................................................68
Family and Community Engagement ........................................................71
Ethic of Care ....................................................................................................72
The One Caring and the Cared-For ............................................................74
Cared For ...................................................................................................74
Caring Learning Environment ...................................................................76

III. METHODS ............................................................................................................79
Introduction ......................................................................................................79
Research Design ...............................................................................................80
Methodology ....................................................................................................81
History of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ...............................82
Phenomenology ..............................................................................83
Interpretivism .................................................................................85
Idiography ......................................................................................86
Appropriateness of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
for this Study ..................................................................................86
Participant Selection ..................................................................................87
Data Collection and Procedures .................................................................90
Data Analysis .............................................................................................92
Researcher’s Perspective ...........................................................................93
Assumptions .....................................................................................................96
Summary ..........................................................................................................96

IV. PRESENTATION, DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ..................................97
Portraits of Informants Interviewed .................................................................98
Julius ..........................................................................................................98
Kevin ........................................................................................................111
Bea ...........................................................................................................139
Themes ...........................................................................................................160
Theme 1: Literacy as a Cornerstone to Academic Success ....................161
Theme 2: Leadership for Change .............................................................163
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Theme 3: Caring School Culture .............................................................167
Theme 4: Intentional Efforts for School Improvement ............................171
Theme 5: High-stakes State Assessments ................................................178
Theme 6: Success and Professional Growth Barriers ..............................180
Summary of Findings .....................................................................................184
Literacy as an Intentional Focus for School Improvement ......................184
Systems to Support Struggling Learners and Advance Literacy
Development ................................................................................186
Support Systems to Improve Pedagogy and Develop Caring
Classroom Practices .....................................................................186
Meeting State and Federal Accountability Requirements While
Developing Literate Students .......................................................187
Success as a Professional Barrier .............................................................188

V. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS .........................................190
Summary of the Study ...................................................................................190
Discussion ......................................................................................................191
Reliability and Limitations of the Study ........................................................198
Reliability .................................................................................................198
Limitations ...............................................................................................199
Implications ....................................................................................................199
Implications for Practice ..........................................................................199
Implications for Research ........................................................................201
Conclusion ....................................................................................................201

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................203
ix
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: Data for Bea’s School ......................................................................................88
TABLE 2: Data for Julius’ School .....................................................................................89
TABLE 3: Data for Kevin’s School ...................................................................................89
TABLE 4: Interview Schedule ...........................................................................................91
TABLE 5: Synopsis of the Six Emergent Themes From the Data Analysis ...................161
x