Date
12-4-2025
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Richard Jensen
Keywords
instructional leadership teams, collective teacher efficacy, internal coherence, shared leadership, student achievement, secondary schools, VAM scores, Internal Coherence Survey
Disciplines
Educational Leadership | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Clark, Jennifer E., "Internal Coherence Factors of Instructional Leadership Teams and Their Impact on Student Academic Growth: A Quantitative Predictive Correlational Study" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7696.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7696
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study is to examine the relationship that the Internal Coherence Framework factors of leadership, teacher collaboration, and collective teacher efficacy have on student academic growth measured through teacher VAM scores. This study has significance, in that, it demonstrates how Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) based on the Internal Coherence Framework, through intentional focus on strengthening pedagogy and collective teacher efficacy, impact student achievement at the secondary school level. Junior high and high school teachers who receive VAM scores from thirteen junior high schools and eight suburban high schools in southeast Louisiana responded to the Internal Coherence Survey. This study examined if teachers’ perceptions of principals’ instructional leadership, teacher collaboration for instructional improvement, meaningful professional development, conditions and processes for school improvement, and teachers’ perceptions of the faculty’s ability to attain goals could potentially affect student academic growth data derived from Louisiana’s Value Added Model (VAM) through multiple regression analysis. The results of the study indicated that the collective factors of the Internal Coherence Framework were statistically significant predictors of student academic growth measured by teacher VAM scores. Based on these findings, it is recommended that school leaders utilize Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs) intentionally by fostering collaborative professional cultures, encouraging teacher-led professional development based on teacher needs, and cultivating collective teacher efficacy to enhance instructional coherence and, ultimately, student academic growth.
