Early Head Start Teachers' Perception of Coaching Experiences

A rich literature describes the efficacy of coaching programs for early care and education (ECE) teachers. ECE teachers can provide unique insights into the coaching process and several studies have described the coaching experience from the perspective of ECE teachers serving preschool-age children. However, limited data are available to describe the coaching experience from the perspective of Early Head Start (EHS) teachers caring for at-risk 1- and 2-year-old toddlers. We therefore sought to document the lived experiences of a group of EHS teachers who underwent a comprehensive coaching program so that we could compare their descriptions to (a) the intended experience of the coaching program and (b) other reports in the literature describing the lived experiences of ECE teachers who underwent coaching. We completed a series of focus groups with 23 EHS teachers who were participating in a Practice-Based Coaching program. Teachers' descriptions of their lived experiences with coaching were recorded, transcribed, and qualitatively analyzed using the grounded theory approach. We identified four broad categories of responses: coaching strategies, relationship building, value added, and unintended consequences. We clarified the nature of these categories with additional themes and sample responses from the participants. Compared to prior focus group data, the teachers in our study more frequently described the impact of coaching on the class dynamic. We conclude by discussing considerations when coaching Early Head Start teachers.