Examining the Impact of a Collaborative Peer-Coaching Model on Dual-Role Educator Coaches: Enhancing Instructional Practices Among Core Subject Teachers in Diverse Secondary Schools

This design-based qualitative study examined how a structured, job-embedded peer-coaching professional development model supported dual-role educator coaches, teachers who also serve as athletic coaches, in improving instructional practices and how participants perceived benefits and challenges within a team leadership framework. Grounded in Mintrop’s (2016) design-based school improvement logic and informed by Bambrick-Santoyo’s peer-coaching model, the study addressed inconsistent instructional practices contributing to persistent achievement gaps in a diverse secondary context where educators manage competing responsibilities. The eight-week intervention included targeted professional development, structured observation–feedback cycles, and guided reflection. Participants were educator coaches teaching core content and magnet courses at a junior high campus in a large suburban Texas school district. Data from questionnaires, reflective journals, peer observation notes, and semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis. Findings indicated increased instructional intentionality, reflective decision-making, and professional efficacy, alongside strengthened collegial trust, collaboration, and shared accountability. Despite time constraints and role-balance challenges, participants described adaptive strategies that supported sustained engagement. Overall, the findings suggest that peer-coaching professional development can strengthen instructional practice and collaborative leadership among dual-role educator coaches in practice.