The Impact of Peer Coaching on Early Childhood Programs

This mixed method action research study explored the benefits peer coaching could provide to further establish a cost-effective professional development opportunity that promotes a collaborative culture among early childhood educators. Serving as a pilot, the study was completed to understand educators' interest in an alternate, interactive professional development option, provide opportunities for educators to collaborate across three different programs, and be exposed to new skills and instructional practices. Three research questions were developed to gain an understanding of educators' perception of peer coaching, perceptions of the other early childhood programs within the educational organization, and changes to their instructional practices after participation. The research design consisted of an electronic collection of quantitative data obtained before and after the intervention, through twenty survey questions. Qualitative data was gathered through six open-ended reflection questions completed by the educators following each of the three completed observations. Through data analysis, the results indicated participation in the study, did alter educators' perceptions of peer coaching and other early childhood programs, and changed instructional practices. Based upon these findings, the peer coaching study was a successful pilot and should be utilized, studied, and analyzed across all three early childhood programs in future research.