Under the federal policy No Child Left Behind, school district central office administrators have been thrust into the role of orchestrating substantial increases in student learning. However, there is mounting research recognizing that most central office administrators are ill-prepared for the work of instructional improvement at a systems level and oftentimes exhibit low capacity to improve instruction in their roles (Talbert-Johnson, 2004; Copland, Honig, & Knapp, 2007). Furthermore, these central office leaders receive little, if any, ongoing training to advance their skills to bolster student achievement (Sparks, 2000).

To date, scholars have focused intently on principal leadership actions to improve instruction (Elmore, 2000; Blasé and Blasé, 2004; Leithwood & Riehl, 2003) while only a trickle of studies suggest that central office administrators can utilize vital leadership actions to strengthen student learning (Alvarado, 1999; Honig & Hatch, 2004). Using best practices in adult learning, central office leaders can learn instructional leadership skills utilizing the cycle of inquiry framework to improve student learning by constructing new knowledge on the job (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Tate, 2004) making learning relevant and in the context of their work (Sparks, 2000).

This capstone research project engaged a group of instructionally oriented central office administrators in the development of a professional development module rooted in an inquiry-based approach to improving teaching and learning in schools and districts, providing needed learning-focused professional development for central office leaders.