Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
7-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Jillian Skelton
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Karan Duwe
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Twyla Williams
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how elementary instructional leaders in a Southeast Texas school district perceived and utilized the R.A.C.E. (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) professional development training as an instructional tool to improve student writing performance. The study was guided by two research questions: (a) How do elementary instructional leaders perceive the R.A.C.E. professional development training as an effective English writing curriculum tool to improve student performance? and (b) How do instructional leaders utilize the R.A.C.E. professional development training to improve student writing performance in their classrooms? The study was grounded in adult learning theory and cognitive constructivist theory. Purposeful sampling was used to select 10 instructional leaders, including classroom teachers, instructional coaches, campus administrators, and district-level curriculum leaders from two elementary campuses. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and triangulated with 216 student writing samples and district instructional documents. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis involving open coding, axial coding, and theme development. Findings revealed that participants perceived the R.A.C.E. strategy as an effective framework for improving writing organization, increasing teacher confidence, aligning instruction with STAAR expectations, promoting instructional consistency, and increasing student engagement. Participants reported utilizing the strategy through daily instruction, modeling, guided practice, formative assessment, collaboration, and differentiated support for diverse learners. Student writing samples demonstrated improvements in organization, textual evidence usage, and response completion. The findings suggest that structured writing frameworks, when supported by sustained professional development and instructional leadership, can positively influence writing instruction and student performance in elementary classrooms.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Lavergne, Kourtney Y., "The Effectiveness of Writing Professional Development for Instructional Leaders on Student Academic Outcomes" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1039.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1039