Interview Protocol for EAF Coaches

Attachment F. Interview Protocol for EAF Coaches

Opening Statement and Assurances 

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview about the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Effective Advising Framework. This interview should take approximately an hour. TEA has contracted with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest to conduct a study of their Effective Advising Framework (EAF) pilot program. The study team appreciates your time and willingness to share your experiences with the EAF. Your feedback is important to us and will help the REL Southwest team understand how the implementation of the pilot program is going and how it might be improved. 

Confidentiality  

Your participation is voluntary. You can opt not to answer any question and/or stop participating at any time. In reporting the study’s results, your answers will be completely confidential; no information that identifies you or your organization will be reported. The researchers conducting this study follow the confidentiality and data protection requirements of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183). The reports prepared for the study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district, school, institution, or individual. All information you provide will be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151).

I would like to record this interview to ensure we capture your responses. Your responses will be kept confidential, and the recording will not be shared with anyone outside the REL Southwest team and the transcription service provider. Do you consent to participate in this interview, and do I have your permission to record?

 If yes, start the Teams recording feature and then state your name, the date, and the interview participant’s name before you begin.  

If no, ask if it’s okay for you to invite a note-taker to join the meeting to take deidentified notes.

Do you have any questions before we begin?     

Semistructured Interview Protocol  

Domain 1: Respondents’ CCMR Background and Role Related to the EAF  

1. Please tell me your current role and how you support college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) efforts through the Effective Advising Framework (EAF).

1. How long have you been in this position?

2. Do you find anything about the EAF pilot to be exciting?

3. Can you tell me about your experiences with supporting students’ college and career readiness before your role on the EAF?

4. What are your responsibilities as an EAF coach? How much of your work time focuses on supporting the EAF?

5. Can you describe the EAF coach training process to me?

6. In what ways has your current role and/or set of responsibilities changed over the course of the EAF program?

Domain 2: Descriptions of District Contexts  

1. I’d like to learn more about the districts you support as an EAF coach and how their respective contexts inform your work. 

1. Can you tell me the names of the districts you support?  

1. How does the districts' context shape or influence your support for district project leads? 

Domain 3: Accounts of EAF Awareness and Implementation  

1. I’d like to know more about how each district you are supporting has approached implementing the EAF and individual career and academic plans.

1. What were the advising goals of the district(s) you supported?

2. How did district program leaders plan to meet their advising goals and enact their implementation planning system?

1. How did you support district leadership in designing a plan?

2. How did you support district leadership in communicating with school staff about the EAF plan?

3. What EAF materials and resources did this district use to implement its plan?

4. What materials and resources did this district need that weren’t already available to them?

Domain 4: Reflections on Collaboration

5. I’d like to know more about how you collaborate with district project leads.

1. Can you describe the EAF training process for district project leads? 

1. Can you describe how you continue to support district project leads as they implement their plans and the EAF?

1. How often do you meet with them? Do you meet with district leads individually or as a group?

2. How do you facilitate progress monitoring throughout implementation?

2. When you reflect on your collaborative relationship with district team leads, what is going well?

3. Is there anything standing in the way of a successful collaboration?

Domain 5: Perceptions of District Implementation Efficacy  

5. Now that we’ve discussed how you’ve supported school districts as they implement the EAF, I’d like you to reflect on the pilot implementation project as a whole.

1. What successes and challenges have you encountered?

1. When you reflect on the work you’ve done with school districts, what do you see as going well with their implementation of the EAF?

1. What do you attribute this success to?

2. What barriers have you or the school districts that you support experienced over the course of this work?

1. How have you attempted to overcome these barriers?

3. Is there anything else you would like to share about your work as an EAF coach?

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