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Impact of leadership on professional development programs on districts' and schools' implementation of 21st century skills

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Impact of leadership on professional development programs on districts' and schools' implementation of 21st century skills

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IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS ON DISTRICTS’ AND SCHOOLS’ IMPLEMENTATION OF 21
ST

CENTURY SKILLS

by

Angela Denine Brathwaite

______________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2011

Copyright 2011 Angela Denine Brathwaite
ii
DEDICATION
I would like to acknowledge three women who inspired and motivated me in
all my educational endeavors: my mother, Willa Mae Brathwaite; my grandmother,
Georgia Willa Dalton; and my grandmother, Dora Brathwaite.
Thank you, Marcus, for being supportive and encouraging, for wiping my
tears, and for reminding me “how to eat an elephant.” To my siblings, Quentin,
Sheila and Randy, who made me laugh and remember the importance of family, I
say thank you. To Cathy, Jeri and Larry, thank you for being there for me when I
was coming loose at the seams—when I called or texted, you were there. And to my
dear friends who gave me words inspiration and respites from life’s stresses, I thank
you. All of you have helped make this dream come true.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge Dr. Rudy Castruita, my dissertation chair. Your
direction has been pivotal in my successful completion of this dissertation, and
without you, completion of this dissertation would have been an impossible task. I
would also like to recognize Dr. Pedro Garcia and Dr. Charles Hinman, members of
my dissertation committee. Thank you for the wisdom and mentoring.
To Gary Gray, thank you for not only supporting me throughout the
dissertation process but also providing guidance and encouragement with career
challenges.
To my cohort, thank you—it is amazing how strong of a bond we have
developed throughout this short journey. We have shared jokes, laughter and
feelings of anxiety as we have maintained the focus of “one step at a time.” And to
Sarah Garner, who at times seemed to understand exactly what I needed better than I
did myself, thank you. To each of you, your support will never be forgotten.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication………………………………………………………………………... …ii
Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………. …iii
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………...…v
Abstract………………………………………………………………………….. …vi
Chapter One: Overview of the Study………………………………………… …1
Chapter Two: Review of Literature…………………………………………. …16
Chapter Three: Methodology…………………………………………………. …39
Figure. WUSD Student Ethnicity……………………………………….…43
Chapter Four: Findings, Analysis, and Discussion………………………….. …50
Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusions, and Implications………………….. …103
References……………………………………………………………………... …114
Appendices
Appendix A: Interview Protocols…………………………………… …121
Appendix B: Document Review Worksheet………………………... …122
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. WUSD Special Programs…………………………………………… …43
Table 2. Document Review Matrix…………………………………………... …46
Table 3. District Document Correlations to Wagner’s (2008) Seven………... …82
Survival Skills
Table 4. Research Question 1……………………………………………………84
Table 5. Research Question 2……………………………………………………88
Table 6. Research Question 3……………………………………………………93
Table 7. Research Question 4……………………………………………………98
vi
ABSTRACT
School districts throughout the nation are faced with balancing a focus
between meeting national standards and ensuring students have the skills to be
successful in the 21
st
century. Because of national and international assessment data
as well as national, state and local accountability measures, district leaders are
challenged to provide direction that ensures students not only learn core content
knowledge but also develop the skills to be competitive in a global marketplace.
This study examines how the leadership of Western Unified School District
(a pseudonym), addresses the conversation on 21
st
century skills development. The
study explores the role of district leadership in a school district that has committed to
embrace 21
st
century skills development. The study analyzes the connections
between four areas associated with 21
st
century skills development within a school
district: a school district’s definition of 21
st
century skills, the implementation of 21
st

century skills, professional development related to 21
st
century skills and the role of
district leadership in promoting 21
st
century skills through professional development.
Based on the four guiding research questions, findings from the study outline
ways a school district can address the implementation of 21
st
century skills: 1.)
provide a definition of 21
st
century skills that can be evidenced in interviews of
district employees as well as district documents and data, 2.) implement an
instructional program that utilizes a career technical education focus, is supported by
resources and addresses potential resistance from stakeholders, 3.) institute a
professional development plan that is supported by organizational structures and
vii
policies and that evaluates and monitors professional development to stakeholders on
21
st
century skills and 4.) employ district leaders who promote and monitor the
implementation of 21
st
century skills development.

1
CHAPTER ONE
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
From space exploration to technology, the United States has been a dominant
force in establishing itself as a world power. It was the first to put a man on the
moon and was instrumental in the development of the Internet. Both endeavors were
attributed to the Nation’s focus on academics, which manifested through a series of
legislative laws aimed at increasing the nation’s predominance as an economic force.
As the Nation transitions into the 21
st
century, education remains in the forefront of
national, state and local political conversations (Wagner, 2008). Because the Nation
established itself as a world power during the 20
th
century, educators are challenged
to produce citizens who can maintain economic competitiveness and viability during
the 21
st
century. The desire to maintain a competitive edge has fostered the
conversation that students need 21
st
century skills. Acknowledged by the Partnership
for 21
st
Century Skills (2008), a shift from manufacturing economies to service-
based economies has mandated an application and refinement of cognitive and
critical thinking skills. Corroborated by Silva (2008), competitive economies require
citizenry who possess evaluative and analytical skills to connect historical problems
with innovative solutions.
To obtain skills needed for economic competiveness, the U.S. has historically
relied on public education. Districts and schools were charged with preparing
students to meet economic demands (Kirst, 2004). However, districts and schools
are faced with mounting challenges to prepare students to be competitive in the 21
st

2
century (Wagner, 2008). While districts and schools use professional development
to support teachers in learning the pedagogy to bolster instruction in 21
st
century
skills development, districts and schools still struggle with balancing the
incorporation of 21
st
century skills into current curricula and various academic
contents.
Background of the Problem
The concern that students were not prepared to be competitive was brought to
the forefront of national conversations. The report, A Nation at Risk (National
Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), foreshadowed that students were
learning less and were less academically competitive compared to students in other
nations. The outcome of the United States documenting inefficiencies in the
education system increased resource allocations for schools as well as began the
conversation that students needed access to rigorous curricula. Although A Nation at
Risk highlighted some concerns regarding the American education system, it
provided the impetus for future legislation aimed at addressing student achievement.
To address student achievement, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) in 2001, which forced states, school districts and individual schools to focus
resources on improving three components of education: 1) student performance; 2)
teacher quality; and 3) assessment alignment with curricula (Stecher, Hamilton, &
Gonzalez, 2003). Created in part to the response that U.S. schools were creating
achievement gaps while still not producing students who were competitive against
students in other countries, NCLB sought to standardize educational practices so that
3
“low-income households, students of color, and students whose native language is
not English” (p. 2) would have access to high academic standards and quality
instruction. While NCLB attempted to create educational parity for all students, its
efforts have not ensured that students have 21
st
century skills, which would allow
them to be competitive in a globalized economy (Wagner, 2008).
Concerns regarding students being unprepared for the 21
st
century originated
from expectations about education in the United States, which was documented by
the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983). According to the
National Commission on Excellence in Education, students were expected to have
access to a basic high school curriculum inclusive of “(a) 4 years of English; (b) 3
years of mathematics; (c) 3 years of science; (d) 3 years of social studies; and (e)
one-half year of computer science in order to receive a high school diploma or its
equivalent” (p. 124); and the education system was expected to prepare students for
post-secondary education as well as the workforce. However, the National
Commission on Excellence in Education stated neither education expectation had
been met. Wagner (2008) agreed and added that U.S students were not producing
results to meet and surpass education outcomes obtained by peers from comparable
nations, which furthered his assertion that the U.S has been failing to prepare
students for 21
st
century globalization.
The United States’ concerns regarding education particularly manifested
themselves through the comparisons between the US and Eight other countries
(collectively known as the G-8)—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
4
Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom (Miller, Sen, Malley, & Burns, 2009).
In reading literacy, 19% of fourth grade students from the Russian Federation had
the highest average scores in the Progress International Reading Literacy Study
(PIRLS) compared to 12% of students in the United States (Martin, Mullis, &
Kennedy, 2007). The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS) noted that 26% of eighth grade Japanese students scored advanced in
mathematics and surpassed students from other nations in science compared to 6% of
students in the United States receiving advanced scores in mathematics (Gonzales,
Williams, Jocelyn, Roey, Kastberg, & Brenwald, 2008). Additionally, the Program
for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that 15-year-old students in
Canada and Japan received higher average scores on the combined science literacy
scale than students in other nations, and the United States received lower scores than
the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Canada (Baldi, Jin, Skemer, Green, &
Herget, 2007). Although the United States utilized NCLB to outline steps to address
student achievement, the Nation has not produced internationally competitive results
in reading literacy, science and mathematics and content areas that support 21
st

century skill development.
The conversation about 21
st
century education skills emanates from the
premise that the world is experiencing a paradigm shift. Because of globalization of
jobs and employment skills (Friedman, 2008; Karoly & Panis, 2004), students need
an expanded set of work-related skills in order to be internationally competitive.
Global competition for jobs has impacted the availability of economic and social
5
services that countries provide. Jobs and services that used to be provided within
one country can be outsourced to other countries for fractional costs (Suarez-Orozco,
2005), which imply that applicants for jobs could be from local as well as
international markets. Although increasing pressures exist to fill positions with the
most qualified applicants, global competition has impacted the demand for service-
based occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2009), expanding
service-providing industries are projected to add 14.6 million jobs, or 96 percent of
the increase in total employment by 2018. Moreover, professional and business
services industry sectors are expected to have the largest employment growth, adding
4.2 million jobs. With the increase of service-based, professional and business
service jobs, employers seek applicants who possess 21
st
century skills (Friedman,
2008; Karoly & Panis, 2004; Suarez-Orozco, 2005; Wagner, 2008).
To support the development of 21
st
century skills, districts and schools are
challenged to re-define their educational focus. During the 1970s, education focused
on students obtaining basic core curriculum knowledge (Martin, 1989). By doing so,
educators and policy makers reinforced rote memorization, which supported
disconnect between content and real world applications. However, with the passage
of NCLB, educators and policy makers added an additional educational focus,
assessment-based accountability (Stecher et al., 2003). Notably, Au (2007) found
assessment-based accountability lead to an increasing of alignment of curricula to
assessments, excluding curricula not tested. With a burgeoning focus on assessment-
6
based accountability, many districts and schools have moved further away from
focusing instructional time on the development of 21
st
century skills (Wagner, 2008).
Although districts and schools struggle to combine components of NCLB
with 21
st
century skill development, some districts have been successful with
implementing NCLB accountability standards while addressing 21
st
century skill
development. Using professional development, districts have incorporated both
NCLB accountability standards and 21
st
century skill development. According to
Resnick and Hall (2003), not only does professional development create systems to
support teachers with the implementation of expanding instructional foci, but also
professional development supports the principle, accountability to rigorous thinking.
As districts use professional development to re-define instructional foci to address
NCLB accountability standards as well as 21
st
century skills, the principle,
accountability to rigorous thinking, reinforces high expectations for student learning
and achievement and exceeds the minimum requirement of students obtaining
proficiency standards as outlined NCLB. While the principle, accountability to
rigorous thinking, addresses expectations for student learning and achievement, it
also supports the instructional paradigm shift from teacher-centered lessons to
student-centered instruction, a component of promoting 21
st
century skill
development.
Mac Iver and Farley (2003) have acknowledged that many districts and
schools use professional development to strengthen curriculum and instruction,
ultimately sharing with teachers and administrators the district’s message regarding
7
expected instructional foci for increasing student achievement. These districts used
professional development to support educators in redefining the purpose of education
as well as redefining their roles. Included in redefining the purpose of education was
a focus on inquiry as a basis to analyze student achievement (Copland, 2003; Dufour,
Dufour, Eaker, & Many, 2006; Saunders, Goldenberg, & Gallimore, 2009). When
districts and schools incorporated inquiry to address student achievement, they
explored variations of the following steps: 1) identify a problem or goal; 2) identify
strategies and action steps to address the problem or goal; 3) implement strategies
and action steps; 4) assesses the effectiveness of implemented strategies and action
steps; and 5) reflect on the effectiveness to either make adjustments in the cycle or
begin a new cycle. If the cycle of inquiry was used with fidelity to analyze student
achievement, then instructional time was used wisely, which implied students had
increased opportunities to be engaged in meaningful and thought-provoking
activities. Marzano (2003) noted the use of instructional time contributed to student
learning, which further implies that meaningful and thought provoking activities are
cornerstones to students’ developing 21
st
century skills.
To support teachers with creating engaging instruction, districts and schools
rely on leadership to promote school reforms focused on teaching and learning
(Togneri & Anderson, 2003). Murphy and Datnow (2003) noted successful school
districts were guided by leaders who encouraged schools to be engaged in
autonomous activities and supported meeting students’ needs. However, they
acknowledged that district leadership was decisive in determining that instructional
8
reform was critical. Also noted by Dufour, Dufour, Eaker and Many (2006) and
Collins (2001), effective leaders assumed responsibility for providing the climate for
change. Recognizing that district leadership played a critical role in providing
schools flexibility to determine schools’ instructional foci, Murphy and Datnow
posited that district leadership should display varying leadership roles, including
organizational leadership, political leadership (Bowman & Deal, 2003) and
instructional leadership. Additionally, school districts, which were successful in
supporting instructional change, built within their own systems the capacity to
harness institutional memory so the instructional focus did not change with new
district leadership. Wagner (2008) has further suggested that the support of district
leadership committed to ensuring that teachers had professional practices geared
towards enhancing teaching and learning would promote students’ access to 21
st

century skills.
Statement of the Problem
An area of focus for this research study is the impact of district leadership on
professional development programs in districts and schools implementing 21
st

century skills. Despite a national focus on student achievement and a focus on
students maintaining an international academic edge in the context of globalization,
districts and schools struggle to address 21
st
century skills. Embedded within the
struggle are challenges surrounding the role of district leadership. According to
Murphy and Datnow (2003), district leadership is responsible for driving the
direction of professional development while attending to an instructional focus that
9
ties resources to promoting student achievement. What is unknown is how district
leadership blends varying leadership roles to support the implementation of 21
st

century skills through professional development.
While specific content areas support the acquisition of 21
st
century skills, the
skills that students need to be competitive in the 21
st
century span various curricula.
According to Wagner (2008), students need knowledge that extends beyond core
knowledge. This includes a combination of cognitive skills, interpersonal skills as
well as content knowledge. Students need cognitive skills that include the ability to
extrapolate ideas from a variety of sources to create innovative analysis and problem
solving. Additionally, students need interpersonal skills that support the expansion
of their abilities to collaborate, communicate and work in teams. Moreover, students
need content knowledge that provides the foundation with which to build and expand
cognitive and interpersonal skills. Districts and schools are conflicted regarding the
best ways to merge developing 21
st
century skills with current curricular
expectations.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of district leadership on
professional development programs in a district that has an instructional focus to
implement 21
st
century skills so students are competitive in globalization. Using
Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills, this study examined
the district’s perception of its implementation of 21
st
century skills. This study also
10
examined the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills through
professional development.
Research Questions
The following research questions guide this study:
1. How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
2. How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills development?
3. To what extent is professional development being used by a school
district to implement 21
st
century skills?
4. What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
Significance of the Study
Districts and schools face mounting challenges in meeting NCLB
requirements while simultaneously preparing students for the 21
st
century.
Therefore, the significance of this study was to contribute to the literature on the
relationships between district leadership, professional development and the
implementation of 21
st
century skills. Moreover, this study may benefit numerous
educational groups that have vested interests in supporting districts in expanding 21
st

century skills development.
Policy makers can consider the findings of this study to support expanding
literature that proposes districts and schools be given resources to move students
towards preparedness for the 21
st
century while closing the achievement gap between
U.S. students and their international peers. Since it is the role of district leadership
11
to determine a district’s instructional focus, findings from this study can be utilized
to assist district leaders with incorporating 21
st
century skill development into a
district’s instructional focus and providing teachers with the arsenal to expand
pedagogical practices. Although this study focuses on addressing 21
st
century skills
in context to districts and schools, educational researchers can also benefit from this
study, making systemic connections on how district leadership supports 21
st
century
skills development through professional development.
Limitations
Limitations of the study were based on two variables: methodology of data
collection and time. Because the study is a qualitative case study, validity of data
gathered for the study was based on the reliability of instrumentation. Additionally,
the findings from the study limit generalizability to other districts and schools. Due
to the limited resource of time, data was collected from September 2010 through
November 2010; therefore, longitudinal data was not used for the study.
Delimitations
Delimitations of the research study included defining 21
st
century skills and
the school district in which to study. While numerous definitions of 21
st
century
skills exist, this study used 21
st
century skills defined by Wagner (2008) as the
“seven survival skills.” To define a school district, the study used a school district
serving between 20,000 to 25,000 students and self-selected to identify itself as
having a commitment to address 21
st
century skills. The commitment to support 21
st

century skills was made at the district level by district leadership and was noted
12
through the district’s mission statement, vision statement, or strategic plan.
Furthermore, the study included the delimitation of focusing on district leadership
and school-site high school administrators.
Definition of Terms
21
st
Century Skills—The combination of cognitive skills, interpersonal skills
as well as content knowledge skills needed by students in order to be competitive in
globalization (Wagner, 2008).
Charter School—Publicly funded schools that are exempt from many state
laws and regulations governing school districts. They may be established as a
charter or converted from an existing public school and frequently have a specific
mission. The charter is granted for up to five years by a school district, county office
or education, or the State Board of Education and may be renewed for periods of five
years. They are subject to the state’s STAR program and to the provisions of the
federal law, No Child Left Behind (Education Data Partnership, 2010).
Compensatory Education—Students at a school participating in the federal
Title I and/or the state Economic Impact Aid/State Compensatory Education
(EIA/SCE) program. Title I is a federal program that provides supplementary
services to low-achieving students from low-income families, and EIA/SCE is a state
program that provides funds to low-achieving schools with high proportions of
transient, low-income or English learner students. The goal of both is to improve
student achievement in reading and mathematics (Education Data Partnership, 2010).
13
Career Technical Education (CTE)—A program of study that involves a
multiyear sequence of courses that integrates core academic knowledge with
technical and occupational knowledge to provide students with a pathway to
postsecondary education and careers (California Department of Education, 2010).
Career Technical Education Pathway—A coherent sequence of rigorous
academic and technical courses that allows students to apply academics and develop
technical skills in a curricular area. Career pathways prepare students for successful
completion of state academic and technical standards and more advanced
postsecondary course work related to the career in which they are interested
(California Department of Education, 2006).
English Learner—Previously known as Limited English Proficient (LEP),
these are students who are not yet proficient in English (Education Data Partnership,
2010).
Free /Reduced Price Meals—A program which offers free or reduced price
meals to students (Education Data Partnership, 2010).
Globalization—A process that is marked by expanded markets creating
opportunities for communication and interaction between cultures for the purposes of
trade, investments and information and is supported by expanding technologies
(Levin Institute, 2009).
Kuder Program—An online system combining research-based assessment,
portfolio development, education and occupation exploration and planning,
workforce preparation, and database management enabling students in grades six
14
through 12 to identify their interests, explore their options, and plan for career
success (Kuder, Inc., 2010).
Nonpublic, Nonsectarian School— Schools that offer parents alternative
Special Education services to districts, Special Education Local Plan Areas
(SELPAs), county offices of education. "Nonsectarian" means a nonpublic school or
agency that is not owned, operated, controlled by, or formally affiliated with a
religious group (Education Data Partnership, 2010).
Perkins—Federal act establishing the improvement of career-technical
education programs, integration of academic and career-technical instruction, serving
special populations, and meeting gender equity needs (California Department of
Education, 2010).
Professional Learning Community (PLC)—Educators committed to working
collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to
achieve better results for the students they serve. Professional learning communities
operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is
continuous job-embedded learning for educators (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, & Many,
2006).
Regional Occupational Program (ROP)—Career and workforce preparation
for high school students, 16 years of age and older, and adults students in the areas of
career and technical education so students can (1) enter the workforce with skills and
competencies to be successful; (2) pursue advanced training in postsecondary
15
educational institutions; or (3) upgrade existing skills and knowledge (California
Department of Education, 2010).
SCANS Skills—Skills that define the “know-how” American students and
workers need for workplace success and the principles are applicable in communities
across the United States (U.S. Department of Labor, The Secretary’s Commission on
Achieving Necessary Skills, 1993).
Unified School District—A unified school district includes both elementary
and high school students (Education Data Partnership, 2010).
16
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The Nation’s focus on 21
st
century skills reflects concerns that students from
the United States, as compared to peers in other nations, are not equipped to navigate
the demands of a globalized marketplace. To support the acquisition of 21
st
century
skill development, many school districts have utilized professional development to
create a unifying vision for the implementation of 21
st
century skills. Directed by
district leadership, the importance of students obtaining 21
st
century skills has moved
beyond an ideological concept to an educational framework by which educators can
shape instructional foci and school cultures.
Chapter two will overview research related to the research questions
presented in this study. First, a historical context for 21
st
century skills will be
provided to summarize relevant National education legislation and policies, which
have fostered conversations regarding 21
st
century skills development. Second, this
chapter will explore various characteristics of 21
st
century skills. Third, professional
development will be analyzed within the context as a way of supporting 21
st
century
skill development. Finally, the role of district leadership will be examined as an
essential component for increasing 21
st
century skill development in school districts.
Historical Context for 21
st
Century Skills
The debate regarding the viability of 21
st
century skills has origins in
legislation that emerged over 60 years ago with creation of the report, The
President’s Commission on Higher Education for Democracy (1947), which
17
indicated that the United States needed to maintain awareness of its standings
compared to international counterparts who were seeking a competitive edge in
education and in business. The report further recognized that education was an
essential component to addressing international challenges as well as promoting
understanding and cooperation among diverse groups. To confront the growing
concern that US citizens needed an array of educational knowledge and skills, the
report noted in the recommendations that students not only have access to a
competitive high school education, but students should also have access to a college
education that involves an interdisciplinary focus. While the report stated education
was an integral aspect of sustaining democracy and maintaining international
competitiveness, it failed to allocate funds to create interdisciplinary high school
curricula. It also did not provide monies to ensure that more students had college
access. Although The President’s Commission on Higher Education for Democracy
made recommendations on providing students with access to college, the 21
st
century
skills conversation has reinforced the point that students need higher education to
meet complex social and economic challenges (Smith & Bender, 2008).
Even though the United States recognized in the 1940s that it was not
providing students with an interdisciplinary education focused on problem-solving
skills for real-world applications, which aligns to 21
st
century skills development
(Wagner, 2008), the United States was forced to acknowledge its educational failures
a decade later with the launching of the Russian satellite, Sputnik (Jolly, 2009).
With the emergence of the Russians as pioneers in space exploration (Dow, 1997),
18
the United States was compelled to address the burgeoning “quiet crisis” (Friedman,
2005), namely that the US was incapable of maintaining the reputation of being an
international innovator in science after previously applying principals of atomic
energy to create the first atomic bomb less than 20 years earlier (Bellis, 2010).
Concerned that its citizens had lost an international edge, the United States created
national education legislation, the National Defense Education Act of 1958, which
bolstered funding for public education (Flattau, Bracken, Van Atta, Bandeh-Ahmadi,
de la Cruz, & Sullivan, 2006). The aim was to create financial support for
educational initiatives, which were aimed at re-establishing the United States’
predominance in science and technology. Essentially, the National Defense
Education Act of 1958 reaffirmed the report, The President’s Commission on Higher
Education for Democracy (1947), which outlined students needed both a rigorously
competitive high school education and access to interdisciplinary activities focused
on problem-solving. With a focus on increased educational funding and a
commitment to bolster teaching through collaborative professional development
between teachers and researchers (Dow, 1997), the United States was able to re-
establish educational competitiveness, as evidenced by being the first country to
successfully land men on the moon. Using pedagogy that promoted critical thinking,
problem-solving and project-based learning (Anderson, 1961; Wiszowaty, 1961),
the United States created an educational focus that aligned with what Wagner’s
(2008) has come to define as the framework for 21
st
century skills development.
19
Despite a commitment to maintain a competitive edge in education, the
United States reported in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in
Education, 1983), that the nation’s educational focus was stagnant. A Nation at Risk
was a mixed-methods research study that analyzed quantitative and qualitative
educational data to identify national education deficits. Comparing data from high
school students from 1964-1969 to students from 1976-1981, A Nation at Risk stated
that the United States had failed to provide students with a rigorous high school
curricula. Additionally, A Nation at Risk noted that society was “being eroded by a
rising tide of mediocrity,” which was challenging the values and achievements of
past generations (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983, p. 112).
A Nation at Risk reflected the sentiment that the nation was losing the ability to
remain internationally competitive. Citing a decline in students’ science
achievement scores, a decline on College Board achievement tests in physics and
English and an increase of remedial coursework to prepare students for the
workforce, A Nation at Risk reported that the US had an educational crisis that would
ultimately lead to its downfall. With the admission that high school students lacked
problem solving, inference and cognitive skills, which are similar 21
st
century skills
noted by Silva (2008), the National Commission on Excellence in Education
declared the United States was “committing an act of unthinking, unilateral
educational disarmament” (p. 112).
To increase educational outcomes, the National Commission on Excellence
in Education (1983) sought to reaffirm the role of education. According to A Nation
20
at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), not only was
education responsible for creating a literate society, but also it was responsible for
creating life-long learners who had the ability to adapt to economic fluctuations and
workplace instability. By stating it was the role of the Nation’s education system to
ensure its progeny were equipped to work with global cultures using expanding
technology from scientific and mathematics fields, A Nation at Risk foreshadowed
that future jobs would require the average graduate to need cognitive skills, critical
thinking skills and interpersonal skills beyond what was being taught in schools, an
argument currently underscored by Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills (2009), Silva
(2008) and Wagner (2008), who categorized these skills as essential components of
21
st
century skills development. Although A Nation at Risk espoused rhetoric to
ignite a sense of urgency about shifting educational values by implying a stronger
focus needed to be on academic rigor and divergent thinking, the United States failed
to create competitive national education expectations for all students, as evidenced
by future legislation that continued to address lagging student achievement.
Even though discussions about academic and cognitive skills related to 21
st

century skills are traced back to legislation over the past 5 decades, the United States
continued to grapple with ensuring that students had access to 21
st
century skills at
the start of the millennium. In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB) to address decreasing student achievement and widening achievement gaps
within various socio-economic groups and between various ethnic groups (Stecher,
Hamilton, & Gonzalez, 2003). To measure whether student achievement was
21
increasing, Congress created accountability standards, measurable by student growth
on standardized assessments. Congress also created the measurement, Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP), a series of annual academic performance goals that
determined whether schools, districts, counties, and states were meeting federal
accountability standards (California Department of Education, 2008). To promote
compliance with NCLB expectations, Congress added the requirement that districts
and schools failing to meet AYP for two consecutive years were further scrutinized
by being mandated to create school improvement plans addressing increasing student
achievement on content-based, standardized assessments. While the passage of
NCLB validated the position that education should focus on measurable content
knowledge (Stecher et al., 2003), it did little to move forward the discussion
regarding skills students needed to possess in order to be competitive in the 21
st

century (Wagner, 2008).
Although the goals of NCLB requires schools to make gains in student
achievement on standardized assessments, NCLB has minimized supports for
students in acquiring 21
st
century skills (Wagner, 2008). NCLB has a focus on
standards-based assessment; however, 21
st
skill development require students to
learn, practice and apply divergent-thinking skills, which are not assessed under
NCLB (Silva, 2008; Wagner, 2008). Moreover, NCLB erodes the discussion of
students obtaining 21
st
century skills by supporting a prescriptive, “top-down”
approach to education (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, & Many, 2006). According to
Wager, NCLB supports a reduction in “workforce preparedness” while increasing
22
the gap between what is academically required for students to learn versus what
students will need to know in a globalized economy. Essentially, NCLB perpetuates
educational mediocrity by having a one-dimensional focus on students obtaining
core content knowledge without expanding the focus to interpersonal and analytical
skills students need to effectively communicate and apply core knowledge
(Laguardia & Pearl, 2009).
Characteristics of 21
st
Century Skills
The push for students to have expanded knowledge grew from an acceptance
that globalization is an integral component of education, the marketplace and society
(Wagner, 2008). Defined by the Levin Institute (2009), globalization is marked by
expanded markets creating opportunities for communication and interaction between
cultures for the purposes of trade, investments and information and is supported by
expanding technologies. Silva (2009) asserts, “New technology and global
competition have changed the game for American workers” (p. 2). Using research
from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce (2006), Silva
concludes that students need knowledge of basic skills; however, basic skills alone
will not supply students with access to jobs. According to the New Commission on
the Skills of the American Workforce, students will need the ability to generate ideas
and be able to deal with abstract concepts to gain access to competitive jobs. They
will also need creativity and innovation combined with high levels of education to
maintain job security.
23
The belief that students will need broad knowledge of various subjects and
solid cognitive skills was underscored by the documentary, 2 Million Minutes (Post,
Compton, Uppala, Ahrendt, Shafiq, Zhao, Banerji, & Labaree, 2009), which
followed a male and female high school student from India, China and the United
States as they navigated academic and social pressures in high school while making
decisions about entering the global economy. “What 2 Million Minutes ultimately
suggests is that the Indian and Chinese school and family cultures align very well
with the challenges of the globally competitive, technologically advanced 21
st

century. By contrast, America’s school and family culture looks outdated, obsolete,
and perhaps a bit arrogant” (Post et al., 2009, p. 4).
The identification of skills needed for the 21
st
century emerged through the
recognition that education is responsible for preparing students to be competitive in a
market place different from their parents (Davidson & Stone, 2009). According to
Davidson and Stone, students must possess skills that surpass skills taught less than a
decade ago. By admitting that current and future generations of students will not be
able to obtain by the time they graduate from high school all the knowledge
necessary for life-long sustainability in an evolving marketplace, Umphry (2009)
noted students require skills that promote learning beyond specific academic content.
McCoog (2008) has further espoused that educating students to be prepared for the
21
st
century requires educators to re-assess the types of skills students need, analyze
the available tools to teach the skills, solicit student input and guide students to
develop their own solutions.
24
The focus on 21
st
century skills places greater cognitive emphasis on the
application of acquired knowledge than on the mere acquisition of knowledge (Silva,
2009). The implication is that while content knowledge is important, the capacity to
which students use content knowledge is equally as important. Not only will
students need strong foundational knowledge from of core academics, but they will
also need to possess critical thinking skills by which to determine why information
matters and how it connects to other information.
Because the focus on 21
st
century skills requires the recognition that
traditional curricula fails to provide adequate access to 21
st
century skills, various
frameworks on 21
st
skills have emerged. Wagner’s (2008) framework on 21
st

century skills underscores the importance of increasing and applying social
interactions and metacognitive skills to move students into 21
st
century education.
According to Wagner (2008), 21
st
century students need the ability to integrate core
knowledge with cognitive skills and interpersonal skills to be adaptable and creative.
Proposing a theoretical framework for 21
st
century skills, Wagner identified “seven
survival skills” students need to possess in order to be competitive in the global
marketplace: 1.) critical thinking and problem solving, 2.) collaboration across
networks and leading by influence, 3.) agility and adaptability, 4.) initiative and
entrepreneurialism, 5.) effective oral and written communication, 6.) accessing and
analyzing information, and 7.) curiosity and imagination.
The organization, Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills (2009), also developed a
theoretical framework outlining skills students need to possess for 21
st
century
25
success. Focusing first on core subjects, the Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills
identified 9 core subjects for students: 1.) English, reading or language arts; 2.)
world languages; 3.) arts; 4.) mathematics; 5.) economics; 6.) science; 7.) geography;
8.) history and 9.) government and civics. Although the Partnership for 21
st
Century
Skills recognized that students are required to demonstrate mastery of core subject
information, the organization has promoted the idea that weaving 21st century
interdisciplinary themes into core subjects enhances academic content and prepares
students to engage the demands of globalization. These interdisciplinary themes
require students to develop awareness and literacy in various areas: 1.) global
awareness; 2.) financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy; 3.) civic
literacy; 4.) health literacy and 5.) environmental literacy. Equally important, the
organization identified specific 21
st
century skills that students needed to possess to
support accessing core subjects and interdisciplinary themes: 1.) learning and
innovation skills which include creativity and innovation, critical thinking and
problem solving and communication and collaboration; 2.) information, media and
technology skills which include information literacy, media literacy and information,
communications and technology literacy and 3.) life and career skills which include
flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural
skills, productivity and accountability and leadership and responsibility. With the
emphasis on using core subjects to promote interdisciplinary themes that allow
students to develop 21
st
century skills, the Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills
26
challenged the traditional paradigm of education to move beyond rote memorization
to include skills students need to be competitive in a complex global society.
Building on the premise that students need access to specific skills that would
prepare them to maneuver complex markets in the 21
st
century, the Iowa Department
of Education created a theoretical framework to prepare students for globalization
(Davidson & Stone, 2009). Expanding on the P21 Framework Definitions
(Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills, 2009), the Iowa 21st Century Skills Framework
requires students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the following areas: 1.)
civic literacy; 2.) employability skills; 3.) financial literacy; 4) health literacy and 5.)
technology literacy (Iowa Department of Education, 2009). Recognizing the areas as
“content-neutral,” the Iowa Department of Education created a comprehensive K-12
approach to incorporating skills students need with content knowledge in preparation
for the global market place, including opportunities to learn and practice self-
monitoring, collaboration, and reflection. (Davidson & Stone, 2009). Because the
Iowa Department of Education recognizes students require learning environments to
develop 21
st
century skills, the Iowa Department of Education asked educators to
strategize how to make classroom environments more reflective of workplace
environments, inclusive of students receiving letters of recommendation as tools to
describe student success in addition to traditional letter grades (Davidson & Stone,
2009).
27
Professional Development and 21
st
Century Skills
The debate regarding the effectiveness of student learning environments to
support the acquisition of 21
st
century skills has included a recognition and analysis
of professional development programs offered to teachers. In the report, Building a
21st Century U.S. Education System, Wehling (2007) outlined concerns about the
21
st
century skills movement related to teaching and education. Admitting the
teaching profession had changed little over the last 50 years, Wehling indicated that
teachers needed support in learning and modeling 21
st
century skills. Citing that
many schools exist based on the “egg carton” analogy with teachers permitted to
recycle lessons and curriculum throughout their careers, Wehling concluded teaching
21
st
century skills must first begin with changing teacher practices. Espousing on the
use of collaboration, he noted, “When teachers collaborate to improve their teaching
practices, they model this development of knowledge mastery for their students as
they work to improve their own understanding and effectiveness in their fields”
(Wehling, 2007, p. 50). To support teaching 21
st
century skills, Wehling argued
teachers needed to engage in professional activities that enhanced their learning as
practitioners as well as facilitators of instructional change.
The Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills (2006) also noted steps teachers
needed to know that would support the development of 21
st
century skills.
Underscored by Etmer (1999) who indicated teachers engaged in professional
development needed opportunities to participate in training workshops, classroom
observations, and conferences focused on increasing pedagogy, the Partnership for
28
21
st
Century Skills (2006) stressed that teachers participate in activities that
expanded their knowledge of 21
st
century skills. First, teachers needed targeted
professional development on 21
st
century content and skills. By providing teacher
training on 21
st
century skills, they would be better equipped to provide instruction
on 21
st
century skills. Second, teachers needed support in learning and applying
instructional strategies that increased 21
st
century skill acquisition. Focusing on
altering whole-class instruction to include flexible groupings of students, inquiry-
based teaching and learning, and increasing the use of technology to access curricula,
the Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills (2006) proposed that professional
development activities be supported by instructional coaches knowledgeable of 21
st

century skill development.
Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) addressed professional development by
questioning a common misconception about teaching and learning. Tackling the
misconception that increases in teachers’ content knowledge lead to better teaching
practices, Cochran-Smith and Lytle asserted that the development of effective
teaching practices grew from teachers reflectively linking prior experiences to new
experiences and understandings. Additionally, they asserted that teacher learning is
a longitudinal process inclusive of teachers challenging personal assumptions and
acknowledging common areas of practice while deconstructing curriculum for
student access.
Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin (1995) discussed professional
development in relationship to policies that supported effective professional
29
development supports in school sites and in districts. They recognized that top-down
approaches to professional development as mandated by federal and state policies do
little to support teachers in developing authentic reflective and inquiry-based
practices. Additionally, they noted that professional development would do little to
help teachers as long as policy structures promoted rote memorization and
standardized state curricula. Defining professional development as an opportunity
for teachers to incorporate reflection (Osterman & Kottkamp, 2004) and inquiry,
Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin acknowledged that effective professional
development should allow teachers to become learners, experiencing instructional
processes similar to students. “To understand deeply, teachers must learn about, see,
and experience successful learning-centered and learner-centered teaching practices”
(Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995, p. 598).
Langer (2001) spoke to the importance of relating professional development
to student needs and curricular goals, including teachers having the autonomy to
express views on planning and implementing professional development activities.
Using research from analyzing results of English programs in classrooms, Langer
noted professional development activities support components of effective
instruction in high performing schools and districts. In effective schools, teachers
used professional development to develop activities that allowed students to “make
connections across instruction, curriculum and life” (Langer, 2001, p. 8) which is an
essential characteristic of 21
st
century skills development (Wehling, 2007).
30
Wagner (2008) revealed 21
st
century professional development allowed
teachers to apply pedagogical knowledge to real-world experiences to strengthen
student learning. Referencing professional development activities from High Tech
High, an organization of charter schools in San Diego, California, that focuses on
preparing students to master skills similar to the “seven survival skills,” Wagner
noted effective professional development supported teachers in making student work
public. He described a process whereby teachers analyzed student work samples,
examining exemplars of work that evidenced rigor, real-world connections and
interdisciplinary focus. Using collaboration and team building, two components
described in the “seven survival skills,” professional development for teachers at
High Tech High modeled the type of teaching and learning that students are expected
experience. With the student population for the first two graduating classes
surpassing the national average for students attending college and with 80% of
graduates heading to four-year institutions (Murphy, 2004), High Tech High
attributes its success to trained teachers who embrace interdisciplinary teaching and
learning as well as engage in professional development centered on examining
student work samples. “We judge teachers by the quality of their students’ work. If
the student work is good, then the teaching is good” (Wagner, 2008, p 223).
Connecting to Deming’s (2000) four-step feedback loop framework that included
planning, doing, checking and acting, Wagner explains professional development
from the results-orientation lens. By explaining that teachers at High Tech High
engage in professional development based on analyzing the quality of student work
31
to increase their own productivity, Wagner implied that teachers who used a results-
orientation lens to analyze student work would maximize student opportunities to
engage students in 21
st
century skill development.
To support the process of teaching learning through professional
development, Guskey (2002) focused research on outlining steps for evaluating and
assessing professional development. While he recognized the importance of
professional development in supporting educators in practicing and acquiring
pedagogical skills, Guskey posited that many educators have not developed the
capacity to effectively evaluate professional development activities and outcomes.
According to Guskey, (2000), effective professional development necessitates the
evaluation of five essential levels of information: Level 1-Participants' Reactions;
Level 2-Participants’ Learning; Level 3-Organization Support and Change; Level 4-
Participants’ Use of New Knowledge and Skills and Level 5-Student Learning
Outcomes. Using the five levels to map student outcomes, Guskey (2001) implied
that effective professional development must “begin with the end in mind” (Covey,
2004), which requires creators of professional development to plan professional
development by focusing on Level 5-Student Learning Outcomes and move towards
Level 1-Participants' Reactions.
Guskey’s (2002) assertions that professional development begins with a focus
on student learning outcomes connects to Fishman, Marx, Best and Tal (2003) who
also analyzed professional development by connecting student and teacher learning
to professional development. Fishman et al. (2003) have argued data from student
32
learning be included in professional development as one of many ways to evidence
teacher learning. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods,
researchers developed a model of teacher learning based on professional
development design elements, components of professional development under the
direct control of professional development creators. Inclusive of identification of
content, implementing strategies, selecting site settings, and utilizing technology,
professional development design elements influence the acquisition of teachers’
knowledge, changing beliefs, and shifting attitudes (Fishman et al., 2003).
Demonstrating that using a variety of instructional strategies in professional
development for teachers to assist them with accessing and deepening content
knowledge, Fishman et al. (2003) concluded professional development needs to be
content specific with a variety of approaches that address a variety of curricular
challenges.
Leadership that Supports 21
st
Century Skills
In order to move the conversation regarding 21
st
century skill into districts
and schools having academic programs that foster 21
st
century skill development,
schools and districts need leaders who not only admit the need for 21
st
century skills
but also have the leadership skills to build capacity for implementing 21
st
century
skills in classrooms and in schools. Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin (1995)
asserted that it was the role of district leadership to foster a culture where
administrators and teachers explore instructional goals and approaches to reach those
goals. District leadership was also responsible for supporting school sites in creating
33
meaningful professional development for administrators and teachers. Fullan (2005)
agreed and further added that school leaders needed to have the capacity to lead
systemic reforms inclusive of expanding pedagogical practices, coordinating social
service organizations that supported school communities, and addressing school
culture. Also illustrated by Senge (1990), school leaders need the ability to create
“learning organizations,” which are organizations characterized by commitments to
be proponents of expanded thinking while creating environments where the learning
process is nurtured. According to Senge (1990), learning organizations are
organizations that maintain the belief that flexibility and adaptation will produce
results, even during tumultuous times.
Davidson and Stone (2009) reviewed data from Iowa’s Department of
Education to identify strategies that were useful in moving districts and schools
towards a systemic focus on 21
st
century skills. Their research supported the premise
that district and school-site leadership were instrumental in fostering instructional
changes. Leadership supported teachers in developing lessons that reinforced 21
st

skills development, and leaders recognized the importance of school-site autonomy
in making curricular decisions on 21
st
century skill acquisitions. According to
Davidson and Stone, “The faculty decided that 21
st
century skills and learning
[could] not be incorporated into ‘traditional’ classrooms. A move to student-
centered instruction and learning is essential” (p. 53). To support the move toward a
student-centered instructional program, teachers were supported in helping students
to develop collaboration skills, reflective skills, and critical thinking skills.
34
As districts and schools move towards implementing 21
st
century skills
development, Chenoweth and Everhart (2002) argued certain conditions must be in
place to support the changing paradigm shift (Covey, 2004) of focusing on 21
st

century skills. Chenoweth and Everhart first acknowledged systemic changes that
lacked arbitrary implementation had to be supported by comprehensive plans.
Second, they recognized that shared school leadership was an essential component to
ensuring that elements of change became infused in the school community. Third,
special consideration had to be placed on involving stakeholder groups in creating
and supporting changes. Fourth, school-sites had to be committed to transforming
the school culture. Fifth, school cultures had to be able to withstand internal and
external pressures in order to support student improvement. Lastly, measurements of
progress needed to be in place to evidence areas of growth as well as to guide
schools in navigating challenge.
Connecting to Chenoweth and Everhart (2002), McGinn (2007) added that
schools committed to creating change had to “begin with the end in mind” (Covey,
2004) by creating a clear vision of what students were expected to be able to
accomplish. McGinn researched the Change Practice Initiative, a Canadian school
district’s efforts to analyze practices, policies and structures meant to support
students, teachers and administrators. A “lead group” of educators, inclusive of
district administrators, senior high school principals, teachers, and instructional
services department members, met to direct the Change Practice Initiative, starting
with creating a common mission that focused on increasing student achievement.
35
Incorporating parent and student observations, the lead group concluded the
application of research-based practices was essential in creating and sustaining
improvements to student achievement. The lead group also admitted school
structures had to be malleable to support differentiated instruction, which was
essential to meeting students’ varying needs as well as supporting evolving
instructional foci.
Although McGinn (2007) noted instructional and student performance
benefits resulting from educators collaborating to increase student performance and
access to evolving curricula, the research exposed a common weakness—once the 3-
year study ended, it was undetermined as to how long efforts would remain in place.
McGinn offered, “District and school structures must remove parameters and enable
synergy that builds capacity and realizes the potential of educators and students” (p.
343). To address building capacity for the program, the lead group restructured
leadership roles so that teachers could assume leadership responsibilities, mitigating
possible perceptions that the Change Practice Initiative was a “top down” directive
from district leadership.
To address the role of district leadership, Togneri and Anderson (2003)
researched school districts that evidenced increases in student achievement across
grades, subjects, and racial/ethnic groups. Choosing 5 exemplary school districts,
the researchers ascertained that successful school districts had leadership that created
and promoted policies, which supported student achievement gains. Offered as a
guide for district-level leadership, Togneri and Anderson described seven common
36
characteristics of successful school districts: 1.) established will and determination
to try solutions aimed at addressing student achievement; 2.) fostered capacity to
create systemic approaches that addressed articulation of curricula and instructional
supports; 3.) developed and maintained missions and visions aimed at improving
instruction and student learning; 4.) used multiple data sources in which to base
decisions; 5.) implemented a professional development framework linked to
providing supports and instructional strategies that addressed student achievement;
6.) redefined leadership roles so that district leadership shared with various
stakeholders responsibilities for improving student achievement and 7.) maintained a
multi-year commitment to implement strategies geared to increase student
improvement despite changes in key leadership personnel.
Although Togneri and Anderson (2003) noted characteristics from school
districts with leadership that created policies supporting increases in student
achievement, they also acknowledged school districts faced challenges with
implementing changes. School districts found it difficult to re-organize structures so
that educators could address new initiatives while still addressing existing
organizational and operational components. School districts were also challenged to
implement strategies that addressed student achievement at all grade levels.
Furthermore, school districts were forced to admit that funding structures needed to
be re-aligned to support instructional initiatives. Because funding to improve student
achievement came from external sources with funding parameters, school districts
37
found it difficult to meet funding criteria as well as maintain initiatives beyond the
scope of external funding (McGwin, 2007).
Bolman and Deal (2003) have noted that effective leaders need a multi-
dimensional leadership approach to address the numerous challenges within an
organization. Introducing the Four-Frame Leadership Model, Bolman and Deal
proposed leaders use a combination of elements from the model to create and sustain
organizational change. The Four-Frame Leadership includes the symbolic frame
(how to create a culture that provides meaning to stakeholders); the human resources
frame (how leaders organize groups to meet human needs); the structural frame (how
leaders make decisions based on their beliefs about how to structure and organize
groups) and the political frame (how to address power and conflict within the
organization). Using a combination of these frames allows leaders to promote an
organization’s agenda while managing intricate organizational structures.
Summary
Using legislation and policies, the United States outlined skills students
needed to possess in order to be competitive in the 21
st
century; yet, this process of
articulating the skills needed has had little success with providing results to show
that students have obtained these skills. Still, the nation’s focus on skills students
need to be competitive in the 21
st
century has driven districts and schools to not only
analyze the effectiveness of professional development but also the role of district
leadership in creating and strengthening measures geared towards furthering the
implementation of 21
st
century skills. While numerous definitions of 21
st
century
38
skill development have emerged, Wagner’s (2008) framework on 21
st
century
incorporates academic, social and cognitive skills, that when combined, advances the
educational imperative of preparing students for globalization. This study will
examine the impact of district leadership on professional development programs in
districts and schools that have committed to implement a 21
st
century skills
instructional focus. The study will also explore the role of district leadership in
advancing 21
st
century skills.
39
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
As the United States confronts the challenges that are integral to ensuring it
maintains its status as an economic world power, a resurgence regarding the
discussion of the types of skills students need in order to be competitive in a
globalized marketplace has occurred. Fueled by data that supports the premise that
students in the U.S. lack a competitive edge over their international peers (Martin,
Mullis, & Kennedy, 2007), districts and schools have created instructional foci to
address 21
st
century skill development through mission and vision statements as well
as strategic plans that address developing and expanding skills that students need in a
globalized economy. Applying Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework on 21
st

century skills, this study seeks to explore the impact of district leadership on
professional development programs in a district that has an instructional focus to
implement 21
st
century skills.
Chapter three outlines the methodology used for the study. The first section
will begin with a review of research questions examined in the study and will link
research questions to the research design of the study. The second section will
overview the sample and population as well as criteria used for selecting participants.
The third section will describe the instrumentation and conceptual framework used
for the study. The fourth section will detail data collection procedures, including
explaining how instruments were utilized. The fifth section will describe data
40
analysis procedures and the conceptual approach used in analyzing data. The final
section will note ethical considerations applied to the study.
Research Questions
The research design for this study applied a qualitative methods approach to
explore the research questions on 21
st
century skills development.
1. How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
2. How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills development?
3. To what extent is professional development being used by a school
district to implement 21
st
century skills?
4. What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
The first research question was chosen because the researcher sought to
examine how a school district defined 21
st
century skills. To provide students with
access to 21
st
century skills, Wagner (2008) noted that students needed knowledge
beyond core knowledge, including a combination of cognitive skills, interpersonal
skills and content knowledge. The researcher was interested to learn how the
district’s definition of 21
st
century skills aligned with Wagner’s definition of 21
st

century skills. The second question was selected because the researcher wanted to
know what steps the school district had taken to implement 21
st
century skills. The
researcher selected the third question because studies have linked the use of
professional development to district instructional paradigm shifts (Darling-
Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995; Etmer, 1999; Langer, 2001; Mac Iver & Farley,
41
2003; Wehling, 2007). Since many school districts have utilized professional
development activities to expand teachers’ and administrators’ knowledge of district
instructional initiatives and curricula foci, the researcher sought to explore the extent
to which the district used professional development as a vehicle to support the
implementation of 21
st
century skills development. The researcher selected the
fourth question to focus on how district leadership promoted 21
st
century skills
development. Combining the research of Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin
(1995), Murphy and Datnow (2003) and Togneri and Anderson (2003), who indicate
district leadership created the impetus for instructional change, the researcher wanted
to know how district leadership addressed 21
st
century skills through professional
development.
The qualitative research design of this study was a case study of how the
district leadership of a unified school district implemented professional development
to support 21
st
century skills. According to Creswell (2009), a case study is a
qualitative data collection strategy that allows researchers to collect numerous and
detailed data over a specific time period. Because the researcher collected interview
data from numerous sources and conducted document reviews using various district
documents, the case study design describes the methodology for the research study.
Sample and Population
The sample for the case study was selected based on the following criteria of
a school district: 1.) unified school district with grade-level configurations including
but not limited to elementary schools, middle schools and high schools 2.) student
42
enrollment between 20,000 to 25,000 students and 3.) commitment to address 21
st

century skills as evidenced in a mission or vision statement or strategic plans. To
identify a school district for the case study, purposeful sampling was used.
According to Patton (2002), purposeful sampling supports depth of understanding of
“information-rich cases” (p. 243). Because data was collected from one school
district, purposeful sampling provided depth regarding specific information, thus,
aligning with purpose of the study.
Western Unified School District, pseudonym, (WUSD) is a school district
located in Southern California. Based on Ed-Data: Fiscal, demographic, and
performance data on California’s K-12 Schools (Education Data Partnership, 2010),
the school district serves over 21, 500 students across 6 grade-level configurations:
22 elementary schools; 2 middle schools; 4 high schools; 3 alternative schools; 1
continuation school; and nonpublic, nonsectarian schools. Percentages of
represented student ethnicities (Figure 1) includes the following: 0.3% American
Indian; 4.4% Asian; 0.7% Pacific Islander; 1% Filipino; 41.9% Hispanic; 1.4%
African American; 50.2% White; and 0.1% Multiple/No Response. Student ethnicity
trends indicate growth in student enrollment in all ethnic groups except Pacific
Islander, which has remained flat, and Asian and White, which have declining
enrollments. Additionally, WUSD has students who qualify for special programs:
5,693 students (26.5%) meet the criteria for English Learners; 10,013 students
(43.2%) receive Free/Reduced Price Meals and 9,299 students (43.2%) participate in
Compensatory Education (Table 1).
43
Figure. WUSD Student Ethnicity

Table 1. WUSD Special Programs

Number of Students Percent of Enrollment Percent of Enrollment
English Learners 5,693 26.5%
Free/Reduced Price Meals 10,013 46.6%
Compensatory Education 9,299 43.2%

The population from which interview data was collected included 4 members
of district leadership and 4 school-site high school principals. Interviewees from
district leadership consisted of the Director of Elementary Education and K-6
Curriculum, the Director of Education Technology and CTE, the Assistant
Superintendent of Secondary Education and the Superintendent. School-site high
44
school principals included principals from the high schools, excluding alternative
schools, the continuation school and nonpublic, nonsectarian schools.
Instrumentation
For the case study, the researcher used qualitative research design to develop
instruments for the case study. The instruments allowed the researcher to capture
two types of data: interview data and document review data. By combining two
methods to collect data, triangulation was enabled for the study. According to Patton
(2002), triangulation can be achieved by “using a variety of data sources in a study”
(p. 247).
To conduct interviews, the researcher used standardized open-ended
interview protocols (see Interview Protocols, Appendix A). Standardized open-
ended interview protocols reinforced effective time management during the
interviews, while creating uniform and replicative procedures (Patton, 2002). The
protocols also promoted uniformity in collecting similar data from various
respondents so that variations that may be caused by different interview questions is
minimized. The use of standardized open-ended interview protocols allowed the
researcher to gather data to address specific research question as well as sub-
questions, which offered further examination of district policies and procedures.
Document review was another strategy used to collect data for the study.
Using the Document Review Worksheet (Appendix B), the researcher reviewed
relevant district documents related to the district leadership’s direction to implement
21
st
century skills development. As noted by Patton (2002), document review can be
45
important to qualitative research because document review allows researchers to
obtain information that cannot be observed but further explored through interviews.
To complete document reviews, the researcher used a balance between outsider (etic)
and insider (emic) perspectives as described by Patton. The benefits of using a
balanced approach between the etic and emic perspectives afforded the researcher
the opportunity to gather data as an outsider while taking into consideration the
inside conditions that supported the creation of data. Using both perspectives to
gather data for the study, the researcher was enlightened on how district leadership
defined 21
st
century skills and created implementation support through professional
development.
Data Collection
Data collection for the case study occurred through interviews from district
leadership and school-site high school principals and through the document review.
Interviews were conducted based on protocols, (Interview Protocols, Appendix A).
Interview protocols were sent to participants two weeks prior to interviews being
conducted. The researcher sent interview protocols to participants to lower affective
filters regarding the structured interview process. During the interview process, the
researcher created recordings of the interviews using two digital recorders and
generated handwritten field notes. As part of the data collection process, Patton
clearly states, “Taking field notes is not optional” (p. 302). Field notes offer
descriptions about what has been observed as well as details a researcher’s “insights,
46
interpretations, beginning analysis, and working hypotheses about what is happening
in the setting and what it means” (Patton, 2002, p. 304).
To collect additional data beyond information disclosed through interviews,
document reviews were conducted. To determine which documents to review, the
researcher created a Document Review Matrix (Table 2), which aligned research
questions to data needs, data sources and instrumentation. The researcher generated
handwritten field notes based on documents that were reviewed in addition to
adhering to protocols from the Document Review Worksheet (Appendix B).

Table 2. Document Review Matrix

Research
Questions Data Needs Data Sources Instrumentation
1. How has a
school district
defined 21
st

century
skills?
• District’s
definition of
21
st
century
skills
• Strategic Plan
• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• District leadership
personnel
• School-site high
school principals
• Interviews with
district
leadership
• Interviews with
school-site high
school principals
• Document
reviews
2. How has a
school district
implemented
21
st
century
skills?
• Evidence of
district
implementation
of 21
st
century
skills
• Evidence of
resources
purchased that
align with 21
st

century skills
• Strategic Plan
• Annual district
professional
development plans
(2009-2010)
• District Career
Technical
Education Pathway
Survey Results
• District leadership
personnel
• School-site high
school principals
• Interviews with
district
leadership
• Interviews with
school-site high
school principals
• Document
reviews
47

Table 2, continued

Research
Questions Data Needs Data Sources Instrumentation
3. To what
extent is
professional
development
being used by
a school
district to
implement
21
st
century
skills?
• Evidence of
professional
development
that reflects 21
st

century skills
development
• Annual district
professional
development plans
(2009-2010)
• District Career
Technical
Education Pathway
Survey Results
• District leadership
personnel
• School-site high
school principals
• Interviews with
district
leadership
• Interviews with
school-site high
school principals
• Document
reviews
4. What is the
role of district
leadership in
advancing
21
st
century
skills through
professional
development?
• Evidence of
district
leadership
promoting 21
st

century skills
through
professional
development
• Strategic Plan
• Mission Statement
• Vision Statement
• Annual district
professional
development plans
(2009-2010)
• District Career
Technical
Education Pathway
Survey Results
• District leadership
personnel
• School-site high
school principals
• Interviews with
district
leadership
• Interviews with
school-site high
school principals
• Document
reviews
48
Data Analysis
Data for the case study was analyzed based on Creswell’s (2009) data
analysis stages. According to Creswell, qualitative data analysis incorporates the
following steps: 1.) organize and prepare data for analysis by transcribing interviews
and compiling field notes; 2.) read data to determine general tone; 3) code date into
discernable chunks; 4.) generate categories or themes for the data; 5) determine
representation of categories or themes and 6.) interpret data. Data from district
leadership and school-site high school principal interviews were transcribed and field
notes from document reviews were typed. Data was then read by the researcher for
its general tone. To support premises about the general tone of the data, the
researcher also coded notes and emergent ideas manually, which supported reliability
testing (Creswell, 2009) of coded data prior to the development of chunked
information. Chunked information is explored in Chapter Four: Findings, Analysis
and Discussion.
Ethical Considerations
The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of district leadership on
professional development programs in a district that has an instructional focus to
implement 21
st
century skills. The proposal for the study was approved through the
Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Southern California. Prior to
conducting the study, written consent was obtained from each person who
participated in interviews associated with this study. Prior to each interview,
participants were reminded of their consent agreement to participate in the study,
49
which included an agreement of confidentiality and disclosure that unobstructed
recording devices would be located in view of both participant and researcher.
Summary
Chapter three explained the methodology used in the research study, which
explored the impact of district leadership on professional development programs in a
district that has an instructional focus to implement 21
st
century skills. Describing a
qualitative research design, the chapter contained six sections: research questions,
sample and population, instrumentation, data collection, data analysis and ethical
considerations. The research questions section connected the research questions to
the case study’s design. The sample and population section described criteria used to
select the school district for the case study as well as the characteristics of the district
and participants in the study. The instrumentation section described the conceptual
framework implored in creating instruments for the study. The data collection
section described how data was collected from participants. The data analysis section
described the conceptual framework used for analyzing data, and the ethical
considerations section reviewed ethics followed in gathering data for the study.
Results and findings from the data analysis are presented in Chapter Four.
50
CHAPTER FOUR
FINDINGS, ANALYSIS, AND DISCUSSION
Using Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills, the
focus of this qualitative research study examined a district’s perception of its
implementation of 21
st
century skills. The study also examined the role of district
leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills through professional development. The
sample for the qualitative case study was selected based on purposeful sampling of
the following criteria for a school district: 1.) unified school district with grade-level
configurations including but not limited to elementary schools, middle schools and
high schools 2.) student enrollment between 20,000 to 25,000 students and 3.)
commitment to address 21
st
century skills as evidenced in a mission statement, vision
statement or strategic plans.
In order to explore the study’s correlations between Wagner’s (2008)
theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills and a district’s perception of its
implementation of 21
st
century skills as well as the role of district leadership in
advancing 21
st
century skills through professional development, four school district
leaders and four high school principals were interviewed. Interviewees from district
leadership consisted of the Director of Elementary Education and K-6 Curriculum,
the Director of Education Technology and CTE, the Assistant Superintendent of
Secondary Education and the Superintendent. School-site high school principals
included principals from the high schools, excluding alternative schools, the
continuation school and nonpublic, nonsectarian schools. Interviews were conducted
51
based on protocols, Interview Protocols (Appendix A). Using the Document Review
Worksheet (Appendix B), data was gathered and analyzed for district leadership’s
definition of 21
st
century skills, which were compared to Wagner’s framework on
21
st
century skills.
Interview protocols and document review protocols addressed four questions
connected to the study:
1. How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
2. How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills development?
3. To what extent is professional development being used by a school
district to implement 21
st
century skills?
4. What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
Included in the four questions were sub-questions that required interviewees to
reflect on connections between 21
st
century skills, the school district’s
implementation plan for 21
st
century skills, district professional development and
actions taken by district leaders that supported the implementation of 21
st
century
skill development.
Data presented in the study was organized as follows: a) Each research
question and accompanying sub-question was stated; b) findings from each
interviewee on research questions and sub-questions were noted; c) document review
findings correlating district documents to Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework,
52
“Seven Survival Skills,” were charted; and d) analysis of data from interviewee
responses and from document reviews was discussed.
Findings: Interviews
Research Question #1: How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
The four district leaders and four high school principals were asked sub-
question 1: What skills do students need to be successful in the 21
st
century?
District Leader 1 noted that students needed communication skills, collaboration
skills and the ability to access information, especially through technology. Also
needed was the flexibility and openness to accept change with “regard to
approaching a profession and life’s work.” District Leader 2 indicated students
needed collaboration skills and the ability to apply knowledge from the classroom to
“real-world” situations, “which should be but is not often taught in traditional
educational models.” District Leader 3 posited students needed two essential skills:
communication and technology. “First and foremost, to be successful in the business
world, [students] must be able to communicate. Second, [students] must have the
basic overview of changing technology.” District Leader 4 stated students needed
knowledge based on core subjects. Students also needed global awareness, higher-
order thinking skills, technology literacy, “so that they are able to work in this highly
technology-driven age,” and life skills, which are intertwined with communication
skills.
High School Principal 1 noted four areas students needed to master:
technology skills, critical thinking skills, motivation and work ethic. High School
53
Principal 2 reflected that students needed to be critical thinkers, problem-solvers,
adept with an expanding technology, and needed to know how to work cooperatively
and collaboratively with others. Principal 2 also recognized that students needed to
be empathetic, build relationships, have solid interpersonal skills, and be open to
diversity. High School Principal 3 added that students needed reading and writing
skills in addition to problem-solving skills, technological skills and collaboration
skills. High School Principal 4 responded that students needed to be able to
communicate effectively using a variety of mediums and that students needed the
ability to be critical thinkers. However, Principal 4 underscored that students needed
essential skills to become “agile intellectually and adaptable to whatever eventually
happens.”
The second sub-question required interviewees to reflect on the following:
What strategies does a district utilize to determine the skills students need? District
Leader 1 indicated the Board of Education was instrumental in creating a district
focus for 21
st
century skills. By referencing authors (i.e., Thomas Friedman, Daniel
Pink and William Daggett) regarding 21
st
century education, the Board of Education
used a strategy of resource allocation to help determine the skills students needed for
the 21
st
century. Additionally, District Leader 1 noted that district leaders reviewed
data generated from school sites to further determine the skills students needed to in
order to be successful in the 21
st
century. District Leader 2 noted that the district
used a variety of information and data to determine the skills students needed,
including California Career Technical Education (CTE) standards and surveys from
54
industry leaders on industry competencies. Agreeing with District Leader 1, District
Leader 2 acknowledged that the district used research and literature on 21
st
century
skills to direct the district’s focus. District Leader 2 also explained that the district
used the Kuder Program, which is a software application that allows students to
assess their interests, skills and values, to determine students’ needs. The data has
been used to refine course offerings and educational initiatives within the district.
District Leader 3 admitted that district leaders have had initial conversations
regarding the skills students need by not only questioning what students need but
also who will teach the skills, since “many educators need to be re-trained in 21
st

century skills.” Similar to District Leader 2, District Leader 4 indicated the district
used district technology assessments, the Kuder Program, literature and guest
appearances by prominent authors on 21
st
century skills to detail skills students need
for the 21
st
century.
High School Principal 1 noted the Director of Educational Technology and
CTE as the person who was most knowledgeable about the skills students needed.
Adding that the district provided the schools access to the Kuder Program to assist
with determining students’ strengths, High School Principal 1 explained that data
from Kuder assessments provided the district with information used by the district to
develop collaborative partnerships with industries and 2-year post-secondary
programs. High School Principal 2 noted that the district used the Kuder Program,
along with career technical education assessments and surveys, to determine skills
students needed for the 21
st
century. However, High School Principal 2 added that
55
counselors and teachers informally and formally assess students. High School
Principal 3 admitted that the district established a core curriculum, which outlined
within it the skills students needed to posses. However, it was explained that school
sites supported district curriculum by ensuring students had access to the curriculum.
“The school's job within the curriculum is to make sure that students are receiving
the essential skills they are going to need.” High School Principal 4 agreed with
other high school principals regarding strategies the district used to determine skills
students needed in the 21
st
century. “The district offers students the greatest breadth
of opportunities possible on a high school campus; it allows each principal at sites to
choose from the amount of resources available a breadth of opportunities for
students.”
Research Question #2: How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills
development?
The first sub-question asked interviewees to address the following: What is a
district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills development? District Leader 1
indicated the district focused on technology. With the support and direction of the
Board of Education, the district planned to ensure all teachers became technology
proficient. “We define proficiency by whether teachers can access the Internet and
use if for research and communication purposes. If the teachers [become] 100%
proficient in [using] technology, they receive [increased] funding for technology at
their schools.” District Leader 1 added that the Board of Education instituted a
practical application of 21
st
century skills through the creation of four zones, and
56
each zone, named after each of the high schools, was responsible for developing
career pathways directly correlating to 21
st
century skills. District Leader 2
acknowledged the district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills was
connected to the creation of the four zones and the implementation of career
pathways. District Leader 2 also referenced the Kuder Program as part of the
district’s implementation plan. “The intention is that every child does the Kuder
Program so it’s not just career technical education students. The intention is to find a
connection between a child’s interest or skill, preferably both, and use that
knowledge.” After further reflection, District Leader 2 referenced the district’s use
of Regional Occupational Program (ROP) teachers to teach career technical
education classes and use the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model with
career technical education professional development for teachers. “The district
facilitated three meetings of 27 culinary arts teachers from 22 high schools in the
county to discuss which skills students needed in career technical education culinary
arts classes and asked critical questions regarding which standards should students
learn.” District Leader 3 explained the district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century
skills included providing strategic career technical education pathways for students
to follow. “Once [students are] in a career technical education pathway, it resonates
with their passions and their interests.” To further the district’s plan for creating
strategic pathways for students, District Leader 3 noted the role of teachers. “We’ve
got to go back and retrain our adults in 21
st
century skills so they can help students
learn 21
st
century skills.” District Leader 4 indicated the district’s implementation
57
plan included getting students addressing 21
st
century skills in earlier grade levels
rather than only in secondary schools. “Our first plan is that we want to be sure that
we're beginning to focus on them as early as we can. We don't want to start before
they are developmentally ready, but, boy, when they're ready, we want to be sure that
we're poised to really help [students].” To support the work of implementing 21
st

century skills, District Leader 4 discussed one component of the district’s plan,
maintaining both the Educational Technology Department and the Infrastructure
Technology Department. Connecting with ideas from District Leader 3, District
Leader 4 mentioned a part of the district’s implementation plan addressed teachers.
“If you want students to do it, their teachers have to be able to do it. So that's how
we spend time, fostering initiatives that give teachers these skills as well—we have
invested time and energy and patience with our teaching staff.”
High School Principal 1 detailed that the district’s implementation plan for
21
st
century skills started with the district making the commitment to hire personnel
to monitor 21
st
century skill development within the district. “The Director of
Education Technology and CTE is so passionate about [21
st
century skills]. Because
we do not have training in it, the Director of Education Technology and CTE really
does a great job of looking at our campuses, looking at our kids, giving us
recommendations and bringing in programs that support the work we need to do at
the school site.” High School Principal 1 acknowledged that the Director of
Education Technology and CTE was instrumental in moving forward the district’s
agenda for 21
st
century skills in two ways: promoting the Kuder Program and
58
providing resources for business partnerships and student mentorships. High School
Principal 1 explained, “We use [the Kuder Program] to show students how their
interests could guide them to making $80,000 to $100,000 a year instead of working
a minimum wage job.” To expand on the role of the Director of Education
Technology and CTE, High School Principal 1 clarified, “We have some ideas and
[the Director of Education Technology and CTE] helps our ideas get some legs; we
get connected with the right people and resources. [The Director of Education
Technology and CTE] works to bring in experts from the field to show [students]
what its really like.” High School Principal 2 acknowledged the district’s
implementation plan for 21
st
century skills has been embedded in other conversations
related to education and career technical education. “There has been a lot of
emphasis in principal’s meetings on providing kids with the skills and the curriculum
to be successful in the 21
st
century.” High School Principal 3 agreed with the idea
that time has been devoted in meetings to discuss career technical education and 21
st

century skills; however, it was added that current budget challenges impeded the
progression of the district’s implementation plan of creating and adding career
technical education courses. “The reality of us offering the courses we want to offer
or we would like to offer to our students is rather limited. In essence, we have a gap
between what we would like to do and what we can do.” To gauge what courses
interest students, High School Principal 3 explained that the school utilized a mixed-
methods approach: students were formally surveyed and parents, teachers,
counselors and students informally shared with the school site principals which
59
courses they would like offered. High School Principal 4 indicated a lack of clarity
about the district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills but added that the
principals knew the district’s implementation plan for professional learning
communities.
The second sub-question asked participants to discuss the following: How
are district funds allocated to support the implementation plan for 21st century
skills? According to District Leader 1, some of the allocated resources included
district-wide access to literature on 21
st
century skills, conference attendance on 21
st

century skills, and personnel to oversee educational technology. However, District
Leader 1 expounded on the Board of Education’s decision to allocate funds to hire
personnel whose responsibilities included supporting the implementation plan for
21
st
century skills. “We have a Director of Education Technology and CTE, which is
position I do not think other districts have.” Through the funding of the position, the
Director of Education Technology and CTE created a forum that merged the
professional learning community model and district meetings for county educators,
who met to discuss implementation plans related to Regional Occupational
Programs, career technical education, core content standards and 21
st
century skills.
District Leader 1 explained that the Regional Occupational Program, in which the
district had invested resources, was connected to career technical education
pathways. “ROP has really been fashioned for applying, utilizing and emphasizing
21
st
century skills. It’s visionary the way we are using it. We are integrating ROP
into the work of career technical education that’s at school sites.” District Leader 2
60
commented that the district had allocated funds for the Kuder Program and
determined it be used with middle and high school students to assess their interests,
skills and values. However, District Leader 2 reflected that the district had allocated
resources to apply the professional learning community model to a career technical
education pathway. “The outcome has been the creation of Advisory Board Days,
where leadership in an industry has helped to identify critical competencies…and
where the next phase will be defining rigor for critical elements in hopes of
developing common assessments.” District Leader 2 explained the goal was to
create a mechanism for feedback, “to actually administer common tests, record the
data, and then get back together again and look at what the data says” so adjustments
can be made to instruction. District Leader 3 indicated the district allocated funds to
support the implementation plan for 21st century skills by providing training to
teachers regarding career technical education pathways. District Leader 3 admitted,
“While the state provides a lot of support, [district leaders] have to be strategic about
which pathways we spend money on. If a particular pathway is successful and
growing, that means we have to look at the rest of the pie and see what’s not being as
successful and start to cut down there.” District Leader 4 reiterated the thoughts of
District Leader 1 by mentioning the district allocated funds through staffing. “We
have supported 21
st
century skills through staffing and the technology budget. We
have a Director of Education Technology and CTE, an Educational Technology
Department and an Infrastructure Technology Department.” District Leader 4 added,
“We know our budgets are inadequate, so the Technology Department has gone after
61
grants. We have a grant where four of our elementary schools have laptops for every
student.”
Connecting with district leaders assertions, High School Principal 1 stated
that because the district was really behind 21
st
century skills, it hired a Director of
Education Technology and CTE. “The Director of Education Technology and CTE
listens [to principals’] ideas, then runs with them to build programs that are tailor-
made to each school.” Also stated was the fact the Director of Education
Technology and CTE was effective in “bringing in outside money for programs.”
High School Principal 2 agreed with High School Principal 1. “We have a very
strong Educational Technology Department that oversees proficiency requirements
for [students]. We have a graduation requirement in [the district] for technology; so,
our ET department that oversees it has a pretty significant budget allocation.” High
School Principal 2 expounded upon the role of the Director of Education Technology
and CTE. “We have a career technology education official whose sole job is to
advance career technology education, which is very much tied to 21
st
century skills
in our district.” While High School Principal 3 did not know how district funds were
allocated to support the implementation plan for 21
st
century skills, High School
Principal 4 indicated the district supported schools by providing the resources that
allows them the flexibility to “tailor master schedules to fit the needs of [students] to
make them successful in college.” Explained by High School Principal 4,
[The district] allows each principal to choose within the amount of resources
available a breadth of opportunities for kids that best fit the community that
each school serves. Each school offers a different selection of courses, but
62
the site principal has the opportunity to tailor course selections to the
community [that is] served.

The third sub-question asked participants to reflect on the following: What
district organizational structures exist to support students’ acquisition of 21
st
century
skills? District Leader 1 focused responses regarding district organizational
structures supporting 21
st
century skills towards professional development
opportunities. “We have countywide meetings in the spring and in the fall [for
teachers and administrators] with regards to 21
st
century skills. Our principals also
meet twice a month, and it is a big push there.” District Leader 1 added that district
leaders participated in a summer retreat for the 2008-2009 academic school year
where they invited guest speakers who addressed challenges surrounding 21
st
century
skills development. District Leader 1 shared that the district organizational structure
to collect data was done so with a 21
st
century skills focus by embedding technology
into district data-gathering systems. “[The district] has used instantaneous surveying
of the staff and administrators. They were asked a question, then given hand-held
PDA’s to provide instant answers. [This is an example of how] we’re attempting to
embedded 21
st
century skills development into really all of our work.” Connecting
to District Leader 1, District Leader 2 added the district used professional
development as an organizational structure to supports students’ acquisition of 21
st

century skills. “We’re in the middle of an experiment with the professional learning
community model and career technical education. Regional Occupational Program
and career technical education teachers met three times last year and discussed the
63
‘what’ for critical standards.” District Leader 2 further noted the district had created
Advisory Board Days, an additional structure to support students’ acquisition of 21
st

century skills. “We pulled in leadership from throughout the county, and they
worked to rank competencies [within an industry] from critical to not important.
The data was shared with teachers, and the next stage is to create some agreements
on what are the critical elements are for high school graduates.” Commenting on
partnerships as an organization structure created to support 21
st
century skills,
District Leader 2 explained that the district had utilized partnerships with Regional
Occupational Programs so “more than half of the district’s career technical education
teachers were ROP teachers.” Moving beyond professional development and
partnerships, District Leader 2 acknowledged the district’s feeder patterns supported
work being done towards students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills. “Our high
schools are divided into four zones. Each zone has a feeder pattern: the elementary
schools feed into the middle schools and they feed into one of four high schools.
Each high school has career technical education programs.” District Leader
explained how roles and responsibilities of district leaders were components of the
organizational structure supporting students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills:
The School Board has [21
st
century skills] as part of their vision for the
school district. The School Board obviously directs the Superintendent; the
Superintendent directs the Assistant Superintendent; the Assistant
Superintendent directs the Director and so on. We’ve got the School Board
actually pushing and being the catalyst for the change and the district
leadership supporting the direction for 21
st
century skills.

64
District Leader 4 explained the Superintendents’ hiring practices were an
organizational structure that supported students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills.
“The Superintendent wanted to make sure [the district] had creative thinkers, and
they have become the technology grant writers.” District Leader 4 added the
Superintendent was a part of the district’s organizational structure instrumental in
supporting 21
st
century skills. “[The Superintendent] really keeps creative thinking
skills [at the forefront of conversations] and makes sure district leaders consider how
students are given chances to think critically.” Adding to responses from District
Leaders 1 and 2, District Leader 4 mentioned both electronic district document
systems and professional learning communities were components of the district’s
organization structure that supported students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills.
High School Principal 1 referenced the Director of Education Technology
and CTE as a district organizational structure supporting students’ acquisition of 21
st

century skills. “[Principals] are in the awareness stage of 21
st
century skills. [The
Director of Education Technology and CTE] helps us figure out the direction to go,
what needs to be done to get there and is really the driving force.” High School
Principal 1 further stated the Director of Education Technology and CTE was critical
to the district’s plan for creating professional learning communities, with a career
technical education and Regional Occupational Program focus. “[The Director of
Education Technology and CTE] is leading a county-wide professional learning
community, which is starting with a 21
st
century skills focus.” High School Principal
2 referenced the Director of Education Technology and the PLC model. “The
65
district has a county-wide professional learning community headed by the Director
of Education Technology and CTE, who is really good at networking and brining
together not only teachers from within the districts but also teachers from throughout
the county to discuss 21
st
century skills and career technical education.” High
School Principal 2 further reflected that principals’ meetings guided by the
Superintendent’s leadership team were an organizational structure supporting
students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills. “[The district] has regular principal
meetings and a principal cohort that meets every other week as a Principal
Professional Learning Community. All of these entities give [principals the access
to] the Superintendent's leadership team, which is also very involved and cognizant
of the needs of students [acquiring] 21
st
century skills.” High School Principal 3
referenced the work of the Director of Education Technology and CTE as an
organizational structure supporting students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills, while
High School Principal 4 explained the district’s entire Secondary Education
Department was a critical organizational structure supporting students’ acquisition of
21
st
century skills. “There is a vast amount of expertise there, particularly with the
Director of Secondary Education and the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary
Education. Their guidance and support of what [principal’s] are trying to do at the
site level is the primary vehicle that the district provides.”
The fourth sub-question asked participants to answer the following: How
does a district address resistance to implementing 21
st
century skills? District Leader
66
1 commented that resistance existed; however, challenges against 21
st
century skills
were being addressed by helping teachers understand 21
st
century skill relevancy:
There is natural resistance, and we’re responsible for creating what exists out
there right now. It’s easier for people to get on board with 21
st
century skills
because they are relevant...it just makes intellectually sense, and emotionally,
it feels like we’re connecting with [students]. The way the district addresses
resistance is by appealing to intellectual components [which are interwoven]
into 21
st
century skills.

District Leader 2 responded that teachers had little resistance to 21
st
century skills
and were excited to collaborate on 21
st
century skills development. “What I found in
working with career technical education teachers is they are desperate to get
together. They operate in a vacuum often, and so they want to work together.”
District Leader 3 explained that the district addressed resistance by supporting
teachers’ interests and finding what motivated them to learn new skills. “[Resistant
teachers] are ‘diamonds in the rough.’ There may be a teacher with a background in
audio-visual communications, but you won’t know that until you ask the right
questions.” District Leader 4 connected with comments from District Leader 3
regarding supporting and training teachers. “[The district] supports the change
model. We know we have to give people time. We have to give them the training.
We have to give them comfort in the new model.”
Similar to District Leader 2, High School Principal 1 reported there was no
resistance towards 21
st
century skills development. “Who would be against kids
thinking critically, being more motivated, and taking classes that they're interested
in? Teachers get it; they understand it.” However, High School Principal 1 stated it
67
was the role of the district to support teachers in expanding their knowledge about
21
st
century skills. “If you walked into a classroom today, it's not much different
than if you walked into a classroom in the 1950's. We have to do a better job of
getting tools and resources to teachers so they can excite students.” High School
Principal 2 explained how the implementation of professional learning communities
curtailed resistance to 21
st
century skills development:
One of the things the Superintendent has put into place and has really
encouraged is the development of a culture of professional learning
communities across all of the stakeholders in the school district. So I think a
culture of continuous improvement, a culture of ongoing professional
development, a culture of a unified vision and mission all those things
constantly being reinforced is the way we deal with any sort of resistance
towards the overall direction the schools and the district is taking.

Connecting with the thoughts of District Leader 2 and High School Principal 1, High
School Principal 3 did not recall being aware of resistance to 21
st
century skills
development. “I don’t see resistance at all. I have every indication from the
community they like the direction, [and] they believe it is a good direction for
education.” High School Principal 4 summarized a district philosophy, which
thwarted the efforts of resistors to 21
st
century skills development. “We keep
returning to what’s best for students, and it makes it difficult for the ‘What’s best for
the teacher?’ argument to win. So that’s the primary mechanism, a focus on what is
best for our students.”
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Research Question #3: To what extent is professional development being used by a
school district to implement 21
st
century skills?
The first sub-question required participants to respond to the following: How
does a district’s professional development plan emphasize 21
st
century skills?
District Leader 1 noted the efforts of the Superintendent in articulating a professional
development plan that addressed 21
st
century skills development.
There is a philosophical framework [the Superintendent] is trying to create
from a professional development standpoint with principals relating to the
issues of relevance, accessing information and creating the kind of flexibility
and collaboration kids are going to need as they move on in the 21
st
century.

Using guest speakers for principals and leadership meetings, District Leader 1
indicated the district was committed to providing professional development that
supported 21
st
skill development. Connecting with the sentiments of District Leader
1 regarding professional development, District Leader 2 explained a component of
the district’s professional plan for 21
st
century skills included combining professional
learning communities with career technical education.
We started down the road of looking at what a professional learning
community is for a particular career tech pathway. Then, we started asking
questions: What does it look like for us to commonly get together, how do
we measure what is critical, do we agree on what is critical, and what will the
results tell us?

District Leader 2 reflected on the fact that groups of teachers would write
professional development action plans that would emphasize 21
st
century skills
through career technical education pathways. “Of the 11 key elements from career
technical education pathways, [action plans] would address two to five areas of
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focus, goal related to the areas of focus, timeframes to accomplish goals and
participant involvement.” District Leader 3 referred to the district’s hiring of key
personnel as part of the district’s professional development plan for 21
st
century
skills development.
We have a Director of Education Technology and CTE, which is a huge
commitment from the district. [The Director of Education Technology and
CTE] provides professional development not only for career technical
education teachers but also the entire district, including principals. [The
Director of Education Technology and CTE] is always out looking for grant
money and channels Perkins money where it needs to go.

District Leader 3 added that the district provided release time for teachers to attend
professional development. “We send [teachers] to the conferences and pay for the
substitutes. We’ll do what ever it takes…. It’s results driven; everything in this
district is results driven.” District Leader 4 stated the district’s professional
development plan centered on using professional learning communities as a
framework to support teachers in helping students to acquire 21
st
century skills. “In
a professional learning community, I'm looking at benchmarks that tell me how my
students are doing, the areas that we could be ‘beefing up,’ and where we are doing
really well.” District Leader 4 also indicated the focus on 21
st
century skills caused
the district to re-think how it utilized resources.
In the area of professional development, we've spent time and money on
depth and complexity for gifted child and talented students. However, we
finally came to the realization that if you look at 21
st
century skills, we have
to consider all of our children gifted and talented. So we've invested money
and time in all of our teachers, not just teachers of gifted child and talented
students.

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High School Principal 1 explained that the district’s professional
development plan allowed high schools to individualize professional development on
21
st
century skills. “There are a lot of pilot-type programs, and we use the Kuder
Program to identify our kids areas of strength and interests and then, tailor programs
for them.” High School Principal 2 referenced the efforts of the Superintendent and
Assistant Superintendent in creating a culture that emphasizes 21
st
century skills
development within professional development.
The PLC culture stressed by [the Superintendent and Assistant
Superintendent] has created the biggest emphasis as far as the direction we
should be taking to develop ourselves professionally. There is a focus on
ensuring kids have essential skills to move on from one grade level to the
next, and [students] can’t do that without 21
st
century skills. The district has
a catalog of a variety of courses teachers and administrators can take, which
includes strategies for infusing things like 21
st
century skills into the
classroom.

High School Principal 3 remarked the district’s professional development plan for
21
st
century skills was tied to the district’s plans for career technical education.
“[District leaders] encourage teachers to go to professional development to develop
their skills and learn more about career technical education and 21
st
century skills.”
High School Principal 4 summarized the district’s emphasize of 21
st
century skills
through professional development by reiterating the connection between professional
development and professional learning communities.
The focus right now is on professional learning communities, so 21
st
century
skills ends up being tangential by continuing to grow the capacity of teachers
to effectively use data and collaborate in an efficient effective manner, which
is going to translate into better experiences for [students] on the campus…the
whole package translates into better student achievement, student learning
and 21
st
century skills.
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The second sub-question asked participants to reflect on the following: To
what extent does a district provide to stakeholders professional development on 21st
century skills? District Leader 1 stated the district provided 21
st
century skills
development through conference attendance to administrators and to teachers.
Further added was that principals received 21
st
century skills development through
principal’s meetings. However, District Leader 1 explained the district was using an
additional professional development component that provided 21
st
century skills
development. “25 of 32 schools are utilizing Discovery Education in the classroom.
It provides professional development…as well as more formalized structures with
regard to meetings and formalizing trainings.” District Leader 2 reiterated much of
the professional development for 21
st
century skills was accomplished through
professional development for career technical education. “Our goals is to use the
professional learning community model in a career technical education world.”
Described were meetings where career technical education teachers from throughout
the county met to discuss competencies from various career technical education
curriculums. “We have meetings planned, and we’re asking [teachers] ahead of time
to identify how they assess what industry has told us were critical elements.”
Connected to ideas from District Leader 2, District Leader 3 indicated the district
provided professional development to stakeholders on 21
st
century skills by
supporting conference attendance. Similar to other district leaders, District Leader 4
explained that the district supported teachers in attending conferences. “We still
allow people to go to the CUE Conference, which is the largest and oldest education
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technology conference in the state.” District Leader 4 further responded that the
district’s leadership team had experienced professional development from author and
guest speaker, Daniel Pink. “A couple of years ago, the leadership team read the
work of Daniel Pink and went to the Performing Arts Center to listened to him
speak.” District Leader 4 indicated that the district leadership team used Pink’s work
as a catalyst for making connections between 21
st
century skills and motivation.
High School Principal 1 stated that the Director of Education Technology and
CTE was instrumental in providing professional development on 21
st
century skills
to stakeholders. “When we see something that we like, we'll talk to our boss or we'll
talk to the Director of Education Technology and CTE and say, ‘Hey, here's
something we're interested in – here's a conference order form.’” High School
Principal 2 acknowledged that the district allowed school sites to individualize
professional development on 21
st
century skills; school sites that were ready to move
more quickly with 21
st
century skills were given opportunities to do so. “Individual
principals at the sites have been allowed to cultivate professional learning
community cultures to the extent [teachers] are ready to receive them.” High School
Principal 3 explained professional development on 21
st
century skills was available
to anyone. “It is open to everybody, principals included.” High School Principal 4
added professional development for principals on 21
st
century skills was tied to
conversations, formal and informal, with district leadership.
Professional development is [embedded] in key conversations [principals]
have with both the Director for Secondary and the Assistant Superintendent
for Secondary about the direction the school is going. [Principals discuss]
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what we are doing and why we are doing it. So discussions about ‘the what’
and ‘the why’ are the primary support and training ground, because they
allow [principals] to understand [21
st
century skills development] goals from
the district perspective.

The third sub-question asked respondents to address the following: How do
organizational structures and policies ensure the evaluation and monitoring of
professional development of 21
st
century skills? District Leader 1 admitted the
district had developed a data-driven accountability philosophy with principals
regarding evaluation and monitoring professional development on 21
st
century skills.
“One of the things we do in terms of evaluating our principals is we look at their
emphasis, focus, and results regarding 21
st
century skills. Principals seldom come to
a meeting without bringing data.” District Leader 1 explained data was used as part
of an organizational structure to monitor professional development on 21
st
century
skills and to create opportunities for reflection.
We not only look at the “what” and the “how,” but we also certainly look at
“what happened”… The district has really started implementing WOW Data,
which is where [principals] are asked to identify not just the negatives and
not just the deficiencies but also the things that they’re doing outstandingly
well.

District Leader 1 acknowledged that the district connected data results to principal
personnel evaluations. However, it was mentioned there was a lack of clarity
regarding whether principals used similar standards to hold teachers accountable.
“To the extent to which principals do that with their teachers and develop their own
goals for evaluation, [the district] gives [principals] latitude and flexibility because
[evaluations] are driven by the collective bargaining evaluation instrument.” District
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Leader 2 explained that the district had incorporated various surveys to evaluate and
monitor professional development on 21
st
century skills. “We just finished a self-
ranking survey [from the state] of all of our career technical education pathways.
[The survey] creates opportunities for dialogue for teachers on the quality of their
programs.” According to District Leader 2, the surveys served to benchmark current
practices and outcomes and were used to help write action plans. Similar to District
Leader 1, District Leader 3 focused responses on the district’s organizational
structures and policies connected with the evaluation and monitoring of professional
development of 21
st
century skills to the district’s use of data.
We are district with a focus on data and student achievement. We look at
CST scores, we look at GPA’s and we look at the percentage of student
success by teachers, even though it’s not an evaluative tool. We look at
whether students are being successful in a career technical education
pathway.

Like District Leader 3, District Leader 4 commented that the district, as an
organization, created policies based on data analysis and results to evaluate and
monitor professional development on 21
st
century skills. “Our philosophy in the
district is that all decisions should be made based on results. If you don't have data,
then it's just someone's opinion.” District Leader 4 further added that the district
gathered specific data from surveys and rubrics to determine to what extent students
used technology, graphs and charts in science projects, which was one of the district
exemplars. “We have baseline data for what's happening with 21
st
century skills in
science fairs, where students use creativity, make hypotheses and follow them
through.”
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High School Principal 1 explained that the district supported principals in
assuming responsibility for evaluation and monitoring professional development on
21
st
century.
The district has left it pretty open for us to use our creativity. As principals,
we're the ones who know our stakeholders and our kids the best, and no two
programs look the same. So, we have the flexibility to be able to do what we
feel is best for our kids.

However, High School Principal 1 added that the Director of Education Technology
and CTE was critical in helping schools to navigate ways to evaluate and monitor
career technical education programs.
We are kind of in the ‘implementation stage’ with career technical education
programs, but [the Director of Education Technology and CTE] is good at
helping [principals] “flush out” programs by asking questions, ”Why do you
have the program, what are the outcomes you want to see from the program,
and how are you going to evaluate it on the back end?”

High School Principal 2 referenced surveys conducted by the district’s Information
and Technology Department as the method the district uses to ensure the evaluation
and monitoring of professional development on 21
st
century skills. “We survey
students; we survey parents…we’re constantly looking at data. We’re constantly
evaluating our curriculum program for its effectiveness.” Although High School
Principal 3 was unsure as to how the district’s organizational structures and policies
ensured the evaluation and monitoring of professional development of 21
st
century
skills, High School Principal 4 tied the evaluation and monitoring of professional
development of 21
st
century skills to professional learning communities. “The
monitoring of the professional development is focused on building capacity of
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effective teachers, on student learning, and actually becomes part of our professional
learning community work. [Principals] report to [district leaders] their evaluations
of successful professional learning communities.”
Research Question #4: What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st

century skills through professional development?
The first sub-question asked interviewees to comment on the following: How
has district leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century skills through
professional development? District Leader 1 referenced the Board of Education and
Superintendent’s emphasis on 21
st
century skills development:
[The district] has a Board with a particular interest in the practical application
21
st
-century skills. Combined with [the Superintendent’s] interest, [the
district] has a Director of Educational Technology and CTE and Assistant
Superintendents who look at the concrete kinds of 21
st
century skills.

District Leader 2 responded to the question on district leadership supporting the
advancement of 21
st
century skills by emphasizing efforts of the Superintendent and
the Director of Education Technology and CTE by stating:
[21
st
century skills] is an important element to the Superintendent, who has
talked quite a bit about them. [The Superintendent] has had…guest speakers
for [conferences and leadership meetings], and [the Director of Education
Technology and CTE] is working to apply the professional learning
community model in a career technical education world.

District Leader 3 referred to district leadership’s results-oriented philosophy as
promoting the advancement of 21
st
century skills through professional development.
“Support is one thing. You can be a cheerleader and provide a little bit of funding:
‘That’s good, I support you; go get ‘em.’ But results matter, and I think that people
77
know [this district] is absolutely results driven.” District Leader 4 summarized
efforts by the Superintendent were instrumental in creating and maintaining a district
environment where district leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century
skills through professional development. Expressing ideas similar to other district
leaders, with District Leader 4 reiterated sentiments about the Superintendent in
relationship to advancing 21
st
century skills:
The Superintendent has a mantra, “Compliance is expected. Creativity is
required. You have to have courage to bring your head up and do creative
things, and we'll support you.” I believe that, and I think because [the
Superintendent] has been here for years now, people believe that now. When
you believe creativity is not going to be punished, you're more anxious to try.
Colleagues are being more creative and taking risks for the sake of students.

High School Principal 1 noted district leadership supported the advancement
of 21
st
century skills through professional development by providing resources for
principals to be creative. “If we find something we think will work for us and we
want to ‘pilot’ it, [district leadership] is really good about finding us money and
resources to do what we feel is best for kids.” High School Principal 1 added that
the Director of Education Technology and CTE supported the advancement of 21
st

century skills by acting as a liaison to help principals meet district goals. “[The
Director of Education Technology and CTE] is always there to help us figure out
what we don't know and move us in the right direction.” High School Principal 2
stated district leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century skills by
providing both funding and resources for professional development.
There are the two big areas where the district's commitment physically
manifested [itself] in the allocation of resources: the Educational Technology
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and Instructional Technology Departments and the Human Resources
Department, which offers periodically throughout the year significant
professional development on teaching strategies and ways to get [students] to
use 21
st
century skills.

Similar to High School Principal 2, High School Principal 3 indicated district
leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century skills by allocating funds for
professional development related to 21
st
century skills and career technical
education. High School Principal 4 responded that the district leadership supported
the advancement of 21
st
century skills by clearly articulating the district’s goals
related to 21
st
century skills:
There are a couple of ways [district leadership] supports 21
st
century skills
development but the most important way is that there is a really clearly-
defined message from the Superintendent to the entire district leadership
team and to all stakeholder groups about the expectations for the entire
district.

The second sub-question required interviewees to respond to the following:
How does district leadership evaluate professional development on 21
st
century
skills? District Leader 1 indicated district leadership used the services of a third
party to evaluate professional development on 21
st
century skills. “We utilize an
online survey instrument through a group called K12 Insight to address our strategic
plan and our goals from both a community perspective as well as a staff
perspective.” District Leader 2 stated district leadership made use of teacher-
generated action plans to evaluate professional development on 21
st
century skills.
District Leader 2 explained that career technical education teachers used data from a
self-ranking survey from the state to write action plans and create instructional foci
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for career technical education programs. According to District Leader 2, the action
plans helped teachers and district leaders identify benchmarks, which then became
catalysts for discussion and dialogue. District Leader 2 reflected, “I think dialogue is
really important for teachers to improve the quality of their programs. It’s going be a
worthy discussion that we’ll come up with, and it will be a worthy analysis.” District
Leader 3 reiterated that district leadership looked at data and results when evaluating
district professional development on 21
st
century skills. District Leader 4 expounded
on the response regarding district leadership evaluating professional development by
adding, “We do an evaluation after all professional developments. We conduct a
professional development analysis of what happened and what happened as a result
of what happened.”
High School Principal 1 noted the commitment by the Board of Education,
the Superintendent and the Director of Education Technology and CTE as being
critical entities for evaluating professional development on 21
st
century skills:
Because the Board, the Superintendent and the Director of Education
Technology and CTE are big on 21st Century Skills, [principals] talk about
these kinds of things. The district is really high achieving, but the Board
especially has held [the Superintendent’s] feet to the fire on the question,
“What are doing for those kids that aren't planning on going off to four-year
schools? How are we helping them?” So part of our evaluation is addressing
what are we doing for those kids.

High School Principal 2 was not sure how district leadership evaluated professional
development on 21
st
century skills but recognized district leadership was actively
involved in directing the IT and ET departments to create professional development
for the district. Similarly, High School Principal 3 acknowledged district leadership
80
played a critical role in creating and evaluating professional development on 21
st

century skills, although specifically how evaluation occurred was unknown. High
School Principal 4 hypothesized the Superintendent was directly responsible for
directing district leadership to evaluate professional development on 21
st
century
skills. High School Principal 4 explained that the Assistant Superintendent actively
monitored and communicated with principals’ about successes related to schools.
“The way that [district leadership] monitors and evaluates is through feedback. It’s
not in negative way, but I get a lot of feedback from the district.”
The third sub-question requested interviewees to reflect on the following:
Are there additional observations about a school district related to 21
st
century skills?
District Leader 1 responded there was a push against 21
st
century skills, in part,
because of the focus on standards and assessments:
It’s so hard to get people to understand 21
st
century skills are not an “add-
on.” [We] have a societal and political influence that is focusing on core
standards and not looking at anything outside those. I just feel like right now
it’s a little bit like we are pushing a giant rock uphill because all the inertia is
pushing back.

District Leader 2 expressed concerns about the district missing critical aspects of 21
st

century skills:
What gets measured gets taught. Although I think we have worked really
hard at defining 21
st
century skills, I think we are very unprepared to look at
how do we measure it; and I think that’s really a critical element we’re
missing. It is missing because it’s not easy.

District Leader 3 underscored the role of the Superintendent in moving the district to
embrace 21
st
skills development. “The Superintendent brought professional learning
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communities here five years ago, and we’ve stuck to the core values of it. That has a
lot to do with the success of our district, the success of our career technical education
programs and 21
st
century skills.” District Leader 4 commented the school district
was committed to prepare students to be productive in the 21
st
century. “You really
do need strong community partnerships and internships for 21
st
century skills; you
can’t do it alone.” To ensure students are taught problem-solving skills, District
Leader 4 recommended the district maintained its focus on rigor and results. “We
always go back to the fact that the way to get anywhere is by making sure we have
rigorous expectations for our students, measure the results and use those results to
guide future actions.”
High School Principal 1 reflected on the fact that the district had made great
strides in addressing 21
st
century skills but acknowledged that challenges remained:
We have moved quite far in the last couple of years, but I still think we have
a long way to go. We haven't really “flushed-out” our career pathways, but
we have better class [choices] in place to be able to do that. It'll be easier to
meet the needs of our kids once we have a fully “flushed-out” process, and
we're moving towards that direction.

Although High School Principal 2 had no additional observations about a school
district related to 21
st
century skills, High School Principal 3 stated the district has a
clear focus for addressing 21
st
century skills. “[21
st
century skills] are something the
school has always been promoting, and I am pleased the district is interested in
advancing career technical education and believes in those core principles.” High
School Principal 4 concluded that while the district is committed to 21
st
century
skills development, challenges remain regarding implementation. “The conversation
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surrounding 21
st
century skills is timely and interesting…we’ve talked about 21
st

century skills, but little has changed in our schools in the last decade.”
Findings: Document Reviews
To complete document reviews, district documents were analyzed for district
leadership’s definition of 21
st
century skills and were compared to Wagner’s (2008)
theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills (Table 3).

Table 3. District Document Correlations to Wagner’s (2008) Seven Survival Skills

Document
Critical Thinking and
Problem Solving
Collaboration Across
Networks and Leading by
Influence
Agility and Adaptability 
Initiative and
Entrepreneurialism 
Effective Oral and Written
Communication 
Accessing and Analyzing
Information
Curiosity and Imagination
Strategic Plan X X X X X X X
Mission Statement X X X X
Vision Statement X X X X X X
Annual District
Professional
Development Plan
(2009-2010)
X X X X X X X
District Career
Technical
Education Pathway
Survey Results
X X X X X X X
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Analysis and Discussion
For this study, interview data and document review data was gathered to
examine a district’s perception of its implementation of 21
st
century skills and the
role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills through professional
development.
Research Question #1: How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
To address the first research question on how a school district defined 21
st

century skills, interviewees responded to two sub-questions. The four district leaders
and four high school principals expressed intertwining themes in addressing the first
sub-question that asked interviewees to identify the skills students needed for success
in the 21
st
century. The four district leaders consistently reflected students needed
communication skills and collaboration skills as part of 21
st
century skills
development. Three district leaders referenced technology skills, and two referenced
characteristics of higher-order thinking skills. While high school principals
referenced similar skills as district leaders, there was less consistency in responses.
Three of the four high school principals agreed that technology skills were essential
for students in the 21
st
century while two principals acknowledged that critical
thinking skills and problem-solving skills were essential.
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Table 4. Research Question 1

Research Question 1: How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
(a) What skills do students need to be successful in the 21
st
century?
District Leader 1 Communication skills, collaboration skills, access information
through technology, flexibility and openness to accept change
District Leader 2 Collaboration skills and application skills
District Leader 3 Communication skills and technology skills
District Leader 4 Knowledge of core subjects, global awareness, higher-order
thinking skills, technology literacy and communication skills
High School Principal 1 Technology skills, critical thinking skills, motivation and work
ethic
High School Principal 2 Critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, technology skills
collaboration skills, empathy skills, interpersonal skills, ability
to develop relationships and embrace diversity
High School Principal 3 Reading skills, writing skills, problem-solving skills,
technology skills and collaboration skills
High School Principal 4 Communication skills, critical thinking skills, intellectual
agility and adaptability
(b) What strategies does a district utilize to determine the skills students need?
District Leader 1 Literature and research on 21
st
century skills, data from school
sites and Board of Education resource allocations
District Leader 2 Information and data from California Career Technical
Education (CTE) standards, surveys from industry leaders on
industry competencies, research and literature on 21
st
century
skills, and the Kuder Program
District Leader 3 Dialogue with other district leaders
District Leader 4 Technology assessments, the Kuder Program, literature and
guest speaker presentations
High School Principal 1 The Kuder Program and information from the Director of
Educational Technology and CTE
High School Principal 2 The Kuder Program, career technical education assessments and
surveys and student assessments from counselors and teachers
High School Principal 3 District-established core curriculum
High School Principal 4 Principal input
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Comparing interviewee responses with Wagner’s (2008) theoretical
framework on 21
st
century skills, data from interviews revealed similarities between
district leadership responses and Wagner’s “Seven Survival Skills.” District leaders
and high school principals concluded students needed elements of the following
skills referenced by Wagner: critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration
across networks and leading by influence, agility and adaptability, initiative and
entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written communication and accessing and
analyzing information. However, neither district leaders nor high school principals
referenced curiosity and imagination, the last of Wagner’s “Seven Survival Skills.”
District documents that were reviewed for the study also identified skills
students needed for success in the 21
st
century. The district’s Strategic Plan, Mission
Statement, Vision Statement, Annual District Professional Development Plan (2009-
2010) and District Career Technical Education Pathway Survey Results were
analyzed for connections to Wagner’s (2008) “Seven Survival Skills.” Comparisons
showed the district’s Strategic Plan, Annual District Professional Development Plan
(2009-2010) and District Career Technical Education Pathway Survey Results
incorporated seven of Wagner’s skills, while the Vision Statement omitted curiosity
and imagination; and the Mission Statement omitted effective oral and written
communication, accessing and analyzing information and curiosity and imagination.
In discussing strategies the district applied to determine skills students
needed for the 21
st
century, both district leaders and high school principals
referenced using either formal or informal data. Two district leaders and two high
86
school principals stated that the district used the Kuder Program to help determine
skills students needed for the 21
st
century, while two other district leaders and one
principal indicated that the district used other forms of data, including assessment
data from school sites, principal input and dialogue with district leaders. Of the eight
interviewees, two referred to components of career technical education as being
instrumental in providing direction with determining the skills students needed for
the 21
st
century and one referenced literature and research on 21
st
century skills.
District documents revealed that the district incorporated the use of data from
surveys to determine skills students needed for the 21
st
century and the degree to
which school sites provided access to the skills. The document, Career Technical
Education Pathway Survey Results 2010, required members of schools sites to
determine the levels of access schools provided students in the 11 key elements of
high quality career technical education programs. Not only did the survey allow the
district to ascertain the degrees in which schools were providing students access to
skills, but also components of the survey aligned with all seven of Wagner’s (2008)
“Seven Survival Skills.”
87
Research Question #2: How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills
development?
In addressing the second research question, interviewees responded to four
sub-questions surrounding how a school district’s implemented 21
st
century skills.
Interviewee responses to the first sub-question on the district’s implementation plan
revealed most interviewees connected the district’s career technical education
emphasis to the district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills. Three district
leaders referenced district plans of creating career technical education pathways as
components of the district plan and while two high school principals mentioned
varying elements of career technical education. Another common theme regarding
the district’s plan for implementing 21
st
century skills was connected to teachers.
Two district leaders reflected that the district plan included providing specific
training to teachers on 21
st
century skills. One district leader and one high school
principal communicated that the district plan included hiring specific personnel to
monitor 21
st
century skill development and support school sites, and one district
leader and one high school principal reconnected the district’s plan to the Kuder
Program. Of the eight interviewees, only one high school principal was unclear
about the district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills.
88
Table 5. Research Question 2

Research Question 2: How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills development?
(a) What is a district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills development?
District Leader 1 Focus on technology to ensure that all teachers become technology
proficient and the creation of four zones responsible for developing
career technical education pathways
District Leader 2 The creation of the four zones responsible for developing career
technical education pathways, student access to the Kuder Program, the
use of Regional Occupational Program teachers to teach career technical
education classes and the application of the professional learning
community model to career technical education professional
development for teachers
District Leader 3 Provide career technical education pathways for students and retrain
teachers in 21
st
century skills
District Leader 4 Provide earlier grade-level access to 21
st
century skills, maintaining both
the Educational Technology and Infrastructure Technology Departments
and retrain teachers in 21
st
century skills
High School Principal 1 Hired the Director of Education Technology and CTE to monitor 21
st

century skill development, provide student access to the Kuder Program
and provide resources for business partnerships and student mentorships
High School Principal 2 Dialogue between district leaders and principals
High School Principal 3 Dialogue between district leaders and principals, survey students about
career technical education courses offerings and dialogue between
parents, teachers, counselors, students and principals about career
technical education courses offerings
High School Principal 4 Unclear about district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills
(b) How are district funds allocated to support the implementation plan for 21st century skills?
District Leader 1 District-wide access to literature on 21
st
century skills, conference
attendance on 21
st
century skills, apply the professional learning
community model to career technical education professional
development for teachers and hired personnel to oversee Educational
Technology and career technical education
District Leader 2 The Kuder Program and apply the professional learning community
model to career technical education professional development for
teachers
District Leader 3 Provide teachers training in career technical education
District Leader 4 Personnel to oversee Educational Technology and CTE and maintain
district departments: Educational Technology and an Infrastructure
Technology
High School Principal 1 Personnel to oversee Educational Technology and CTE
High School Principal 2 Personnel to oversee Educational Technology and CTE and maintain
Educational Technology Department
High School Principal 3 Unsure about district fund allocations
High School Principal 4 Resources that allows principals to tailor master schedules for classes
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Table 5, continued

(c) What district organizational structures exist to support students’ acquisition of 21
st
century
skills?
District Leader 1 Principals’ meetings twice a month, countywide meetings for teachers
and administrators, guest speaker who address challenges surrounding
21
st
century skills development and technology-based data-gathering
systems
District Leader 2 Applying the professional learning community model to career technical
education professional development, Advisory Board Days, partnering
with Regional Occupational Programs and creating four feeder pattern
zones responsible for developing career technical education pathways
District Leader 3 District leaders focusing on 21
st
century skills
District Leader 4 The Superintendent’s vision and personnel choices, district electronic
document tracking systems and applying the professional learning
community model to career technical education
High School Principal 1 Applying the professional learning community model to career technical
education and personnel who oversee Educational Technology and CTE
High School Principal 2 Holding Principal Professional Learning Community meetings, applying
the professional learning community model to career technical education
and personnel who oversee Educational Technology and CTE
High School Principal 3 Personnel who oversee Educational Technology and CTE
High School Principal 4 Secondary Education Department, Director of Secondary Education and
the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education
(d) How does a district address resistance to implementing 21
st
century skills?
District Leader 1 Help teachers understand 21
st
century skills relevancy
District Leader 2 Little resistance experienced
District Leader 3 Support teachers’ interests and find what motivates them to learn new
skills
District Leader 4 Support teachers’ interests and find what motivates them to learn new
skills
High School Principal 1 No resistance experienced
High School Principal 2 Implementation of professional learning communities
High School Principal 3 No resistance experienced
High School Principal 4 District philosophy of focusing on what is best for students
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The second sub-question generated some commonalities from interviewees
on how district funds were allocations in support of 21
st
century skills
implementation. One district leader and two high school principals noted that the
district allocated funds for personnel to oversee Educational Technology and CTE as
well as provided resources for the Educational Technology and Infrastructure
Technology Departments. Two district leaders noted that funds were allocated for
the application of the professional learning community model to career technical
education professional development while another district leader recognized that
funds were allocated to provide teachers training in career technical education. One
high school principal mentioned that the district allocated funds to support principals
in creating site-specific master schedules while one principal was unsure about how
the district allocated funds to support the implementation plan for 21
st
century skills.
In response to the sub-question on district organizational structures that
support students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills, two district leaders and two high
school principals referenced the district’s application of the professional learning
community model to career technical education professional development. One
district leader and two high school principals explained that personnel hired to
oversee Educational Technology and CTE were components of the district
organizational structure that supported students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills.
One district leader and one high school principal noted that the organizational
structure of principals’ meetings as being design to support students’ acquisition of
21
st
century skills, and one high school principal acknowledged the Department of
91
Secondary Education under the direction of the Director of Secondary Education and
the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education were essential components of
the district’s organizational structure supporting students’ acquisition of 21
st
century
skills.
Responses to the question on how a district addressed resistance to
implementing 21
st
century skills were categorized into four basic responses. One
district leader and two high school principals responded there was little to no
resistance to 21
st
century skills implementation. Two district leaders indicated that
understanding teachers’ interests and supporting them by learning what motivates
them to acquire new skills helped the district overcome resistance to 21
st
century
skills. One district leader noted that helping teachers understand the relevancy of
21
st
century skills curtailed resistance, and one high school principal admitted that
the district philosophy of focusing on what is best for students reduced resistance to
21
st
century skills implementation.
Overwhelmingly, interviewees made correlations between the
implementation of 21
st
century skills and career technical education pathways. They
noted that the district provided a unifying vision and curriculum through career
technical education, which allowed teachers to connect instructional goals with life
and curriculum goals for students (Langer, 2001). Interviewees further determined
that the district’s designation of resources created organizational structures and
positions that provided oversight for district initiatives related to 21
st
century skills.
This oversight translated into the district providing personnel with the abilities to
92
coach and mentor stakeholders on 21
st
century skills development (Partnership for
21
st
Century Skills, 2006). By using a unifying vision and curriculum, organizational
structures, personnel and resources, the district created support for 21
st
century skills
development while mitigating resistance.
Research Question #3: To what extent is professional development being used by a
school district to implement 21
st
century skills?
Focusing on the third research question, interviewees responded to three sub-
questions related to the extent professional development was used by a school
district to implement 21
st
skills. When reflecting on the sub-question on how a
district’s professional development plan emphasized 21
st
century skills, three themes
evolved. Two district leaders and three high school principals agreed that the
district’s professional development plan emphasized 21
st
century skills through
aspects of the district’s plan for career technical education. Of the five interviewees,
three added that the district’s commitment to professional learning community
implementation was an important element of CTE plans. One district leader
emphasized that professional learning communities by themselves were a part of the
district’s plan to help teachers focus students on acquiring 21
st
century skills. One
district leader stated that the district’s professional development plan emphasized
21
st
century skills by using guest speakers for principal and leadership meetings and
by addressing issues of relevance, accessing information, flexibility and
collaboration. The fourth high school principal believed the district’s professional
93
development plan emphasized 21
st
century skills by allowing high schools to
individualize professional development to meet student needs.

Table 6. Research Question 3

Research Question 3: To what extent is professional development being used by a school
district to implement 21
st
century skills?
(a) How does a district’s professional development plan emphasize 21
st
century skills?
District Leader 1 Professional development plan articulated by the
Superintendent uses guest speakers for principal and leadership
meetings and focuses on the issues of relevance, accessing
information, flexibility and collaboration
District Leader 2 Creation of career technical education action plans and career
technical education pathways with a professional learning
community focus
District Leader 3 Hiring of personnel who oversees Educational Technology and
CTE and providing release time for teachers to attend
professional development on 21
st
century skills
District Leader 4 Using the professional learning community model to support
teachers in helping students to acquire 21
st
century skills and
investing resources into training teachers
High School Principal 1 Allows high schools to individualize professional development
High School Principal 2 The Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent emphasize
professional learning communities within career technical
education pathways
High School Principal 3 Connects to the district’s plans for career technical education
High School Principal 4 Applies the professional learning community model to career
technical education
(b) To what extent does a district provide to stakeholders professional development on
21st century skills?
District Leader 1 Through conference attendance for administrators and teachers
on 21
st
century skills, principal’s meetings and the Discovery
Education program
District Leader 2 Through professional development for career technical
education which has a professional learning community focus
District Leader 3 Through conference attendance
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Table 6, continued

District Leader 4 Through district leadership’s shared reading experiences and
conference attendance for district leadership, administrators
and teachers
High School Principal 1 Through conference attendance and support from the Director
of Education Technology and CTE
High School Principal 2 Through individualized professional development for high
schools
High School Principal 3 Through professional development that is open to teachers and
principals
High School Principal 4 Through conversations, formal and informal, with district
leadership
(c) How do organizational structures and policies ensure the evaluation and monitoring of
professional development of 21
st
century skills
District Leader 1 Data-driven accountability philosophy exists between the
district and principals regarding evaluation and monitoring
professional development on 21
st
century skills and the district
connects data results to principal personnel evaluations
District Leader 2 The district incorporates various surveys which serve to
benchmark current practices and outcomes including
evaluating and monitor professional development
District Leader 3 The district uses data to determine student success in career
technical education pathways
District Leader 4 The district created a philosophy to use data for decision-
making, including professional development
High School Principal 1 Principals have the individual flexibility to evaluate and
monitor professional development at school sites and the
Director of Education Technology and CTE helps to evaluate
and monitor career technical education programs
High School Principal 2 The use of surveys to from the district’s Information and
Technology Department
High School Principal 3 Unsure as to how district’s organizational structures and
policies ensured the evaluation and monitoring of professional
development on 21
st
century skills
High School Principal 4 Monitoring professional development is a function of
professional learning communities at school sites and
principals evaluate and monitoring the effectiveness of
professional development and report results to district leaders.
95
The second sub-question on the extent a district’s provided professional
development to stakeholders on 21
st
century skills evoked two general responses.
Three district leaders and one high school principal indicated that the district
provided professional development to stakeholders on 21
st
century skills through
conference attendance. One district leader and two high school principals referenced
professional development either related to career technical education or directly
offered to high schools. However, one high school principal noted that
conversations with district leadership generated professional development on 21
st

century skills to stakeholders.
The third sub-question on how organizational structures and policies ensured
the evaluation and monitoring of professional development of 21
st
century skills
elicited various responses with an emergent theme that had to do with the importance
of data. Two district leaders referenced the district’s philosophy of using data for
decision-making as a policy that ensured the evaluation and monitoring of
professional development on 21
st
century skills. One district leader and one high
school principal alluded to the use of survey data from organizational structures as a
district policy that ensured the evaluation and monitoring of professional
development. One district leader and one high school principal indicated the
district’s analysis of data related to career technical education programs and
pathways ensured the evaluation and monitoring of professional development.
Although one high school principal was unsure how district organizational structures
and policies evaluated and monitored professional development on 21
st
century
96
skills, another high school principal stated that monitoring professional development
was a function of professional learning community work at school sites; principals
evaluated and monitored the effectiveness of professional development and report
results to district leaders.
A review of district documents corroborated interviewee responses regarding
the extent professional development was used by a school district to implement 21
st

century skills. The Annual District Professional Development Plan for 2009-2010
evidenced a variety of district professional development opportunities aligned with
each of Wagner’s (2008) “Seven Survival Skills.” Additionally, the district held
targeted professional development on professional learning communities with career
technical education pathway emphasis and allocated resources so stakeholders could
attend career technical education conferences. To determine the extent of
effectiveness of professional development, the district utilized technology to survey
participants while gathering data for future professional development, a component
of Deming’s (2000) four-step feedback loop framework.
97
Research Question #4: What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st

century skills through professional development?
Addressing the fourth research question, interviewees responded to three sub-
questions regarding the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development. Interviewee responses to the first sub-question
on how district leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century skills through
professional development created a consensus of three types of answers. The most
prevalent response given by three district leaders and two high school principals was
the Board of Education, the Superintendent and/or the Director of Education
Technology and CTE were critical members of district leadership that emphasized
district goals and provided direction for the advancement of 21
st
century skills. Two
high school principals noted district leadership provided funding and resources for
21
st
century skills professional development, and one district leader stated the
district’s results-oriented philosophy articulated by district leaders advanced 21
st

century skills development.
98
Table 7. Research Question 4

Research Question 4: What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
(a) How has district leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century skills through
professional development?
District Leader 1 Emphasis on 21
st
century skills development by the Board of
Education and the Superintendent
District Leader 2 Emphasis on 21
st
century skills development by the
Superintendent and the Director of Education Technology and
CTE
District Leader 3 District leadership connects a results-oriented philosophy to
21
st
century skills development
District Leader 4 Emphasis on 21
st
century skills development by the
Superintendent, who further directs other district leaders
High School Principal 1 Director of Education Technology and CTE acts as a liaison
to help principals meet district goals and district leadership
provides resources for principals to be creative
High School Principal 2 District leadership provides funding and resources
High School Principal 3 District leadership provides funds
High School Principal 4 The Superintendent clearly articulates the district’s goals
related to 21
st
century skills
(b) How does district leadership evaluate professional development on 21
st
century skills?
District Leader 1 Utilizes online survey from a third party, K12 Insight
District Leader 2 Utilizes teacher-generated action plans, discussion and
dialogue
District Leader 3 District leadership looks at data and results
District Leader 4 District leadership conducts evaluations after professional
development
High School Principal 1 The Board of Education, the Superintendent and the Director
of Education Technology and CTE provides direction for
principal discussions
High School Principal 2 Unsure of how but notes district leadership directs the IT and
ET departments to create professional development on 21
st

century skills
99

Table 7, continued

High School Principal 3 Unsure of how but notes district leadership plays a role in
creating and evaluating professional development on 21
st

century skills
High School Principal 4 Feedback from the Assistant Superintendent, who actively
monitors and communicates with principals’ about school
successes
(c) Additional observations about a school district related to 21
st
century skills
District Leader 1 There is resistance to 21
st
century skills because there is a
focus on standards and assessments
District Leader 2 More work needs to be done on how 21
st
century skills are
measured
District Leader 3 The implementation of professional learning communities has
contributed to the successes
District Leader 4 The district is committed to 21
st
century skills development
and will continue to maintain its focus on rigor and results
High School Principal 1 Challenges still remain in creating career pathways but
progress is occurring
High School Principal 2 None
High School Principal 3 The district has a clear focus for addressing 21
st
century skills
High School Principal 4 Questions remain regarding the implementation of 21
st

century skills and moving schools forward
100
Responding to the second sub-question, interviewees had varying ideas
regarding how district leadership evaluated professional development on 21
st
century
skills. Two district leaders explained that district leadership had provided the
resource of an online survey from a third party, K12 Insight, to conduct evaluations
after professional development meetings. One district leader and two high school
principals referenced that district leadership was responsible for providing direction,
reviewing data and results, and monitoring and communicating with school sites,
thus, evaluating professional development. Another district leader indicated that
district leadership supported teachers in creating actions plans, which were then used
for dialogue and discussion. Two high school principals had different responses.
They recognized that district leadership played crucial roles in creating and directing
professional development efforts; however, they lacked concrete knowledge on how
district leadership evaluated professional development on 21
st
century skills.
The last sub-research question asked interviewees to respond to additional
observations about the school district related to 21
st
century skills. Two district
leaders and two high school principals explained that resistance was present and
challenges remained regarding the implementation of 21
st
century skills. One district
leader added that more work needs to be done in measuring 21
st
century skills.
While one high school principal had no additional observations about the school
district related to 21
st
century skills, another high school principal and two district
leaders commented that the district had a clear focus for addressing 21
st
century
101
skills, had successes with connecting 21
st
century skill development to professional
learning communities and was committed to 21
st
century skills development.
Data from document reviews confirmed interviewee responses regarding the
role of leaders in advancing 21
st
century skills through professional development.
District leaders were instrumental in creating district professional development for
21
st
century skills and were committed to use data to determine whether professional
development activities were effective. District leaders fostered a district culture
characterized by expanding pedagogical practices and coordinating service
organizations that supported school communities (Fullan, 2005) where stakeholders
could explore instructional goals and approaches to reach those goals (Darling-
Hammond & and McLaughlin, 1995).
Summary
Chapter four reviewed district data evidencing the impact of district
leadership on professional development programs in a district that has an
instructional focus to implement 21
st
century skills. Applying Wagner’s (2008)
theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills, the study examined the district’s
perception of its implementation of 21
st
century skills. The study also investigated
the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills through professional
development. Data for the case study was collected through interviews and
document reviews. Interviews elicited participant responses to four research
questions with accompanying sub-questions. District documents were reviewed for
connections to Wagner’s theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills. Findings from
102
interviews and document reviews were analyzed and discussed and connections were
made with literature from Chapter Two: Review of Literature. A summary of the
study, conclusions, and implications are presented in Chapter Five.
103
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS
The conversation regarding 21
st
century skills stemmed from a national
recognition that students in the United States were unprepared to compete within a
global marketplace against international peers. Citing data from international
assessments comparing reading, math and science scores of students in the United
States to students in comparable countries, (Baldi, Jin, Skemer, Green, & Herget,
2007; Gonzales, Williams, Jocelyn, Roey, Kastberg, & Brenwald, 2008; Martin,
Mullis, & Kennedy, 2007; Miller, Sen, Malley, & Burns, 2009), the United States
encouraged districts to address 21
st
century skill development while simultaneously
addressing local, state and federal education mandates. This study explored how the
district leadership of one school district addressed 21
st
century skills development
through professional development.
The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the study, present conclusions
and discuss implications of collected data. Summary of the study will review
methodology used to gather data as well as the study’s guiding research questions.
Conclusions of the study will review findings from data collection and connections
made to Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills. Implications
of the study will address recommendations for future research.
Summary of the Study
Applying Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills, this
study examined the impact of district leadership on professional development
104
programs in a district that had an instructional focus to implement 21
st
century skills.
The study also explored the role of district leadership in promoting 21
st
century skills
through professional development. The qualitative case study’s sample was selected
based on three criteria: 1.) unified school district with grade-level configurations
including but not limited to elementary schools, middle schools and high schools 2.)
district student enrollment between 20,000 to 25,000 students and 3.) district
commitment to address 21
st
century skills as evidenced in a mission statement, vision
statement or strategic plans.
The study used data gathered from interviews and document reviews.
Interviewees consisted of four members of the district’s leadership team: the
Director of Elementary Education and K-6 Curriculum, the Director of Education
Technology and CTE, the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education and the
Superintendent as well as four school-site high school principals. For document
reviews, five district documents were analyzed: Strategic Plan, Mission Statement,
Vision Statement, Annual District Professional Development Plan (2009-2010) and
District Career Technical Education Pathway Survey Results.
Interview and document review data was collected based on four guiding
research questions:
1. How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
2. How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills development?
3. To what extent is professional development being used by a school
district to implement 21
st
century skills?
105
4. What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
Embedded within the four questions were sub-questions that asked interviewees to
ponder relationships between 21
st
century skills, the school district’s implementation
plan for 21
st
century skills, district professional development plans and actions taken
by district leaders supporting the implementation of 21
st
century skill development.
Data from document reviews compared district leadership’s definition of 21
st
century
skills to Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills.
Conclusions
Research Question #1: How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
Responses from interviewees and data from document analysis highlighted
the district’s definition of 21
st
century skills and the strategies the district used to
determine skills students needed. While the four district leaders and four high
school principals gave varying responses for the definition of 21
st
century skills,
common themes emerged. District leaders recognized that students needed
communication skills and collaboration skills as part of 21
st
century skills
development while high school principals reflected that technology skills, critical
thinking skills and problem-solving skills were necessary for students in the 21
st

century. Interview responses aligned with Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework
on 21
st
century skills, the “Seven Survival Skills,” in six areas: critical thinking and
problem solving, collaboration across networks and leading by influence, agility and
adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written
106
communication and accessing and analyzing information. Excluded from
interviewee responses was curiosity and imagination, Wagner’s last skill.
Data analysis of district documents based on Wagner’s (2008) theoretical
framework on 21
st
century skills corroborated interviewee responses. Document
reviews revealed three key district documents that incorporated all seven elements of
Wagner’s (2008) theoretical framework: the Strategic Plan, Annual District
Professional Development Plan (2009-2010) and District Career Technical
Education Pathway Survey Results. The district’s Vision Statement excluded
curiosity and imagination; and the Mission Statement did not reflect effective oral
and written communication, accessing and analyzing information or curiosity and
imagination.
To determine the skills students needed for the 21
st
century, district leaders,
high school principals and district documents referenced the use of data. District
leaders and high school principals noted the district used data from the Kuder
Program, a software application for students, assessment data, anecdotal data
gathered through dialogue and discussion with district leaders and data from
research-based literature on 21
st
century skills. District documents evidenced the
district incorporated the use of surveys to gather data. However, both interviewees
and document reviews noted career technical education provided direction with
determining the skills students needed for the 21
st
century.
107
Research Question #2: How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills
development?
Interview responses were used to determine how a school district
implemented 21
st
century skills development and included the reoccurring theme of
career technical education. By either referencing career technical education
pathways, specific professional development related to career technical education, or
personnel hired to monitor career technical education, both district leaders and high
school principals recognized that career technical education as a vital component of
21
st
century skills development for the district. Although two district leaders
mentioned training teachers on 21
st
century skills, the implication was that the
district intended to use components of career technical education for training
teachers on 21
st
century skills development.
To address how a school district allocated funds for the implementation of
21
st
century skills development, interviewees recognized that district funds were
allocated in at least one of four ways. The school district provided funds for
personnel to oversee the department, Educational Technology and CTE; resources
for the Educational Technology and Infrastructure Technology Departments;
resources to apply the professional learning community model to career technical
education professional development and resources so that school-sites principals
could tailor master schedules to meet the needs of specific populations of students.
The district utilized specific organizational structures to implement and
advance 21
st
century skills development. Interviewees noted most organizational
108
structures were supervised by the Department of Secondary Education, lead by the
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education. One structure included the use of
district personnel, the Director of Educational Technology and CTE, to execute and
monitor the district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills and professional
learning communities aligned with career technical education pathways. Another
district’s organizational structure referenced by interviewees was that the principals’
meetings helped principals to understand district expectations and goals for 21
st

century skills development.
Interviewees indicated that resistance to district implementation of 21
st

century skills was minimal. According to interviewees, little to no resistance was
experienced. Reasons for limited resistance included steps the district took in
helping teachers understand the relevancy of 21
st
century skills as well as district
interest in supporting teachers learn new knowledge and skills associated with 21
st

century skill development. The overwhelming implied message from interviewees
was the district’s philosophy of focusing on “…what’s best for students” mitigated
resistance to 21
st
century skills development.
Research Question #3: To what extent is professional development being used by a
school district to implement 21
st
century skills?
Both interview data and document review data were used to determine the
extent to which professional development was used by a school district to implement
21
st
century skills. Interview data evidenced the emphasis of 21
st
century skills
through district professional development plans. The district’s professional
109
development plan included provisions for career technical education, with a focus on
implementing professional learning communities for career technical education
pathways. The district’s professional development plan also included the inclusion
of guest speakers for principal and leadership meetings. Equally important, the
district’s professional development plan offered latitude in allowing school sites to
individualize professional development to meet student needs.
Interview data and document review data detailed the extent a district
provided professional development to stakeholders on 21
st
century skills.
Interviewees responded that the district had provided professional development to
stakeholders by promoting conference attendance on 21
st
century skills and/or career
technical education. Also noted were conversations between district leadership and
principals that advanced professional development on 21
st
century skills to
stakeholders. Document review data further evidenced various district professional
development opportunities. The Annual District Professional Development Plan for
2009-2010 outlined district professional development, which aligned with Wagner’s
(2008) “Seven Survival Skills.”
In addressing how organizational structures and policies ensured the
evaluation and monitoring of 21
st
century skills professional development, both
interviewees and reviewed documents made connections to data. All but one
interviewee explained the district considered various types of data to evaluate and
monitor professional development on 21
st
skills. However, it was implied by
interviewees that the Director of Education Technology and CTE ensured the
110
evaluation and monitoring of professional development on 21
st
century skills. Data
from document reviews revealed similar conclusions. The District Career Technical
Education Pathway Survey Results, collected by the Director of Education
Technology and CTE, not only evidenced the district’s collection of survey data on
21
st
century skills development but also teachers’ self-reflections and monitoring of
21
st
century skills in their classrooms and school sites.
Research Question #4: What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st

century skills through professional development?
Responses from interviewees and data from document reviews addressed the
role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills through professional
development. Five interviewees identified the Board of Education, the
Superintendent and/or the Director of Education Technology and CTE as district
leaders who were instrumental in advancing 21
st
century skills through professional
development. Two high school principals explained that district leadership ensured
that funds and resources were allocated, and one district leader reiterated that district
leaders were responsible for applying the philosophy of reviewing data to make
decisions, thus, advancing 21
st
century skills on professional development. Data
from document reviews corroborated interviewee statements on district leaders
promoting 21
st
century skills development. District leaders created district
professional development for 21
st
century skills, which was evidenced by the
document, Annual District Professional Development Plan for 2009-2010. District
leaders were also committed to use data to determine whether professional
111
development activities were effective, which was noted by the use of the District
Career Technical Education Pathway Survey Results.
Interviewees expressed various opinions on how district leadership evaluated
professional development on 21
st
century skills. Although two district leaders
explained that district leadership provided the resource of an online survey to
evaluate professional development, three other interviewees, noted that district
leadership evaluated professional development on 21
st
century skills through
oversight and dialogue with school sites. One district leader indicated that district
leadership used teacher-created action plans while two high school principals lacked
clarity on how district leadership evaluated professional development on 21
st
century
skills.
Interviewee responses regarding additional observations about the school
district related to 21
st
century skills offered two similar beliefs surrounding 21
st

century skill development in the district. Although one interviewee had no
additional observations, four interviewees acknowledged challenges still existed with
respect to 21
st
century skills development within the district, including determining
ways to measure 21
st
century skills. However, three interviewees reflected that the
district was committed to 21
st
century skills development and had a clear focus for
addressing 21
st
century skills development through connections with professional
learning communities.
112
Implications
Districts and schools continue to face challenges with balancing
accountability standards while concurrently preparing students for the 21
st
century.
Because international assessment data reveals increasing gaps between students in
the United States and students in comparable countries, school districts have been
compelled to review how students are being prepared to thrive in a global
marketplace. In support of school district leaders and leadership practices, this study
serves as a blueprint for addressing 21
st
century skills development. By using a
qualitative approach to collect interview data and document review data from a
district that has a commitment to implement 21
st
century skills, this study examined a
district’s definition of 21
st
century skills, the school district’s implementation plan
for 21
st
century skills, the extent professional development was used to implement
21
st
century skills and the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development.
This study has implications for various stakeholder groups: policy makers,
district leaders, teachers and educational researchers. For policy makers, the study
offers evidence and support for preparing students for the 21
st
century. For district
leaders, the study highlights how district leadership can implement and support 21
st

century skills development through professional development. For teachers, the
study presents how district leaders’ commitment to 21
st
century skills creates
relevant and related professional development. For educational researchers, the
study provides evidences of connections between district leadership, 21
st
century
113
skills development through professional development and Wagner’s (2008)
theoretical framework on 21
st
century skills, the “Seven Survival Skills.”
Recommendations For Future Research
Although this qualitative study reviewed practices related to district
leadership impacting 21
st
century skills in a school district committed to 21
st
century
skill development, recommendations for future relevant research should include the
following:
• How does district leaders’ evaluations of professional development on
21
st
century skills impact students’ acquisition of 21
st
century skills?
• How does a school district measure skills related to 21
st
century
development?
• How might district leaders of large school districts implement
professional development for 21
st
century skills development?
• How might district leaders measure the impact of resource allocations for
21
st
century skills development?
114
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APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS
Research Question 1
How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
• What skills do students need to be successful in the 21
st
century?
• What strategies does a district utilize to determine the skills students need?
Research Question 2
How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills development?
• What is a district’s implementation plan for 21
st
century skills development?
• How are district funds allocated to support the implementation plan for 21st
century skills?
• What district organizational structures exist to support students’ acquisition of
21
st
century skills?
• How does a district address resistance to implementing 21
st
century skills?
Research Question 3
To what extent is professional development being used by a school district to
implement 21
st
century skills?
• How does a district’s professional development plan emphasize 21
st
century
skills?
• To what extent does a district provide to stakeholders professional development
on 21st century skills?
• How do organizational structures and policies ensure the evaluation and
monitoring of professional development of 21
st
century skills?
Research Question 4
What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills through
professional development?
• How has district leadership supported the advancement of 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
• How does district leadership evaluate professional development on 21
st
century
skills?
• Are there additional observations about a school district related to 21
st
century
skills?
122
APPENDIX B
DOCUMENT REVIEW WORKSHEET
The researcher used district-generated documents for data collection.
Directions: Please answer the questions below for each document.

1. Select the type of document that will be reviewed (check one):
_____ Strategic Plan
_____ Mission Statement
_____ Vision Statement
_____ Annual district professional development plans (2009-2010)
_____ District Career Technical Education Pathway Survey Results

2. Date of document:

3. Document author (title and position only):

4. For whom was the document created:

5. Connection to Wagner’s (2008) “Seven Survival Skills”:
_____ critical thinking and problem solving
_____ collaboration across networks and leading by influence
_____ agility and adaptability
_____ initiative and entrepreneurialism
_____ effective oral and written communication
_____ accessing and analyzing information
_____ curiosity and imagination
_____ n/a

6. Connection to research questions:
_____ How has a school district defined 21
st
century skills?
_____ How has a school district implemented 21
st
century skills
development?
_____ To what extent is professional development being used by a school
district to implement 21
st
century skills?
_____ What is the role of district leadership in advancing 21
st
century skills
through professional development?
_____ n/a
123
7. Document Information—list three main ideas connected to 21
st
century skills
development:

a.

b.

c.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract School districts throughout the nation are faced with balancing a focus between meeting national standards and ensuring students have the skills to be successful in the 21st century. Because of national and international assessment data as well as national, state and local accountability measures, district leaders are challenged to provide direction that ensures students not only learn core content knowledge but also develop the skills to be competitive in a global marketplace.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Brathwaite, Angela Denine (author)

Core Title Impact of leadership on professional development programs on districts' and schools' implementation of 21st century skills

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 04/13/2011

Defense Date 02/28/2011

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag 21st century skills,district leadership,OAI-PMH Harvest,professional development

Place Name California (states), USA (countries)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Castruita, Rudy M. (committee chair), Garcia, Pedro E. (committee member), Hinman, Charles (committee member)

Creator Email allnaturalstuff@gmail.com,brathwai@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m3731

Unique identifier UC1200136

Identifier etd-Brathwaite-4402 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-445657 (legacy record id),usctheses-m3731 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Brathwaite-4402.pdf

Dmrecord 445657

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Brathwaite, Angela Denine

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu