Teacher engagement in instructional coaching: A systematic review of motivational drivers, barriers, and implementation strategies

Although instructional coaching is increasingly used as a form of professional development, its efficacy is contingent on teacher participation, which is influenced by both psychological and contextual factors. This systematic review examines qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research with the aim of understanding engagement, its measurement, and influencing factors. Through the application of motivational and organizational theories, the review highlights important factors enabling engagement such as autonomy, relevance of the instruction, self-efficacy, and support at the leadership level. Barriers to engagement include lack of time, role ambiguity, insufficient resources, and unsupportive school climates. Evidence supports the need for adaptive coaching models, engagement-focused collaborative goal-setting, trust development, and technology to strengthen participation. Regardless of importance, engagement has the most flexible, loosely defined, and poorly assessed criteria across the body of research. One of the most important insights is that coaching is most effective when it is tailored to fit the psychological needs of teachers and the realities of their working environments. This study is one of the few that investigates teacher engagement in instructional coaching through an integrated lens of motivational and organizational theory. The primary contribution of the paper is the finding that sustained engagement relies on this alignment. Additionally, the study documents the internal and external factors that influence participation.