The training of coaching skills: An implementation study

Contains fulltext : 28715.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In this study, the implementation effects of a programme for the training of coaching skills with Dutch school counsellors are described. These school counsellors are expected to provide help and support to primary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in-class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning and thereby stimulate self-reflection and self-analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school counsellors in their attempts to coach teachers, a training programme was designed: 'The school counsellor as coach'. A quasi-experimental, treatment-control group investigation was then set up to test the effects of this programme. Based on the pre- and post-training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and purposefulness. The pre- and posttraining ratings from coached teachers showed no significant treatment effects. This was because the teachers were not accustomed to in-class assistance and thus rated the coaching skills of the school counsellors quite favourably even at pre-test