An online intervention to improve the moral reasoning of NAIA coaches /by Peter W. Van Mullem.

The most powerful role-model for the athlete is the coach, who is trusted to lead, teach, and develop student-athletes into better players and better people. One of the most difficult processes is to teach cognitively these leadership attributes in an efficient effective manner. Combine that problem with access to busy coaches, educational interventions usually lack in success. In addition, governing bodies fail to understand the intricacies of successful intervention. Therefore the purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effect of the NAIA's Champions of Character Program with a Servant Leadership for Coaches Online {copy} program on coach moral reasoning and knowledge of the NAIA core values.;Participants in the study consisted of 37 NAIA Coaches (male = 31, female = 6). Coaches were randomly assigned to either the control group or intervention group. The intervention group completed an online instructional program (Servant Leadership for Coaches Online {copy}) and the control group received no additional instruction. The data was analyzed using SPSS 17.0; an ANOVA procedure was used to examine main effect and interactions. When appropriate, contrast procedures were used as a follow-up to significant interactions. The effect size is reported using partial eta{esc}p2{esc}s.;An ANOVA found significant difference with the interaction of group (treatment, control) by time on HBVCI (Hahm-Beller Value Choices Inventory) scores, Wilk's Lambda F (1, 33) = 7.94, p = .008, partial eta{esc}p2{esc}s = .194. A significant linear contrast was also found. The treatment group scored significantly higher from pretest (mean = 31.58, SD = 6.78) to posttest (mean = 35.35, SD = 8.03) compared to the control group pretest (30.60, SD = 5.07) to posttest which decreased (mean = 28.8, SD = 6.13). In interpreting the results, coaches receiving the intervention (Servant Leadership for Coaches Online {copy}) appear to achieve higher scores on the HBVCI than the control group coaches.;Therefore, in the interpretation of the study, cognitive moral training appears to be effective in improving the moral reasoning of coaches through an online intervention. The development of courses similar to Servant Leadership for Coaches Online {copy} may provide a framework for effective character education programs in sport.Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, May 2009