Original Article: Office of Public Affairs, NTNU (2021.08.31)
[This article is provided by the research team of Professor Lin Ching-Ping, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences]
(English Version Powered by ChatGPT, Edited by Serena H.)
This paper investigates the sources of coaching knowledge of athletic coaches. First, it starts with discussing the theoretical foundation of coach education from the perspectives of knowledge capture and community participation, it is concluded that the learning outcomes need the complementary interaction of the two to construct a cognitive structure. Second, from educational perspective, the discussion includes:
Formal Education: Courses provided by schools or government systems with highly standardized curricula and assessments, offering diplomas or certificates, including university programs in physical education, graduate institutes for sports coaching, and training courses for full-time coaches at all school levels.
Non-formal Education: Organized by local sports associations, clubs, or coaching organizations, where participation in conferences, training sessions, or seminars is voluntary. These courses are usually short-term, voluntary, and often have no entry requirements, including sport-specific seminars, workshops, conferences, study tours, and training camps.
Informal Education: This refers to educational opportunities outside of formal and non-formal systems. Arising from daily life and workplace experiences, where coaches are often unaware that the process of learning is occurring, interacting and learning through completing tasks, interactions, and the transmission of organizational culture. Also, supplemental learning through resourceful ways, such as online information and professional coaching communities also enriches the knowledge base of the coaches.
Analysis shows that informal learning may be a major source of coaching knowledge. Therefore, incorporating the concept of socially constructed knowledge through interaction can be seen as an essential component of coach development alongside formal education.
Coach training is key to maintaining and enhancing the professionalism of sports coaches, and different types of learning opportunities (formal education, non-formal learning, and informal learning) have varying effects on the development of coaching knowledge.
Through analysis findings, the current coach education programs are mostly theory-oriented, focusing on skills, techniques, and competition tactics. Experts often enhance their knowledge through informal networks, interpersonal and organizational interactions, and by observing other coaches and mentors.
The research also found that current training programs fail to incorporate experience, personal traits, and coaching philosophy into formal systems, revealing that the current form of coach education does not effectively extract usable knowledge for preparing rookie coaches, and has limited impact on practical coaching work (Wu & Lin, 2016; González-Rivera et al., 2017).
Knowledge construction occurs through action within social contexts, the knowledge and skills that coaches acquire must be constructed within authentic, contextualized situations. That is, meaningful learning often occurs in real-life contexts where new ideas can be applied, whereas in artificial settings, learning depends on experiential methods, so that training knowledge can be deeply internalized and more readily retrieved.
In informal learning, coaches are often unaware that informal learning is taking place, such as task completion, interpersonal interactions, and the transmission of organizational culture. Also, daily experiences in the workplace or during training are considered valuable for learning.
A coach’s previous training and hands-on experience are important channels for acquiring knowledge. And their personal experiences as athletes from the early days also plays an important role in filtering and integrating coaching knowledge, with the performance of individual sports particularly influenced by coaches’ own athletic backgrounds.
From participation and observation, to eventually becoming a coach, these formative experiences shape a coach’s career, continue to influence their beliefs and behaviors.
Additionally, participants view formal and structured mentorship as the most crucial factor in coaching professional development, not only benefiting novice coaches in progress, but also providing great value for experienced coaches in mentoring roles, allowing them to expand and diversify their experience.
The development of coaching knowledge is a social process of knowledge sharing. Take coaching network, for example, it aims at breaking boundaries by using the internet to connect individuals, groups, or organizations, and facilitating knowledge sharing and innovation.
However, the research of Wu and Lin (2017) found that expert coaches in Taiwan generally thinks that their training methods are personal and valuable, and that they tend to be reluctant to share the methods unless its within their direct hierarchy or system, which makes knowledge sharing relatively conservative among Taiwanese coaches with limited collaboration and reflective dialogue between coaches.
Professional coaching communities may be a modern trend, but mutual trust must be developed. Only by building trust and a shared sense of purpose within the community and fostering habits of sharing can knowledge be rapidly disseminated, which leads to achieving the goal of problem solving collaboratively.
Coaches can also grow through diverse supplemental learning. With platforms like YouTube and sports training websites providing fast access to information, these are valuable learning resources for the development of coaching knowledge.
Reflection and reinterpretation of past coaching experiences are also important. Emphasizing the learning concept through “knowing in action” and “reflecting in action,” building professional coaching communities and engaging in peer exchange are also effective channels for enhancing coaching knowledge.
Analysis reveals that informal learning may be a key source of coaching knowledge, including mentorship, hands-on training experiences, and observing others, as well as supplemental learning through online information and coaching communities, all contribute to building a rich knowledge base for coaches.
Thus, supporting formal education with the concept of socially constructed knowledge through interaction should be considered a vital part of coach development.
ORIGINAL LINK: https://rh.acad.ntnu.edu.tw/tw/article/content/98
THESIS: https://www.airitilibrary.com/Publication/alDetailedMesh?docid=10247300-201903-201904170003-201904170003-1-8
Professor Lin Ching-Ping | Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences
Professor Lin Ching-Ping is a faculty member in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences. Her research focuses on sport education, with particular attention to physical education teacher training, as well as curriculum and instruction in physical education. In recent years, she has been dedicated to promoting reform in physical education curricula.