APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018 , Vol . 1
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Testing a Customised Learning Needs Analysis Tool for Coach Development
Beth Thompson
UK Coaching
Abstract This article presents the key findings from a new learning needs analysis tool designed , developed and tested by UK Coaching to provide an evidence base for future coach learning and development . Following recent policy developments which marked the biggest shift in sport for more than a decade , UK Coaching embarked on a new programme of learning and insight to ensure it was able to respond quickly to the changing landscape . A new learning and development framework was developed , including a customised learning needs analysis , to identify the learning and development needs of coaches working across the sport and physical activity sector . This article presents the key findings from the first test of the learning needs analysis , which involved 322 people coaching in over 52 different sports / activities in the UK . The learning needs analysis included five overarching categories , considered to be central to the role of a coach ( coaching practice , people skills , knowledge and understanding , environment and risk , management and administration ). The results of the learning needs analysis identified people skills as the area that should be prioritised for future coach learning and development . The article considers the suitability of the tool for wider roll out across the sector . As far as is known , this is the first study of its kind to be conducted on the coach workforce in the UK .
Introduction The sport and physical activity sector in the UK is undergoing significant and rapid change . In 2015 , the Department for Culture , Media and Sport published Sporting Future : A New Strategy for an Active Nation 1 . With a focus on broadening engagement in sport and redefining success based on key outcome measures , Sporting Future marked the biggest shift in government policy on sport for more than a decade . Sport England ’ s response , Towards an Active Nation 2 , set out a new vision for sport and physical activity , putting the customer at the heart of decision making and focusing on those who are the least active . Coaching in an Active Nation : The Coaching Plan for England 3 presented a call to action to modernise coaching and to extend its reach through a new , broader , definition of coaching .
Further developments , including the launch of new professional standards for coaching and an independent review of the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate ( UKCC ), indicate there are likely to be major changes in the near future and have placed coach learning and development at the heart of the debate .
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