APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018 , Vol . 1
Discussion The primary aim of the study was to develop and test a new learning needs analysis tool for sports and physical activity coaches . The tool itself worked very well . Focus group participants responded positively to the questions , demonstrated a good level of understanding of the items , the framing questions and the response scale . The main criticism of the survey during focus group testing related to the number of the questions and the overall length of the questionnaire . The survey questionnaire was reduced following this feedback prior to implementation . The online version of the survey also performed very well . The survey was monitored throughout to check for completion of individual questions and for completion of the full questionnaire . All respondents who accessed the online survey link completed it in full and all responded to each of the 39 items in the core part of the questionnaire . This demonstrates a good level of understanding of the questions and the relevance of the survey to the target population .
During the analytical phase of the project , it was revealed that there was little variation in the response data . Most respondents scored each item ( both criteria ) at either three ( quite important / quite well ) or four ( very important / very well ). While this might be expected for the “ importance ” rating , given that all items were based on solid research evidence and were deemed central to the role of a coach , this was surprising for the “ demonstrate ” rating . It is difficult to know whether this is a result of the sample ( more experienced and qualified coaches than average ) or due to the scale itself . UK Coaching would like to test this further through repeating the survey with a more diverse and less experienced cohort of coaches , and through testing the use of a different ( possibly longer ) Likert scale . Once these issues have been resolved , the tool could certainly be used for wider roll-out across the sector and could be tailored according to specific need ( ie dependent on type of sport / activity or coaching role ).
References
1 https :// www . gov . uk / government / uploads / system / uploads / attachment _ data / file / 486622 / Sporting _ Future _ ACCESSIBLE . pdf
2 https :// www . sportengland . org / media / 10629 / sportengland-towards-an-active-nation . pdf
3 https :// www . sportengland . org / media / 11317 / coaching-in-an-active-nation _ the-coaching-planfor-england . pdf
4 https :// www . ukcoaching . org / sites / default / files / UK % 20Coaching % 20Strategy % 202017-21 . pdf
5 http :// www . scielo . br / scielo . php ? script = sci _ arttext & pid = S1807-76922013000100006
6 http :// www . scielo . br / scielo . php ? script = sci _ arttext & pid = S1807-76922013000100006
7 https :// www . ukcoaching . org / sites / default / files / TNA-PDP-Guide . pdf
8 https :// www . ukcoaching . org / coaching-behavioursframework
9 http :// www . who . int / workforcealliance / knowledge / HennessyHicks _ trainingneedstool . pdf
10http :// www . who . int / workforcealliance / knowledge /
HennessyHicks _ trainingneedstool . pdf
Contact Beth Thompson – researchteam @ ukcoaching . org
The tool has provided useful insight that will enable UK Coaching to develop its new learning strategy . Further research work will be undertaken in the near future to capture similar feedback from coach developers , coaching system managers and employers / deployers of coaches . This will provide a holistic picture of learning and development needs and will inform the future development of learning programmes for sports and physical activity coaches across the sector .
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