in education , health , business , and professional learning . All the findings were condensed in one document for the benefit of those leading the development of coaching . At the time , the seven co-authors remarked that coach learning was still developing as a legitimate area of research , with a lack of theoretically grounded and robust evidence to usefully apply in practice . More than a decade later , is this still the case ? What ’ s changed , and what have I learned about coach learning in a decade of researching , participating , lecturing and coaching ?
1 . Coaching and learning are complex
One of the first obstacles I came up against is that there is no agreed definition of learning , which makes it a tricky concept to be clear and simple about . How you understand learning depends on your worldview on the nature of reality and how we can know things , and the relationship of various actors ( such as coaches ) to the world . Just like coaching itself then , there is no one ‘ right way ’ to understand or approach coach learning . However , for some time it has generally been accepted that coaching is a complex socio-cultural endeavour , meaning that there are often competing and dynamic demands placed on coaches , influenced by layers of culture , tradition , and history .
I would summarise how research has progressed by suggesting that it has changed from describing coaches ’ learning in different situations , to attempting to explain the varied influences touched upon above ( i . e . social , cultural and historical ). There is also a point to make about how we research and ‘ measure ’ coach learning . Consider this : not everything that can be counted in coach learning counts , and not everything that counts can be counted . What we focus on , observe , or measure has implications for our ability to draw useful conclusions from any investigation . Using a mixture of methods over time has potential for building a more complete understanding of the complexities of coaches ’ learning .
2 . Coaches learn from a blend of experiences
This one might seem obvious , but research in the last decade has confirmed : coaches learn through a multitude of experiences that combine or blend through serendipity ( i . e . by chance in a beneficial manner ). Researchers have tended to separate out coaches ’ learning by investigating each different situation in which it takes place . For example , the 2010 review of coach learning literature followed the framework of formal , non-formal and informal learning opportunities while other researchers have referred to mediated and unmediated learning .
Studies often look at one particular coach development programme or consider , say , mentoring , as one piece of the jigsaw puzzle of coaches ’ learning . This separating out of discrete components has certainly helped us discuss and organise our thinking , especially when the amount of published research about coach learning continues to multiply .
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