Submitted by\u00a0Brooke E. Forester, Ph.D.1*;\u00a0Shelley L. Holden, Ed.D.2*;\u00a0Christopher M. Keshock, Ph.D.3*<\/p>\n
1*\u00a0Assistant Professor of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Studies, University of South Alabama<\/span><\/p>\n 2*\u00a0Associate\u00a0Professor of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Studies, University of South Alabama<\/span><\/p>\n 3*\u00a0Associate\u00a0Professor of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Studies, University of South Alabama<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Forester\u2019s current position is with the University of South Alabama as a professor of Sport and Recreation Management.\u00a0 Her research interests are focused on coach education, corporate social responsibility in the sport industry, and sport politics. Previously, Dr. Forester taught as a visiting faculty member at The Florida State University.<\/p>\n Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the National Federation of High State High School Associations (NFHS), there are approximately 7.6 million high school athletes across the country (14).\u00a0\u00a0 These athletes are led by coaches who often seek continuing education opportunities to further their professional development.\u00a0 The purpose of the study was to examine the preferences of continuing education delivery methods among high school coaches. Data were collected through online surveys.\u00a0 Both male (n <\/em>= 74) and female (n<\/em> = 29) head and assistant coaches participated in the study.\u00a0 The participating coaches (N <\/em>= 103) were presented with six options of content delivery methods.\u00a0 Data were analyzed using a 5×2 mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA). The within subjects factor was delivery method (1. live, 2. books, 3.on-line, 4. hybrid, and 5. DVD\/video) and the between subjects factor, gender. Results showed a significant main effect for delivery method F<\/em>(4,404)=13.198, p<<\/em>.001 but not gender (males M=<\/em>3.343\u00b11.08; females M<\/em>=3.345\u00b11.12; p><\/em>.05). Post Hoc comparisons found the highest rated delivery method (live course M<\/em>=3.991\u00b11.378) to be significantly different (p\u2264.05) from books (M<\/em>=2.709\u00b11.218), on-line, on-demand (M<\/em>=3.325\u00b11.182), and live courses on-line (M=<\/em>3.250\u00b11.283) methods but not DVD\/video (M<\/em>=3.530\u00b11.136). To date, there has been little research conducted with American high school coaches\u2019 continuing education.\u00a0 Continuing education research including other subjects however provides contrasting results.\u00a0 Nurse practitioners prefer in-person conferences most (3) while Canadian sport coaches seem to prefer to learn from a variety of sources (5).\u00a0 Results of the current study would be useful for the development of continuing education content for coaches and to assist academicians in better understanding the intricacies of coaching education.<\/p>\n Keywords:\u00a0 <\/strong>Coaching, continuing education, coaching education<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the National Federation of High State High School Associations (NFHS), there are approximately 7.6 million high school athletes across the country (14).\u00a0 These young athletes are led by coaches who often seek professional development opportunities in hopes of enhancing their coaching methods and to meet standards set forth by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).\u00a0 When selecting continuing education\/professional development content sources, high school coaches have many options.\u00a0 Coaches may elect to physically attend coaching seminars, workshops, and\/or conferences, purchase materials such as books or instructional DVD\u2019s, or perhaps engage in some type of online training courses.\u00a0 Considering the vast number and type of content delivery options, the purpose of the study was to examine the preferences of continuing education delivery methods among high school coaches and to also determine if gender had any impact regarding preferred delivery method.\u00a0 With a better understanding of what high school coaches prefer regarding content delivery, content providers will be better able to provide material and training in a format most receptive to coaches.<\/p>\n In recent years, the nature of the litigious United States\u2019 (US) society has necessitated coaches at all levels are held to a higher standard.\u00a0 High school coaches have been sued in recent months from allegations ranging from violations of civil and constitutional rights and discrimination to athlete injuries sustained from improper training.\u00a0 For example, in June, 2015 a Michigan high school tennis coach (in addition to other school officials) was sued when a tennis player brought accusations that she was bullied by teammates (13).\u00a0 This apparent bullying led to what she considered to be unreasonable searches of her belonging for drugs.\u00a0 In Connecticut, a 13-year-old student sued his cross country coach and school district when he ran into a bench which was in one of the lanes on the school track (19).\u00a0 These are only two of the thousands court cases involving athletes and coaches.\u00a0 In 2002 alone, over 200 non-injury related lawsuits were filed in the US against coaches, leagues, and school officials (1).<\/p>\n As a result, school districts nation-wide have begun to implement continuing education requirements for all high school coaches.\u00a0 Trudel and Gilbert (17) emphasize one of the main reasons why extensive programs are endorsed is to increase coaching competency and contend with society\u2019s moral and legal issues.\u00a0 Such enhanced training and credentials allows more of the legal responsibility of coaching to be placed directly on the coaches instead of local school districts.\u00a0 Again, given the potential of quality coach education, it is imperative practitioners and academicians alike better understand the delivery format coaches most prefer as a means of encouraging coaches to engage in continuing education activities.<\/p>\n Literature Review<\/strong><\/p>\n To date, there has been little research focusing on American high school coaches\u2019 continuing education, with even fewer studies focused on content delivery methods.\u00a0 Continuing education research including other participants however provides varied results.\u00a0 In the field of nursing, a substantial amount of research has been conducted which focuses on nurses\u2019 continuing education preferences (4, 8-10).\u00a0 Charles and Mamary (4) surveyed the entire population of licensed Advanced Practitioners of Nursing (APNs) in Nevada.\u00a0 Researchers sought to assess various practices, preferences, and barriers-to-use of several continuing education delivery methods.\u00a0 They found APNs most prefer in-person conferences.\u00a0 The least preferred methods included Internet sources and CD-ROM.\u00a0\u00a0 Similarly, Cobb (5) conducted a review of research studies focusing on practices, preferences, and evaluations of on-line (Internet based) continuing education used by health care professionals.\u00a0 She also found in-person continuing education to be the most preferred format but Internet-based continuing education was gaining in popularity.<\/p>\n Armstrong and Weidner (2) sought to determine the types of continuing education activities preferred by athletic trainers.\u00a0 Using a cross-sectional study design, 427 athletic trainers completed the Survey of Formal and Informal Athletic Training Continuing Education Activities (FIATCEA).\u00a0 Results of the survey analysis showed athletic trainers most preferred formal hands-on clinical workshops (in-person continuing education) and professional networking.\u00a0 These results are in alignment with the aforementioned studies indicating professionals often prefer in-person continuing education delivery methods.<\/p>\n Although coach specific research \u2013 particularly high school coach continuing education research \u2013 is limited, there are a few studies with a focus on athletic coaches and continuing education.\u00a0 Erickson et al. (6) found Canadian sport coaches seem to prefer to learn from a variety of sources.\u00a0 The focus of their study was not on content delivery methods but was more concerned with their actual and preferred sources of continuing education content.\u00a0 Interestingly, coaches in the study preferred more guided learning (use of mentors for example) and less self-directed learning by doing (learning from previous coaching experience).\u00a0 Survey results also illustrated learning by doing, interaction with coaching peers, and formal coach continuing education were the chief sources of actual coaching knowledge.\u00a0 Fehr (7) found similar results indicating intercollegiate tennis coaches preferred on-court (live) trainings, mentoring, and question\/answer sessions as the most preferred content delivery method.<\/p>\n Vargus-Tonsing (18) explored youth sport coaches\u2019 preferences for continuing education.\u00a0 Study participants included 366 youth sport coaches at introductory coaching education clinics.\u00a0 Participants were given a survey and were asked which of the provided course topics they felt were most important, to identify potential barriers to coaching education, and were also asked to assess their personal opinions regarding coaching education.\u00a0 Approximately 97% of the participants reported continuing education was important, with 87% indicating continuing education should be mandatory.\u00a0 Important to the discussion on content delivery, Vargus-Tonsing found 67% of the participants would be more likely to pursue continuing education if it were offered online.<\/p>\n Just as students often have preferred teaching methods and followers have preferred leadership styles, it could also be assumed coaches have preferred continuing education delivery formats.\u00a0 While the extant literature specifically related to continuing education is substantial, as evidenced in the brief literature review provided, more research is warranted with focus on athletic coaches\u2019 continuing education preferences.\u00a0 The current study seeks to fill the gap in the literature by offering more insight into high school coaches\u2019 more preferred methods of continuing education.\u00a0 As another layer of analysis, the researchers also explored whether gender had any impact on the type of continuing delivery method preferred.\u00a0 Gender is one of the most widely used study variables in the context of learning styles, preferences, and methods.<\/p>\n Methods<\/strong><\/p>\n Data were collected through online surveys using SurveyMonkey online survey software.\u00a0 The researchers gained Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and then contacted high school principals.\u00a0 The principals were provided an overview of the study and were asked to forward the survey link to their coaches, or ask their athletic director to do so.\u00a0 Current high school coaches in the Southeast US were included.\u00a0 The participating coaches (N <\/em>= 103) were presented with six options of content delivery methods.\u00a0 Participant coaches were asked to indicate their level of preference (Likert scale 1-5) for the following delivery formats:\u00a0 live conferences\/seminars (in person instruction), instructional books, online courses (on-demand), live courses online, and DVDs\/CDs. \u00a0\u00a0Both male (n <\/em>= 74) and female (n<\/em> = 29) head and assistant coaches participated in the study.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The average participant age was 38, with a variety of high school sports represented in the study including men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball, football, baseball, and men\u2019s and women\u2019s track and field\/cross country.\u00a0 There were 24 participants who had over 15 years high school coaching experience.\u00a0 On average however, most of the coaches had 10-15 years high school coaching experience.\u00a0 Data were analyzed using a 5×2 mixed model ANOVA. The within subjects factor was delivery method (1. live, 2. books, 3.on-line, on-demand, 4. live courses online, and 5. DVD\/video) and the between subjects factor was gender.<\/p>\n Results<\/strong><\/p>\n Results showed a significant main effect for delivery method F<\/em>(4,404)=13.198, p<<\/em>.001 but not gender (males M=<\/em>3.343\u00b11.08; females M<\/em>=3.345\u00b11.12; p><\/em>.05). Post Hoc comparisons found the highest rated delivery method (live course M<\/em>=3.991\u00b11.378) to be significantly different (p\u2264.05) from books (M<\/em>=2.709\u00b11.218), on-line, on-demand (M<\/em>=3.325\u00b11.182), and live on-online (M=<\/em>3.250\u00b11.283) methods but not DVDs\/CDs (M<\/em>=3.530\u00b11.136).\u00a0 Frequency analyses indicated 73 participants somewhat preferred or most preferred in-person live courses\/seminars while only 37 participants least preferred or had little preference for books as a content delivery method.<\/p>\n Discussion and Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n High school coaches participating in this project preferred live courses\/seminars as the top choice for continuing education content delivery.\u00a0 It was not surprising to discover high school coaches preferred live courses and seminars above other continuing education methods.\u00a0 Often live courses and seminars are very interactive while offering both professional development and networking opportunities.\u00a0 Case and point, the \u201cNike Coach of the Year Clinic\u201d consists of \u00a017 clinics spread across the US with almost13,000 high school coaches in attendance in 2014 (15).\u00a0 Most major universities in the US also host coaching clinics covering a variety of sports.<\/p>\n Considering the dynamic, interactive nature of live continuing education formats, it is no surprise the least preferred format is a stark comparison \u2013 continuing education via books.\u00a0 Often the books are accompanied with a pen\/paper exam of sorts or require participants to log onto a website after reading text material to complete an exam for continuing education credits.\u00a0 In the current age of rapid technology innovation and growth, there seems to be less interest in \u201csimple\u201d continuing education formats such as books or other printed materials.\u00a0 It is important to mention however, one of the limitations of the current study was sample sized, making it somewhat more difficult to confidently assume the findings represent preferences of all high school coaches in the US.\u00a0 Even though a variety of ages, experience levels, and sports were represented in the current study, future research should expand the reach of the study by eliciting survey responses from both a larger sample and a more diverse sample.\u00a0 More insight may be gleaned as well with a qualitative component incorporated in future investigations.<\/p>\n Applications in Sport<\/strong><\/p>\n There are numerous product offerings for continuing education specifically geared toward coaches.\u00a0 Organizations such as the NFHS, The American Sport Education Program (ASEP), and USA Track and Field all offer a variety of courses differing in price, content, and delivery method.\u00a0 The current study provides content developers with additional insight to effectively market their products to coaches. Coaches would appreciate and seek continuing education opportunities delivered in a format they prefer most.\u00a0 In turn, content providers could potentially benefit as they may notice an increase in sales.\u00a0\u00a0 Additionally, results of the current study show there are no significant gender differences in preferred content delivery methods so regardless if certain sports may have a higher number of female coaches, the same content delivery format could be effectively used.<\/p>\n Most states in the US require high school coaches to retain current cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification, pass the NFHS concussion course yearly, and pass both a coaching fundamentals course and sport specific rules course.\u00a0 Again, states and coaching governing bodies may experience greater compliance with content offered in a format coaches prefer. Of course it is more feasible to offer yearly required courses, such as the NFHS concussion course, in an online format for accessibility and convenience.\u00a0 However, other courses focusing on enhanced training practices or improved coaching techniques may be better suited for the live, in-person format most preferred by high school coaches.\u00a0 Clearly more research is warranted to better understand if coaches\u2019 preferences for content delivery formats vary with the actual content of courses.<\/p>\n Lastly, the study results also provide fodder for future research linked to coaching efficacy and coaching education.\u00a0 Campbell and Sullivan (3) showed the level of coaching education plays a dominant role in coaching efficacy.\u00a0 Other researchers (11-12) have also determined those coaches who completed a formal coach education course have significantly higher levels of coaching efficacy than those coaches who had no formal education courses. \u201cSelf-efficacy refers to the situation-specific belief that one can act to successfully produce a given outcome\u201d (16, p. 1).\u00a0 Appropriate continuing education content delivered in a preferred format may impact coaching efficacy as well.\u00a0 Future researchers would do well to investigate the interplay of the above factors to offer a deeper understanding of coach education as a whole. Submitted by\u00a0Brooke E. Forester, Ph.D.1*;\u00a0Shelley L. Holden, Ed.D.2*;\u00a0Christopher M. Keshock, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[290],"tags":[101,615,614],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4btio-Ke","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4059,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/21st-century-sport-microsystem-or-macrosystem\/","url_meta":{"origin":2866,"position":0},"title":"21st Century Sport: Microsystem or Macrosystem?","date":"November 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Authors: Dean Culpepper & Lorraine Killion Corresponding Author: Dean Culpepper, Ph.D. P.O. Box 3011 Commerce, TX 75429 dean.culpepper@tamuc.edu 903.886.5573 Dean Culpepper is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the Health and Human Performance Department and Lorraine Killion is an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in the Health\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Research"","img":{"alt_text":"Micro or Macro - Table 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Micro-or-Macro-Table-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6082,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/an-investigation-of-youth-football-players-participation-motivations-and-health-related-behaviors\/","url_meta":{"origin":2866,"position":1},"title":"An Investigation of Youth Football Players\u2019 Participation Motivations and Health Related Behaviors","date":"October 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Authors: Zhenhao Zeng, Andria Cuello, Jonathan Skelly, Christopher Gigliello, Steven Riveras Corresponding Author: P.I. Zhen Hao Zeng, D.P.E. Professor of Sport Pedagogy Department of Kinesiology, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York, USA hzeng@brooklyn.cuny.edu 718-951-5014 Zhen Hao (Howard) Zeng is an associate professor of the Department of Kinesiology\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports Studies and Sports Psychology"","img":{"alt_text":"Table 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Table-1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":48,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/international-physical-fitness-test\/","url_meta":{"origin":2866,"position":2},"title":"International Physical Fitness Test","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, President, USSA FOREWARD The United States Sports Academy, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport, presents the Arab world with its own International Physical Fitness Test Manual based on norms collected and processed on Arab youth, ages 9 to 19. 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One of the main goals of physical educators is to enable individuals to become\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contemporary Sports Issues"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2322,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/teaching-coaching-the-challenges-and-conflicts-of-dual-roles\/","url_meta":{"origin":2866,"position":5},"title":"Teaching & Coaching: The Challenges and Conflicts of Dual Roles","date":"March 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by Dr. Christopher Saffici* 1* Department of Education, Florida Memorial University, Miami Gardens, Florida 33054 Dr. Saffici is an Associate Professor at Florida Memorial University in the field of Education, with a specialization in Physical Education. He serves as President Elect of the Faculty Senate. He has served as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sport Education"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2866"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2876,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866\/revisions\/2876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nReferences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n