Are we there yet? A signature pedagogy for sports coaching

ABSTRACT

(Shulman, L. 2005a. “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59) presented a call to action for disciplines to rethink how neophytes are prepared for the work place, asking professions to interrogate their signature pedagogy. While some pedagogies are more mature, particularly those with well forged professional pathways and publically recognised ways of thinking and doing within the profession there are others that are still evolving. The push for professionalisation of sports coaching has also led to an increased need to provide quality coach education. Many of the developments in this area have focused on the ‘what’ to deliver within these sessions, with minimal focus on the ‘how’ to deliver it. This paper attempts to synthesize the current literature in coaching and coach education as a means to assess if a signature pedagogy exists. Further we aim to highlight the key components that can be further researched to ascertain the strength of a potential signature pedagogy.

KEYWORDS:

• Coach education
• coach development
• coach learning
• teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fraser Carson

Dr Fraser Carson is a Lecturer in Sport Coaching, and currently provides psychological support for the Deakin Melbourne Boomers. He has a strong research background with publications in performance psychology, wellbeing, stress and coping, and coach education.

Julia Walsh

Dr Julia Walsh is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching. Her expertise is in coach development, communication, female leadership in sport and mentoring. Current research includes understanding issues of health and wellbeing in a sport coaching population, and coach education signature pedagogies.