In part one of our special report into coaching in education, Christian van Nieuwerburgh, John Campbell and Jim Knight present a revised framework for coaching in schools, embracing best practice from around the world
The past decade has seen a welcome growth in interest in the use of coaching in educational settings in the UK, US and Australia. Schools have been experimenting with various coaching interventions and approaches and there are indications that these can have a positive effect on student and teacher wellbeing, the emotional intelligence of students, effective teaching practice and examination performance.
Towards a global framework
As a way of capitalising on current interest and in order to build on existing good practice, we are proposing the concept of ‘coaching portals’ to provide a global framework for educators interested in adopting coaching approaches, interventions and cultures. In our work (primarily in the UK, US and Australia), we have found that the introduction of this concept is a helpful means of explaining the different ways in which coaching can support schools to create the best possible learning environments for their students.
School leaders have reported that this framework has allowed them to see how coaching can have an impact in a range of conversational contexts.
Ultimately, we believe that a strategic approach to the use of coaching and positive psychology in schools can contribute to better learning outcomes for students as well as enhanced wellbeing for students and school staff.
In the following, we bring together our thinking and experiences about the various ways in which coaching is having a positive impact in educational settings.
What we propose here is a practitioners’ framework for coaching in education. It is meant to support educators, school leaders and researchers and is a ‘work in progress’.
Are we talking about the same thing?
The term coaching is used widely across educational settings. Today, educators in different parts of the world may find themselves working with, for example, instructional coaches, literacy coaches, reading coaches, educational effectiveness coaches, mathematics coaches, cognitive coaches and data coaches.
Other, similar, approaches involve different nomenclature, including mentors, instructional facilitators and instructional collaborators.
A truly global framework for coaching in education needs to include these various approaches to coaching, while also providing guidance for defining the term ‘coach’ in educational contexts.
We have created the ‘playing field’ in Figure 1to illustrate the different ways in which coaching is employed around the world. Looking first at the horizontal access, you will see that some approaches to coaching are more directive, with coaches essentially giving teachers advice on how to improve. This often means that coaches help teachers understand standards, curriculum or teaching practices by sharing their own expertise.
Coaches operating in a more directive way are often charged with ensuring educators implement strategies with fidelity. The more directive approaches tend to be top-down models grounded in the assumption that educators should implement particular teaching practices provided for them.
Coaching can also be non-directive. In the UK, US and Australia, the term ‘coaching in education’ tends to refer to coaching that is, generally speaking, less directive. When using non-directive coaching, coaches do not tell educators what they should do, but rather involve teachers in partnership conversations that focus on the client’s agenda.
During non-directive coaching, coaches facilitate the self-directed learning of the client through questioning, listening and engaging in dialogue around learning and development.
The non-directive approach is a partnership one, grounded in the assumption that educators should be deeply involved in thinking about changes to their practice, and that they should also make all the decisions about the goals and strategies growing out of coaching. In a sense, the solutions and ideas emerge from the client, the relationship and the conversation, rather than the coach.
The vertical access on the diagram also differentiates between coaching approaches.
In some, coaches share expert knowledge on teaching strategies or curriculum with educators to help them improve.
Coaches can also share expertise about instruction in a non-directive way. During instructional coaching, for example, the coach might video record a teacher’s lesson, and after the educator has viewed the lesson, meet with the educator and ask questions that help the educator identify a goal.
Following this, the coach may list teaching strategies that the educator might implement to try and achieve the goal, and then help the educator learn, implement and adapt strategies until the goal is achieved.
The assumptions behind this approach are that educators should make decisions and set goals for their classroom, and that the coach can help the educator meet them by sharing evidence-based teaching strategies.
When coaches do not share their expertise, they listen, question and occasionally challenge in a supportive and encouraging way. Coaches who do not share expertise tend to be non-directive, since more directive coaches are, by definition, sharing knowledge.
Non-directive coaches focus on the enhancement of learning and development through increasing self-awareness and personal responsibility. The assumption guiding the coach in this is that collaborating educators already have the knowledge they need to address their issues and enhance their practice. Coaching simply helps them surface those solutions and translate them into actions.
Coaching portals
While our work in schools has convinced us that there is no blueprint for how coaching should be introduced, we have noticed there are a number of practical ways in which schools can start to implement coaching interventions, initiatives and cultures.
The coaching portals we share in the following are simply ‘entry points’ and represent initial steps towards increased use of coaching in educational settings. We are not suggesting that there is a particular order in which these should be opened. On the contrary, it is important to ensure that each school decides which portal will bring the most significant benefits while aligning neatly with existing strategic plans.
Portal:
Educational leadership
The use of coaches to develop the leadership capabilities of current educational leaders.Educational leaders can be trained in the use of coaching as part of a broader professional development programme.
The use of coaches to provide support and encouragement for aspiring educational leaders. Aspiring educational leaders can be given access to external coaches to support them with their career planning.
Providing current and aspiring educational leaders with coaching skills so that they can employ a ‘coaching approach’ with their staff and students. Current and aspiring educational leaders can be trained in coaching skills so that they can use a broader range of leadership styles with staff and students.
Portal:
Professional practice
‘Instructional coaches’ supporting classroom teachers to improve their teaching practice.
They do this by partnering with teachers to set and meet goals through implementation of evidence-based practices.
Educational leaders adopting ‘leader of teaching practice’ roles. Members of the school leadership team can use coaching to support the professional development and training of teachers.
Educators supporting the development of each other through peer observation and peer coaching.Schools can train their staff in coaching skills so that educators can support each other’s professional development and teaching practice through peer observation and feedback.
Portal:
Student success and wellbeing
Career advisers, school counsellors and school psychologists offering one-to-one coaching to students.Many schools already have provision for one-to-one support for students. This can be expanded to include opportunities for coaching.
Providing external coaches for students to enhance exam performance.Schools can provide external coaches for students preparing for exams.
Providing a pool of internal coaches to provide one-to-one coaching to students. Alternatively, the school can provide access to an internal pool of coaches for students preparing for exams.
Training students in coaching-related skills so they can support each other in classes.Students can be trained in a number of coaching-related skills (eg, active listening, asking thought-provoking questions, giving feedback) so they are better able to support their peers.
Training students to become coaches to provide one-to-one coaching to other students in school.Schools can provide high-level coaching training courses for their students, thus creating a pool of internal student coaches.
Portal:
Community engagement
Educators using coaching skills and approaches when interacting with parents. Training educators in coaching skills can improve
the quality of conversations with parents.
Training parents to use coaching approaches with their children. Providing coaching training for parents can support school-based coaching initiatives and may lead to better parental support.
Offering workshops on coaching skills to members of the community.
The benefits
Each of the above portals presents an opportunity for educators to focus attention on a particular aspect of coaching in schools. Our experience has convinced us that the chosen portal should explicitly support an agreed development need in the school.
It is essential that staff and students participate in discussions about why coaching is being introduced. The use of this framework may support the decision-making process.
We are not suggesting that
it is essential for schools, colleges and universities to address each of the portals in order to work towards a coaching culture. Rather, we are proposing that coaching cultures emerge when the benefits of coaching are appreciated by a wide range of stakeholders.
Early indications suggest that the introduction of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) in educational settings can support the development of coaching cultures for learning.
We hope this article has triggered some new thoughts. It has been helpful for us, as authors, to collaborate in the writing of
this article.
We believe that it is important that we continue to share research and experiences from schools all over the world. It is necessary to keep an open mind about the range and breadth of approaches while learning from evidence-based practice to maximise the
potential of coaching in educational settings. n
For more information, get in touch with the authors:
chrisvn@growthcoachingonline.com
j.campbell@growthcoaching.com.au
jim@instructionalcoaching.com
www.growthcoachinguk.com
