Catherine Steele & Jane Arthur

Objectives: This exploratory study examines undergraduates’ perceptions and experiences of coaching psychology during a 12 week optional module.

Design: Qualitative data was gathered through short interviews with students at the start of the module and personal reflective statements at the end of the module.

Method: Students conducted one-to-one semi structured interviews at the start of the module. They were also required to complete a reflective piece of writing outlining their experiences of the module as part of their assessment. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results: Students had very little knowledge of coaching psychology prior to completing the module as they had not seen or heard any reference to it elsewhere in their studies. On completion of the module many indicated that they had an understanding of how to apply psychological theory, developed a range of skills and felt better equipped to plan their future career.

Conclusions: As highlighted by Grant (2011) inclusion of coaching psychology on undergraduate programmes could aid the future of the discipline and, at the same time, provide students with a range of transferrable skills.

Keywords: Coaching Psychology; Teaching Coaching Psychology; Coach Training.

Full article: Volume 7, Issue 1 pages 6 - 13