An Analytical Account of Coaching for Professional Development

The Analytical Account

Write an analytical account about the case you have presented. Following your own presentation and having witnessed the presentation of other participants on the course, develop your thinking further about the relationship between theory and practice in the workplace. Critically evaluate your own professional development needs and/or outcomes. Use this reflection to develop your own personal theory with regard to coaching for professional development and with due regard to issues of equity and social justice.

With the challenge of many national initiatives there is the growing recognition within education of the importance of coaching as a tool for professional development to ultimately improve pupil learning. As a Special Educational Needs (SEN) manager in a primary school, I believe that the creation of a dialogue with staff employing a coaching approach would support the development of a culture of collaborative learning and work towards building the capacity for change (Cordingley, Bell et al, 2003, 2005). In this assignment I will reflect on coaching experiences in school drawing on research to consider the potential conflict between coaching for personal development and institutional performance. I will argue that within my school context there is a need to consider a rationale for coaching underpinned by a philosophy that views coaching as developmental and 'strongly associated with success' (Caplan 2003).

Contemporary views of professional coaching define coaching as a learning process that enhances and develops an individual's performance through a collaborative partnership (Capstan 2003) and as Powell et al (2001) states 'helps others to help themselves by dealing with the whole person'. Research by Robertson (2005) depicts the learning relationship as reciprocal and firmly grounded on trust, involving the facilitation of learning and wellbeing to gain greater control over ones development. I believe that the defining characteristic of coaching is its emphasis on a dialogue which fosters a greater self-awareness and critical reflection. (Powell 2001:18). The idea of the coach as facilitator of that dialogue has considerable links to theories of facilitative learning put forward initially by Carl Rogers and others. Their ideas concentrate on the notion of the learner taking responsibility for their own learning and, as I believe, acknowledge that 'the most

significant learning involves changing one's concept of oneself (Knowles 1973, 1975).

I began my coaching of an individual within my school with the belief that the skills and competencies needed by the coach, as Caplan (2003:132) suggests, are dependent on the level of experience, circumstances and motivation of the learner and may require flexible coaching styles. Through my coaching, based on the GROW model (Whitmore, 2002) I recognised the need to use a coaching style which would guide an inexperienced learner who was experiencing difficulties with performance, confidence and self esteem and would work to raise her skill level. Furthermore, the issues raised in the coaching conversation necessitated the use of a flexible and non-prescriptive approach that switched from non-directive through to a directive coaching styles to suit the learner. This adaptation to individual needs ensures that coaching can be used with staff at all levels of a school organisation.

As a coach the need to develop active listening skills; encompassing open questioning, building rapport and the suspension of judgment and the giving of feedback (Caplan 2003) were key personal goals I was and continue to develop. Analysis of my coaching sessions have shown that the identification of a need, constructive challenge and the giving of feedback in 'real time' were effective ways to learn for this individual and proved to be tremendously motivating, boosting her self-esteem and self-confidence as well as her professional knowledge. I also recognise the personal investment of both individuals within the coaching partnership allows a 'journey of uncharted exploration and discovery' (Powell et al, 2001: 12). With this in mind, the collaborative nature of the coaching relationship can be closely linked to action research processes with the coach facilitating the cycles of action, reflection and re-evaluation and the learner conscious that they are learning from their practice. My experiences of observing my coachee followed by a immediate real-time feedback and critical reflection helped the learner to consider and identify what they needed to do to improve and learn directly from their work. The role of the coach within the action research process is also supported by Lewin's (1948) view that the practitioner