In spite of the increasing popularity of coaching, little is known about what contributes to an effective coaching experience, particularly from a psychological perspective (Kilburg, 2001; Grant, 2001; Bluckert, 2005; Bowles and Picano, 2007). This study presents a longitudinal, case study of a coaching programme conducted in a large government agency, over a twelve month period. The study adopts the coachee perspective, commenting also on the role of the coach. Longitudinal studies using a mixed methodological approach are rare within coaching research (Feldman and Lankau, 2005). The principal aim of the study is to explore coaching effectiveness from a psychological perspective. Three key areas of research are explored: meta-cognition, interpersonal communication style and attitude. These are areas which have been highlighted as being important for coaching success (Grant, 2001; London and Smither, 2002; Bush, 2004; Feldman and Lankau, 2005; Kappenberg, 2008). The three coaching outcome measures used include; job performance, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour, which are thought to be useful indicators of organisational success (Meyer et al, 2002; Smith et al, 2003; Maharaji and Schlechter, 2007; Sarantinos, 2007; Van Vuuren, de Jong, Seydel, 2007). The key findings of this study provide some important evidence about those factors which influence coaching effectiveness. This empirical evidence enhances our understanding about how effects occur; identifying those groups of individuals more likely to be influenced by coaching. As anticipated results show that coaching has a positive impact on two of the meta-cognitive skills explored: self-efficacy and self-esteem (Bandura, 1997; Audia, Locke and Smith, 2000; Bouffard-Bouchard, 2001). However, findings also reveal two unexpected outcomes for meta-cognition: an increase in external locus of control, and a decrease in private self-consciousness behaviour. Additionally, results also show that interpersonal communication style and attitude of the coachee are important within the coaching relationship, and that the interpersonal communication style of the coach plays an important role in influencing coaching outcomes. The evidence provided by this study makes a recommendation for pre-coaching assessments of meta-cognitive skills, interpersonal communication and attitude of the coachee and also the interpersonal communication skills of the coach. This type of assessment provides a useful indicator of those areas which are likely to make a difference to coaching effectiveness as highlighted within this study.

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Coaching effectiveness is a result of a coach getting the best out of the people and resources in their environment. For coaches, learning from experience is vital in a role that is a complex, dynamic and multifaceted process of balancing fun and winning where one cannot be sure if results will go according to plan. At the Olympic level, due to commercialization more money is being spent than ever before on developing more professional and effective training systems to maximize athletic performances. Medals won determine how a coach is evaluated and with more nations competition at a higher level, success is becoming even more competitive. More qualified and adaptable coaches are required to cope with the demands of international competition. The literature has been extensively examined based on the research question: to what extent is coaching success predicted by a coaches' ability to self-reflect on past experiences? The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that if coaches who are highly self-reflective and have successful athletic and coaching experiences would be more likely to have future coaching success than those who either were not self-reflective or had less success in the past. Coaching knowledge is acquired though experience and the process of learning and self-reflection is an activity that facilitates this process. This study showed that rowing coaching experience and rowing athletic experience are positive predictors of coaching success, albeit weakly so. While self-reflective activities are not predictors of coaching success, self-reflection is an activity that coaches engage in. This study also identified the challenges in measuring coaching success. But like any domain, deliberate practice, which is a known pathway to developing expertise, is an activity that contributes to the professionalization of sports coaching and its advancement as a profession. / Ph. D.

Sport participation is continually rising nationally and internationally emphasizing the need for effective coaches. Literature regarding coaching in sport is also increasing yearly leading to an ample amount of studies available. Despite the available results, there is still a lot more to understand concerning the complex nature of coaching. Although the majority of the studies focused on coaching behaviours, only limited results exist measuring the perceptions of coaches and players to determine whether the behaviours are effective. More scientific research in the area of coaching effectiveness is therefore needed, especially in South Africa. The objectives of this study were firstly to determine the difference between players‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness between larger and smaller secondary schools and secondly, to determine the difference between the players and the coaches‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness at university/club level. Twenty high schools (n = 20) and four hundred and seventy-six (n = 476) male rugby union players (15-19 years) participated in the first part of the study. Players were asked to fill in the adapted version of the Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES). To determine the validity of the sample size a power calculation was done followed by Chronbach alpha values to determine the reliability of the questionnaire on the specific group. Discriptive statistics, followed by independant t-test were done to measure statistically differences between large and small schools with regard to the 4 constructs measured. Cohen‟s effect sizes were then used to determine practical significantly differences. The sample size was found to be valid (> 0.9) together with high Cronbach alpha values (> 0.7) indicating that the questionnaire is reliable for the specific sample. It was found that no practically significant differences exist between coaches from large schools compared to coaches from smaller schools. It was therefore concluded that the players from high schools that participated in the study perceive their coaches‟ effectiveness with regard to the constructs measured similarly, irrespective of the size (number of learners) of the school. One hundred and forty-two (n =142) male rugby union players (age: 18-15) and thirteen (n = 13) coaches (age: 23-55) from the Puk Rugby Institute (PRI) participated in the second part of this study. All the players completed the adapted version of the CES and the coaches completed the CES. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was done to determine the factor structure of the adapted version of the CES. The CFA of the CES was not done due to the small number (13) of coaches that participated in the study. Regression estimates were set at p<0.05. Cronbach alpha values were measured to determine the reliability of the questionnaires. To adapt for inter-dependency, mixed models (set at 5%) were used to measure perception differences between coaches and players. All the regression estimates were found to be significant (p < 0.05). High Cronbach alpha values were found (>0.70). Statistically significant differences between coaches and players‟ perceptions were found with regard to the four constructs measured where coaches‟ perception values were higher than those of the players. Although it is not important to practice, the findings should not be ignored. For total coaching effectiveness values, the majority of the coaches (8 out of 13) rated their own coaching effectiveness more positive than did their respective players. It was therefore concluded that researchers should be aware of the perception differences that exist when measuring coaching effectiveness. These results complement the existing literature with regard to sport coaching and the complexity thereof. / MA (Sport Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Sport participation is continually rising nationally and internationally emphasizing the need for effective coaches. Literature regarding coaching in sport is also increasing yearly leading to an ample amount of studies available. Despite the available results, there is still a lot more to understand concerning the complex nature of coaching. Although the majority of the studies focused on coaching behaviours, only limited results exist measuring the perceptions of coaches and players to determine whether the behaviours are effective. More scientific research in the area of coaching effectiveness is therefore needed, especially in South Africa. The objectives of this study were firstly to determine the difference between players‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness between larger and smaller secondary schools and secondly, to determine the difference between the players and the coaches‟ perceptions of coaching effectiveness at university/club level. Twenty high schools (n = 20) and four hundred and seventy-six (n = 476) male rugby union players (15-19 years) participated in the first part of the study. Players were asked to fill in the adapted version of the Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES). To determine the validity of the sample size a power calculation was done followed by Chronbach alpha values to determine the reliability of the questionnaire on the specific group. Discriptive statistics, followed by independant t-test were done to measure statistically differences between large and small schools with regard to the 4 constructs measured. Cohen‟s effect sizes were then used to determine practical significantly differences. The sample size was found to be valid (> 0.9) together with high Cronbach alpha values (> 0.7) indicating that the questionnaire is reliable for the specific sample. It was found that no practically significant differences exist between coaches from large schools compared to coaches from smaller schools. It was therefore concluded that the players from high schools that participated in the study perceive their coaches‟ effectiveness with regard to the constructs measured similarly, irrespective of the size (number of learners) of the school. One hundred and forty-two (n =142) male rugby union players (age: 18-15) and thirteen (n = 13) coaches (age: 23-55) from the Puk Rugby Institute (PRI) participated in the second part of this study. All the players completed the adapted version of the CES and the coaches completed the CES. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was done to determine the factor structure of the adapted version of the CES. The CFA of the CES was not done due to the small number (13) of coaches that participated in the study. Regression estimates were set at p<0.05. Cronbach alpha values were measured to determine the reliability of the questionnaires. To adapt for inter-dependency, mixed models (set at 5%) were used to measure perception differences between coaches and players. All the regression estimates were found to be significant (p < 0.05). High Cronbach alpha values were found (>0.70). Statistically significant differences between coaches and players‟ perceptions were found with regard to the four constructs measured where coaches‟ perception values were higher than those of the players. Although it is not important to practice, the findings should not be ignored. For total coaching effectiveness values, the majority of the coaches (8 out of 13) rated their own coaching effectiveness more positive than did their respective players. It was therefore concluded that researchers should be aware of the perception differences that exist when measuring coaching effectiveness. These results complement the existing literature with regard to sport coaching and the complexity thereof. / MA (Sport Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Le recours au coaching comme outil de développement des cadres a augmenté de manière exponentielle au cours de cette dernière décennie. Cependant, les études empiriques sur l’impact du coaching professionnel et les mécanismes à l’œuvre dans celui-ci restent rares.<p>Notre recherche vise à répondre à ce manque en étudiant (a) l’impact d’une intervention de coaching professionnel sur les compétences managériales, l’intelligence émotionnelle, le bien-être et l’atteinte des objectifs, (b) les facteurs qui jouent un rôle dans le succès de l’intervention et les mécanismes par lesquels le coaching produit du changement chez les individus.<p>Pour étudier ces questions, une étude longitudinale a été menée sur 50 cadres à haut-potentiel d’une grande entreprise de télécommunications. Les cadres étaient répartis aléatoirement entre le groupe expérimental (25 participants) et le groupe contrôle (25 participants). L’ensemble des participants a passé une évaluation à 360° de leurs compétences managériales, ainsi que différents questionnaires d’intelligence émotionnelle, de personnalité et de bien-être. Suite à ces évaluations, les 25 participants du groupe expérimental ont reçu 7 sessions de coaching étalées sur un an. L’année suivante, les 50 participants ont repassé les mêmes tests. Des entretiens semi-directifs ont ensuite été menés avec les participants du groupe expérimental afin de recueillir leurs auto-évaluations et perceptions des facteurs qui ont joué un rôle déterminant dans leur évolution. Toutes les sessions de coaching ont été données par le même coach, l’auteur de l’étude, afin de stabiliser et de contrôler la méthodologie de coaching adoptée avec les différents participants.<p>Les analyses statistiques sur les données quantitatives indiquent un impact positif et significatif du coaching sur les compétences managériales et l’atteinte des objectifs de développement. L’impact sur l’intelligence émotionnelle et le bien-être dépend lui des dimensions spécifiques considérées. Les analyses qualitatives des entretiens rétrospectifs menés avec les coachés mettent en évidence les différents facteurs vécus comme clés par ceux-ci, ainsi que les mécanismes par lesquels ces facteurs impactent le succès de l’intervention de coaching.<p>Les implications théoriques et pratiques de ces résultats sont discutées, notamment en termes de compréhension des mécanismes de changement à l’œuvre dans le coaching et d’amélioration des dispositifs de coaching et de formation professionnelle des coachs.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished