Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Teachers in South Africa currently operate within an education system largely failing to equip
our youth to attain personal and economic freedom, while, as individuals, the teachers have
to manage their own lives within the broader environment characterised by continuous
educational and social change, economic difficulties and dysfunctional schools. With
coaching emerging as a catalyst for change and development, the literature reveals that,
locally and internationally, coaching programmes aimed at assisting teachers focus on
professional development. Less focus is placed on the development of teachers in their
personal capacity as an enabler towards professional development. The focus of this study is
to coach teachers in their personal capacity and to gain an understanding of how the
teachers make meaning of their experiences. This research answers the question of how
teachers experience a coaching interaction.
The research design was that of a case study to obtain descriptive data about the
experiences of the teachers. With the focus on understanding how the teachers interpret and
make meaning of their experiences, the methodology of the study is qualitative, informed by
the phenomenological tradition of social research. The research process entailed coaching of
a small sample of six teachers from one primary school and the collection of data through
field notes, the teachers’ reflective notes and qualitative interviews. The data was analysed
and coded to identify themes from multiple perspectives of the data and across the data.
The initial analysis of the data revealed themes specific to the individual teachers, while indepth
analysis across the data revealed general coaching outcomes related themes. With
reference to the coded themes, the study found that the coaching process provided the
environment (safe space) and opportunity (time to think) to facilitate awareness of the
teachers’ current reality (thinking and behaviour), awareness of their own resources (new
thinking, internal learning, choice) and awareness of possibilities of different realities
(change). Change through awareness and new thinking emerged as the main theme. Not all
the data was positive, providing useful recommendation for the improvement of future
coaching interventions of a similar nature.
While the research design and context of the study limited the generalisation of the findings,
the study achieved its aim of obtaining rich descriptive data about the experiences of the
teachers of a coaching interaction. Within the confines of the context of the study, the
findings pointed to the potential of coaching to facilitate initial change and development for
teachers in their personal capacity. The value that the teachers put on their coaching
experiences confirmed the gap for coaching teachers in their personal capacity. Evidence of
the teachers applying their learning from the coaching interaction in their family and
professional lives indicated the possibilities of outcomes beyond this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/20844 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Van Schalkwyk, Sharon Lesley |
| Contributors | Moors, R. P., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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