Coach Education, Development, and Assessment

The purpose of this chapter is to make a cascading series of arguments that position coach assessment as a feature of coach education and development that requires attention. On the basis that sport is important within society, coaches are suggested to play a central role in the many and varied contributions that it makes. However, increasingly, attention is being paid to the quality of coaches’ practice and as a result, an assortment of interventions exists to support coaches in their work through professional development opportunities. As these opportunities (e.g., coach education and development programmes) have been subject to scrutiny from stakeholders and researchers, how coaches experience them, how they impact upon professional practice, and how they contribute to coach learning is being increasingly understood. Yet, despite being a consistent feature of coach education and development opportunities, the world over, assessment has failed to be prioritised within this agenda of continuous improvement. Attempting to address this through the book, this introductory chapter outlines a clear case for remedying the situation and details exactly how this will done.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003472438