Building coaches, shaping lives: Insights from the students’ community in the Degree Programme of Sports Coaching and Management
Richter, Joris (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052013593
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052013593
Tiivistelmä
Sports coach education is an evolving field which has outgrown mere coach licensing courses in sports clubs and federations. Nowadays, coaches are also presented with various higher education degrees in their field. The Degree Programme of Sports Coaching and Management (DP) at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland is an international, English- language bachelor study programme. It offers a unique learning environment to its students and is the first European coaching degree that has earned a full endorsement from the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE).
The present thesis centres around a case study of said learning environment in the DP. Social learning theory, supplemented by ecological theory of human development, and specified by the concept of communities of practice, provides the framework of the study. Further underpinnings include literature from the domain of sports coach education. The research design included a three-step data collection with both quantitative and qualitative measures. First, a survey was used to inform about the research process, ask for consent from the subjects of the study, and acquire their demographic information. Second, statistics on the learning behaviour of the students were gathered through diaries. Third, each participant took part in a semi-structured interview. The analysis of the interviews was guided by a value creation framework. Five DP students from with various backgrounds participated in the study.
The study found significant variability in the students’ learning behaviours. A common theme was carrying own responsibility for learning outcomes; hence learning is often self-timed and self-paced. Most participants engaged in coaching outside of their university schedule and reported that they have been able to link theory to practice and increase their coaching effectiveness. Additionally, it became clear that the learning within the environment of the DP goes beyond what the curriculum entails. According to the students, their being part of the DP community fostered the development of various meta-skills such as critical thinking, and multicultural competence.
The findings suggest that the DP offers a complex learning environment with freedom for individual learning approaches. Learning is achieved not only in the classroom, but it may be facilitated in many situations during study, work, and everyday life. Although not without its limitations and challenges, the DP community provides its members with substantial value to their professional and personal lives. Future development of the programme may consider individualised study pathways to meet the students’ needs even better.
The present thesis centres around a case study of said learning environment in the DP. Social learning theory, supplemented by ecological theory of human development, and specified by the concept of communities of practice, provides the framework of the study. Further underpinnings include literature from the domain of sports coach education. The research design included a three-step data collection with both quantitative and qualitative measures. First, a survey was used to inform about the research process, ask for consent from the subjects of the study, and acquire their demographic information. Second, statistics on the learning behaviour of the students were gathered through diaries. Third, each participant took part in a semi-structured interview. The analysis of the interviews was guided by a value creation framework. Five DP students from with various backgrounds participated in the study.
The study found significant variability in the students’ learning behaviours. A common theme was carrying own responsibility for learning outcomes; hence learning is often self-timed and self-paced. Most participants engaged in coaching outside of their university schedule and reported that they have been able to link theory to practice and increase their coaching effectiveness. Additionally, it became clear that the learning within the environment of the DP goes beyond what the curriculum entails. According to the students, their being part of the DP community fostered the development of various meta-skills such as critical thinking, and multicultural competence.
The findings suggest that the DP offers a complex learning environment with freedom for individual learning approaches. Learning is achieved not only in the classroom, but it may be facilitated in many situations during study, work, and everyday life. Although not without its limitations and challenges, the DP community provides its members with substantial value to their professional and personal lives. Future development of the programme may consider individualised study pathways to meet the students’ needs even better.