Effects of a motivational climate inntervention for coaches on young athletes' sport performance anxiety

The mastery approach to coaching is a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to promote a mastery-involving motivational climate, shown in previous research to be related to lower anxiety in athletes. We tested the effects of this intervention on motivational climate and on changes in male and female athletes'cognitive and somatic performance anxiety over the course of a basketball season. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that the athletes in the intervention condition perceived their coaches as being more mastery-involving on the Motivational Climate Scale for Youth Sports when compared to athletes in an untreated control condition. Relative to athletes who played for untrained coaches, those who played for the trained coaches exhibited decreases on all subscales of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 and on total anxiety score from preseason to late season. Control group athletes reported increases in anxiety over the season. The intervention had equally positive effects on boys and girls teams.     

The role of the athletes’ entourage on attitudes to doping

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated athletes’ and coaches’ beliefs about the role of athletes’ entourage in deterring or promoting doping. Competitive athletes and coaches in Greece and Australia took part in semi-structured interviews. Our analysis of the interviews produced five main themes: coach influence, peer influence, doping stance, doping stigma, and entourage’s culture. Overall, coaches and peers having a close and trusty relationship with the athletes were considered most influential with respect to doping-related decisions. The majority of the athletes held a strong anti-doping stance but could not articulate why they held this position. This inability could be ascribed to the stigmatization of doping which led to lack of knowledge and anti-doping education. Finally, an anti-doping culture in the athletes’ environment was considered central to an anti-doping stance. The study findings provide valuable information towards a comprehensive understanding of the role athletes’ entourage can play in shaping athletes’ attitudes and decision for doping.     

Who teaches primary physical education? Change and transformation through the eyes of subject leaders

Primary physical education (PE) lessons tend to be taught by one, or a combination of, three different groups: generalist classroom teachers, specialist primary PE teachers and so-called adults other than teachers, who are almost exclusively sports coaches. Drawing upon data gathered from one-to-one interviews with 36 subject leaders (SLs), this study sought answers to two main questions: ‘Who delivers primary PE nowadays?’ and ‘What are the consequences?’ The findings revealed that the most common model for the delivery of PE involved responsibility being shared between the generalist class teacher and either a sports coach or specialist PE teacher. The SLs recognised strengths and weaknesses in all of the three main approaches used. However, while they favoured the use of specialist teachers because of their subject knowledge and expertise, the more prosaic constraints of cost and flexibility meant that the use of coaches had become increasingly popular. Whether or not, the growth of coaches is de-professionalising the delivery of PE, it certainly appears to be exacerbating any existing tendency to turn primary PE into a pale imitation of the sport-biased curricular of secondary schools. Ironically, the apparent ‘threat’ to the status of PE in the primary curriculum (as well as the status of PE specialists) posed by the growth of coaches in curricular PE in primary schools may well be exaggerated by the Primary PE and Sport Premium which appears to have added momentum to a change of direction regarding staffing the subject—towards sports coaches and away from generalist classroom teachers and PE specialists. As the shift towards outsourcing PE to commercial sports coaches becomes increasingly commonplace, it seems appropriate to talk of transformation, rather than mere change, in the delivery of primary PE.     

The involvement of external agencies in extra-curricular physical education: reinforcing or challenging gender and ability inequities?

Within the UK and internationally, schools are increasingly being encouraged to call on external agencies and draw on the services of individuals, including sport coaches, to ‘help teach or lead sports within the school setting and out of school time’. This trend arises from and has contributed to a changing policy landscape and relations that characterise ‘physical education and school sport’ (PESS) and the growing use of the terminology of ‘PESS’. Previous research has highlighted that neither PESS considered broadly as a policy space, nor specific initiatives centring on ‘partnership-based’ development of physical education (PE) and/or sport in schools, can be assumed to facilitate greater equity in provision for young people. This study reports on research that has sought to build on past studies revealing gender and ability inequities amidst PESS developments. The research was designed as a small-scale case study investigation to critically explore the equity-related messages being conveyed in and through the hidden curriculum in a context of coaches’ involvement in extra-curricular provision. Utilising observations and interviews with coaches and PE teachers, data collection focused on ways in which ideas of ability, masculinity and femininity were being constructed and reproduced in and through coach's pedagogy, and sought insight into the prospective impact of the particular constructions on girls’ and boys’ involvement in extra-curricular PE. Analysis revealed that the hidden curriculum expressed in and through the organisation of extra-curricular PE and coaches’ pedagogical practices in this context can be seen as reaffirming limited conceptions of ability in PE and gender inequity in relation to girls’ and boys’ respective participation opportunities. Discussion critically addresses the relationship between policy and pedagogy in PESS in pursuing apparently ongoing tendencies for long-standing inequities to be reproduced in and through extra-curricular provision.     

青少年运动员公正世界信念与运动成绩的关系——感知教练支持和运动环境公正的链式中介

目的:探讨青少年运动员公正世界信念、感知教练支持、运动环境公正与运动成绩间关系。方法:采用青少年运动员公正世界信念量表、感知运动环境公正量表、运动员感知教练员社会支持问卷,对946名青少年运动员进行测量,并获取其全年参加市级及以上级别比赛成绩。结果:1)青少年运动员公正世界信念、感知教练支持、感知运动环境公正、运动成绩彼此间显著相关;2)感知教练支持、感知运动环境公正在青少年运动员公正世界信念和运动成绩间起链式中介作用,其效应值为0.05,占总效应的13.9%。结论:青少年运动员公正世界信念能通过感知教练支持和感知运动环境公正的链式中介作用间接影响运动成绩。     

The role of task and ego-oriented climate in explaining students’ bright and dark motivational experiences in Physical Education

Background: A distinction is made in Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) between task-oriented (i.e. effort, intra-individual progress, and self-comparison) and ego-oriented (i.e. inter-individual progress and normative comparison) climates. Combining insights from AGT and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), studies in the PE context have shown that a task-oriented climate positively relates to need satisfaction, although the findings regarding the motivating role of an ego-oriented climate are inconsistent. Moreover, little is known about the role of task- or ego-oriented climates in explaining experiences of basic psychological need frustration.

Purpose: Grounded in AGT and SDT, the aim of the present study was to examine if experiences of basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration can explain why task- and ego-oriented climates elicit positive and negative motivational outcomes in PE, respectively.

Research design: Cross-sectional study.

Method: A sample of 524 secondary school students (51.1% boys, M_age?=?14.51; SD?=?1.81) from five different secondary schools participated in this study. Students reported on their perceptions of task- and ego-oriented climates, motivational regulations, basic psychological need satisfaction, and need frustration, as well as positive and negative outcomes in PE. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate our objective.

Results: We found that a task-oriented climate had a strong and positive relationship with basic psychological need satisfaction, eliciting a bright pathway to autonomous motivation and affective attitude. An ego-oriented climate was positively related to basic psychological need frustration, eliciting a dark pathway to amotivation and boredom. A negative cross-path from task-oriented climate to basic psychological need frustration was also found, while no significant cross-paths were found from ego-oriented climate to basic psychological need satisfaction.

Conclusions: This study provides a better understanding of the mechanisms that explain why task- and ego-oriented climates shape students’ motivational experiences in PE lessons. It is suggested that a task-oriented climate elicits a bright pathway towards more optimal functioning, because it fosters experiences of need satisfaction and buffers against experiences of need frustration. In contrast, an ego-oriented climate is primarily positively related to feelings of need frustration and negative motivational outcomes. Practical implications for PE teacher training are discussed.     

基于赛事路线视角的马拉松运动员比赛成绩影响因素分析简

运用文献资料法、逻辑分析法等研究方法,从赛事路线的视角出发,对马拉松运动员比赛成绩的影响因素进行分析,以达到提高运动员比赛成绩的目的。研究表明：赛事路线中影响马拉松运动员比赛成绩的主观因素有运动员对路线的熟悉程度、对不同路向测量方法的掌握情况、对各种路段针对性的训练情况;客观因素有路面状况、赛道周边环境、赛事服务者等。建议：运动员赛前要了解影响比赛成绩的主客观因素,并进行针对性的训练。本研究为教练员、运动员的训练和比赛提供参考,以引起教练员、运动员的重视,具有一定的实践意义。     

应用层次分析法确定优秀羽毛球运动员培养过程影响因素的权值

优秀羽毛球运动员的培养过程是由诸多复杂因素构成的,有人为因素,也有客观因素,如何在众多因素中准确找到主要影响因素是实施有效对策的有力措施。采用层次分析法确立优秀羽毛球运动员培养过程影响因素的指标体系,对影响因素进行定性和定量分析,确定制约优秀运动员培养过程的系统因素,找出竞技羽毛球项目在培养过程中的主要素。经分析发现:教练员的训练能力、管理能力、创新意识、品德修养以及运动员的伤病、意志品质、训练动机等在长期的训练培养过程中不同程度地影响运动员的发展。     

Talent development of high performance coaches in team sports in Ireland

Background: Coaches are central to the development of the expert performer and similarly to continued lifelong participation in sport. Coaches are uniquely positioned to deliver specific technical and tactical instruction and mentoring programmes that support the psychological and social development of athletes in a challenging, goal-oriented and motivational environment. The current study aimed to qualitatively investigate current coach learning sources and coaches’ educational backgrounds in team sports in Ireland. Methods: Coaches from five team sports in Ireland were asked to complete an online questionnaire. Subsequently male coaches (n?=?19) from five team sports who completed the questionnaire and met the inclusion criteria were invited to attend a follow-up semi-structured interview. Inclusion criteria for coaches were that they possess at least 10 years’ experience coaching their sport and were coaching more than 4 hours per week. Results/Discussion: Formal coach education does not meet the needs of high performance coaches who rely more on self-directed learning and coaching experience as their main sources of CPD. Although prior playing experience at a high level is both valuable and desirable, there are concerns about fast-tracking of ex-players into high performance coaching roles. Conclusions: Preferred sources of education and the best learning environment for coaches of team sports in Ireland are more informal than formal. Further research is needed to examine how this learning is applied in a practical manner by examining coaching behaviours and the impact it has on the athlete development process.     

Primary physical education,coaches and continuing professional development

Physical education (PE) in primary schools has traditionally been taught by qualified primary teachers. More recently, some teaching of PE in primary schools has been undertaken by coaches (mostly football coaches). These coaches hold national governing body awards but do not hold teaching qualifications. Thus, coaches may not be adequately prepared to teach PE in curriculum time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of a group of community-based football coaches working in primary schools for the impact of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme on their ability to undertake ‘specified work’ to cover PE in primary schools. The programme focused on four areas identified as important to enable coaches to cover specified work: short- and medium-term planning, pedagogy, knowledge of the curriculum and reflection. Results showed that for the majority of coaches the CPD programme had made them more aware of the importance of these four areas and had helped to develop their knowledge and ability to put this into practice in covering planning, preparation and assessment time. However, further input is still required to develop coaches’ knowledge and understanding in all four areas, but especially their curriculum knowledge, as well as their ability to put these into practice consistently. These findings are discussed in relation to the implications of employing coaches to cover the teaching of PE in primary schools and, if employed, what CPD coaches need to develop the necessary knowledge, skill and understanding for covering specified work in schools.     

全国体育专业院校田径教练员领导行为的研究

运用LSS量表,对我国体育专业院校田径教练员领导行为进行调查研究,发现:LSS量表具有较高信、效度,适合在中国使用;教练员在社会指导、民主、社会支持和奖励行为上自我估计过高;运动员各特征及其一些水平上,运动员喜欢的和教练员实际的领导行为各维度上都存在显著性差异,说明不同特征的运动员对教练员不同领导行为维度上存在不满意的情况,为教练员改进提高其管理水平提供了理论依据,对我国体育专业院校田径教练员培养优秀的教练员和运动员及促进体育专业院校田径专业的健康发展都有着重要意义。     

In defence of white privilege: physical education teachers’ understandings of their work in culturally diverse schools

Research suggests that physical education (PE) in Western countries is not providing equitable experiences for non-white students. Responsibility for shortcomings has often been ascribed to white PE teachers. Scholars have claimed that teachers lack cultural competence and know little about how physical cultures or health are understood by the young people with whom they work. The objective of this investigation was to investigate this claim and generate an understanding of how white PE teachers in a culturally diverse high school make sense of their work with non-white students. Data with three Swedish teachers of varying experience were produced using semi-structured interviewing. A series of school visits provided a complementary line of data. Four themes emerged from the data. These related to: (1) differences between white and non-white values; (2) the knowledge and dispositions necessary for success in PE; (3) the broad purpose of PE, and; (4) the differences between boys’ and girls’ experiences of PE. Data were interpreted using a Critical Race Theory (CRT) perspective, with the notion of ‘whiteness’ providing a specific analytic concept. The general thesis developed in the second part of the paper is that problems result not from insensitivity or incompetence but from discourses of whiteness in which many teachers live and work. By building on critical research both in general education and physical education literature and by utilizing whiteness as an analytical concept, the investigation shows how three PE teachers draw extensively on the racial discourse of whiteness and how this disadvantages non-white students. The paper is concluded with a consideration of how racial disadvantage could be challenged or disrupted.     

The Validity of the Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire (IBQ) in Sport

According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), basic psychological needs will be influenced by other individuals’ interpersonal behaviors. The objective of the present research is to extend the validity of the Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire (IBQ and IBQ-Self) to the sport context. The measure was designed to assess perceptions of interpersonal behaviors of others (IBQ) or self-reports of interpersonal behaviors (IBQ-Self) in the context of SDT. This measure consists of 24 items and six subscales looking at autonomy-supportive, autonomy-thwarting (controlling), competence-supportive, competence-thwarting, relatedness-supportive, and relatedness-thwarting interpersonal behaviors. In Study 1, athletes were asked to report on their perceptions of their coaches’ interpersonal behaviors (IBQ). In Study 2, coaches were asked to report on their interpersonal behaviors when they coach their athletes (IBQ-Self). The results supported that the scale had a strong factor structure, internal consistency, and validity. Overall, the results supported the IBQ and IBQ-Self are valid measures of interpersonal behaviors in sport.     

Coaching athletes with disability: preconceptions and reality

It is now widely recognized that athletes with disability compete at an elite level which parallels that experienced by non-disabled athletes. The importance of quality coaching to develop an athlete’s full potential is similarly recognized. However, research in the area of coaching athletes with disability is still lacking compared to its counterpart in non-disabled sport. This research explored the holistic experience of coaching elite athletes with disability, and therefore encompassed not only the coaches’ preconceptions, but the rewards and challenges of their coaching experience. Semi-structured interviews were held with 12 coaches of elite athletes from sports including swimming, athletics, cycling, canoeing, triathlon, equestrian sport and wheelchair basketball. The results of the study identified that, although the coaches reported their experience as being overwhelmingly positive, they were also regularly confronted with difficulties not generally faced by coaches of non-disabled athletes.     

CUBA篮球教练员领导行为特征研究

旨在探讨我国CUBA联赛教练员领导行为特征。以参加2011年第十四届中国大学生篮球联赛(CUBA)的1575名运动员为调查对象,利用《大学篮球队教练员领导行为问卷》为研究工具进行问卷调查。结果表明:大学篮球运动员在训练过程中对教练员的领导行为的感知程度高低依次为技术指导行为、训练行为、正向反馈行为、民主行为、关怀行为。不同水平、组别、年级、训练年限及参赛经验的大学篮球运动员感知的教练员领导行为有显著差异,但不同性别运动员感知的教练员领导行为无显著差异。     

不同目标设置对青少年网球运动员发球成功率及自我监控能力影响的研究

根据目标设置理论,设置不同难度目标对青少年网球运动员发球落点成功率及自我监控能力影响进行实验研究,探讨合理的目标设置对运动员的发球落点成功率及自我监控能力各维度的影响。研究结果显示,合理的目标设置训练能够较好的促进网球运动员发球落点成功率以及网球运动员自我监控能力各维度控制效果的提高,为网球教练员及运动员提供有益帮助。     

The experiences of sexual harassment in sport and education among European female sports science students

The study investigates whether sport is an especially risky environment for sexual harassment to occur. It explores female students’ experiences of sexual harassment in organized sport and compares them with their experiences in formal education, by addressing the following research questions: (1) Are there any differences in female sport students’ experiences of sexual harassment in sport and education? (2) Are there any differences in female sport students’ experiences of sexual harassment from coaches and teachers? (3) Are there any differences in female sport students’ experiences from peer students and peer athletes? A total of 616 female students from three different European countries, Czech Republic, Greece and Norway, answered a questionnaire. The results revealed that the students had experienced more sexual harassment in an educational setting than in a sport setting. Further analysis showed that this was primarily due to sexual harassment from peers in school. In Greece and Norway, there was no difference between occurrences from teachers and coaches, yet in Czech Republic coaches appear to harass more than teachers. The difference between sexual harassment occurring from peers in sport and in education is discussed in relation to whether the sense of belonging/camaraderie that a sport club member may experience might function as a barrier for sexual harassment to occur—because it embarrasses or hurts a teammate. In addition, sport clubs and teams are governed by their respective sport rules and possibly by additional club/team rules, which may also establish extra inside-club/team boundaries for acceptable and nonacceptable/harassing behaviors. This article concludes that greater emphasis ought to be placed on education; not only toward shaping safer teacher/coach behaviors, but also toward the student/athlete behaviors.     

体育教师教学活动风险认知的质性研究及测量方法

体育教师教学活动是学校体育工作的重要组成部分,而体育教师教学活动的风险行为与体育教师教学活动风险认知有关。通过质性研究总结出体育教师教学活动风险认知的特征为持续性、可控性、知识性、熟悉性、一般恐惧性、严重性、忧虑性和灾难性;体育教师教学活动风险认知的影响因素为教学经验、归因、收益认知、风险沟通、学生特点和教学内容,并探讨基于心理测量范式的体育教师教学活动风险认知测量方法。研究结果对于体育教师安全地开展教学活动和有效预防学校体育活动风险事件发生有一定的现实意义。     

Primary school physical education and sports coaches: evidence from a study of School Sport Partnerships in north-west England

Drawing on interview data from a study of one School Sport Partnership (SSP) in north-west England, this paper examines (from the perspective of teachers): (1) some of the ways in which the SSP programme facilitated the increasing use of sports coaches to deliver aspects of physical education (PE) in state primary schools in England and (2) how coaches were accommodated within existing curricular arrangements. The use of coaches was found to be widespread and normalized, especially in extra-curricular PE which was often a coach-only zone. In some schools, coaches delivered all aspects of PE provision without the presence of teachers regardless of when the subject was delivered, and in other schools teachers were present but often acted in a supervisory capacity. This raised questions about the degree to which teachers were meaningfully involved in the planning and delivery of sessions and whether the use of coaches was likely to enhance teachers' confidence in, and specialist knowledge of, PE. Grounded in discussions of the differences between teaching and coaching pupils, teachers felt that coaches made a valuable contribution to the delivery of individual sports but often experienced particular difficulty in controlling pupil behaviour and classroom management, and that their lack of knowledge about pupils limited learning. It is concluded that it is only possible to adequately understand the trend towards using sports coaches and other non-specialists in PE by locating them within the context of broader social processes, especially the globalization of education policy and practices supported by shifts towards the privatization and marketization of education and other public sector reforms occurring in neo-liberal economies.