资深教练对培养新教练的结构化指导课程的评价：基于自我决定理论的个案研究

许坤德 ，纪颖华 ，GORDON BLOOM，王志庆 ，孙延林

资深教练对培养新教练的结构化指导课程的评价：基于自我决定理论的个案研究

许坤德1，纪颖华1，GORDON BLOOM2，王志庆1，孙延林3

探讨资深教练对一个旨在推动和促进新篮球教练员培训质量的结构化指导课程的评价为目的。12名资深教练（其中1名女性教练）受邀参与了本研究，采用自我决定理论设计培养教练员的训练课程项目，采用关注性小组访谈作为资料收集法，让资深教练针对应用自我决定理论的训练课程提出意见。结果显示，此训练课程提供学员一个独特而积极的学习经验。教练员认为，可以通过这个课程获得教练知识并促进技能。本研究结果为今后推广有效的教练培训框架，以及结构化的辅导计划，提高新教练员学习专业知识和提高培训质量提供了新方向。

指导；学习；篮球；动机；自我决定理论

1 Introduction

Learning experiences during the process of coaching developmentcan be classified intoeither formalor informal learning[1-2].Formal learning refers to training that occurs in a structured setting under the guidance of a certified instructor such as during coaching classes，clinics，or certification programmes.Informal learning，on the other hand，refers to education that takes place outside the standard school/classroom settings.Thismay include personalathletic involvement，self-directed learning，or other experiences with little orno guidance from instructors[1].

Mentoring as a strategy for facilitating career development could be characterised either as formal or informal learning，depending on how it is structured and delivered.Mentoring has been defined as“a relationship between amentorand his/herprotégé where the former has a direct influence in the developmentof the latter and personally commitshis/hertime for the others’personal growth and development”[3].Mentoring has been identified as a highly effective method for developing leaders in all professions[3-6].In the non-sport settings，mentored individuals have reported higher levels of job satisfaction，organisationalsocialisation，career commitment，oppo

rtunity，recognition，careermobility，and self-esteem[7-8].In sum，mentoring plays an important role in the training and developmentof competent professionals，either through formal or informal arrangements.

In sports，scholars from Canada[9]，Spain[10]，and the United Kingdom[5]have professed the value ofmentoring for sport coaches，and called for the development of structured mentoring programmes in their countries.Unfortunately，little progress has beenmade in terms of formally instituting structured mentoring for the development of sport coaches.This is partially due to the lack of empirical literature on the value of mentoring for coach development in sports.In view of the possible benefits of instituting mentoring programme to aid coaches’learning and development，it is important to explore this topic further in the context of coach development，including the investigation of best practices based on well-established psychological theories ofmotivation，given the intricate link between learning and motivation.To this end，we have adopted the Self Determination Theory[11-12]as a theoretical framework to guide our development of structured mentoring programme.SDT is a well-established theory ofmotivation，development，and wellness with a focus on optimal functioning， psychological health，well-being，and life satisfaction[11-12].Basic Needs Theory（BNT），a sub-theory within SDT[13]suggests that there are three basic psychological needs thataffect humanmotivation.They are：（1）the needs for autonomy，which refers to the need to feel ownership of one’s behaviour；（2）the need for competence，which refers to the ability to achieve desired outcomes and to experiencemastery and effectiveness；and（3）theneed for relatedness，to feel that one can relate to others and the social world in general.When individual’s basic psychological needs are fostered，he/she ismore likely to be motivated.As a result，optimal psychological development and well-being could be consequently expected[13].

Considerable number of research demonstrated that satisfaction of these three basic needs predicts intrinsicmotivation，well-being，and other positive outcomes in various life domains such aswork and health[14]，education[15]，sport[16]，exercise[17]，and physicaleducation[18].For example，perceived autonomy is viewed as an important component of intervention programmes directed at improving an individual’s problem-solving and coping skills[19]，self-directed learning and self-control[20].Perceived competence of an individual may include perceived skill with respect to physical tasks（e.g.，motor skills，sportskills）and cognitive tasks（e.g.，problem solving，decisionmaking），aswellassocialcompetencies（e.g.，interpersonal communication）[21].Relatedness incorporatesboth caring aboutothers and being cared for by others.It can also include a feeling of connection with one’s culture through family and community relationshipsand through involvementin culturalpractices，traditions，and rituals[21].Given the strong associations between promotion of perceived autonomy，competence，and relatedness as mentioned above，we rationalised that adopting BNT within the SDT as the theoretical framework for designing a training programme formentors to guide their novice basketball coaches might be particularly effective.Furthermore，adopting the theory may also lead to better understanding of the environmental factors that promotemotivational climate forsupporting thementors’basic needssatisfaction[22].

Working towards a formalisedmentoring programme and have it grounded in established theories is very important，especially for a country like Singapore，which has limited human resource.In recent years，Singapore governmenthas shown increased interest inmaking an impacton the top 10world’s sportingarena.Toachieve thisgoal，the government has invested$300million in the Sporting Singapore Fund to finance sports development from 2005 to 2010[23].The Singaporean governmentalso sets the direction in recommending that the standard of the coaching industry be raised and thatprofessional qualification（e.g.，coaching certification）bemade compulsory in the future[24].Hence，equipping the workforce in sports industries with relevantskills and knowledge is critical so thatquality coaching sessions can be provided to themasses.Means of facilitating effective learning through formal and informal experiences，such as through mentoring isone approach thatwarrantsattention.

Currently，the Singapore Sports Council（SSC）and National Sports Association（NSA）are responsible for training and certifying coaches to serve the sports industries.SSC conducts theory course which focuses on pedagogy and sportsciences.Technical courses are conducted by NSAs，and usually involve skills and tactical development through practical sessions.To receive certification，participantsare required to pass thewritten and practical testswhich are usually held overa shortperiod of time（e.g.，from 2 weeks to 2 months）.With such an arrangement， there is little time and opportunity for participants to apply knowledge acquired during the technical course in actual practical coaching settings.Rather，coaches are left on their own after the course to practice and apply what they have learned.As such，the learning curve can be very steep and challenging formostnovice coaches.If the novice coaches would like to consult an experienced coach formentorship，there is no formalised mentoring system in place，and information on the potentialmentorswho could offer coaching advice isalso unavailable.Driven by themotivation to improve the learning experience ofnovice coaches in the Singaporean sportcoaching context，a research project based on our formalisedmentoring programme，guided bymentoring literature，was initiated and conducted with a group of 36 Level 1 basketball coaching course participantsand 12 selectedmentors over 3months.As partof the formalisedmentoring programme，a training package was designed to equip mentorswith pedagogical knowledge and facilitation skills for guiding novice coaches’learning.The purposeof the presentstudywas toevaluate thementors’perceptions on serving as amentor in the formalised mentoring programme.We adopted SDTas the theoretical framework toguide ourunderstanding.We anticipated thatpositive outcomeswillbe reported by thementors whohad attended the trainingprogramme.

2 Methods

2.1 Participants

12Mentors（1 female）whowereinvolved in thementoringtraining programme participated in this study.Theirages ranged from 31～75 yearsold（M=47.6，SD=12.6），with coaching experience averaging 18.8 years.Allof them have at leasta Level Two basketball coaching certification（Level Three is thehighestcertification in the country）.Theywere relatively successfulat the schoolsor clubs competitionsas basketballcoaches，and havehelped their teamsachieved at least top four positions in national levelcompetitions.

2.2 The Training Programme for Mentors

The training programme for mentors was framed within a formalised mentoring programme.Mentoring literature drawn from both within and outside the domain of sports was consulted.It was conceptualised and developed by the first author using SDT as a framework.He is an experienced basketball coach with FIBA International Basketball coaching license，and holder of the highest coachingqualification in Singapore（Master coach）.He isalsoa coach educator involved in lecturing at the National Coaching Accreditation Program（Theoryand Technical）under the purview ofSSC，aswellas servingasa2.3 FIBAAsiabasketballcoachingclinicsinstructor.

The 12 mentors were specially selected based on the following criteria：（1）atleasta LevelTwocoachingcertificate，（2）atleast7 years ofcoachingexperiencesatthecompetitive level，（3）successfulatthe clubsorschoolscompetitions.Abriefingsessionwasconducted tobrief them about the roles，responsibilities，and expected commitments required for involving in the programme.After thebriefing，allof them agreed to participate in the study.Subsequently，the first author conducted a 2-hour training session for them，including the art of observationandwaysofproviding feedback to thementees.Thementors were also supported with guidelineson effectivementoring skills.The content of the training programme sought to build mentors’competencies in guiding and facilitating mentees’learning.While guidelinesand parameterswere provided for thementors，thementors weregiven the flexibility to decideon theuseofinformation，so longas thementees’learningisnotcompromised.Asmuchaspossible，the first author facilitated the trainingofthementorsbased on tenetsoftheSDT，such as providing choice and autonomy for thementors to exercise flexibilityin theirmentoringprocess.

On average，each mentor was assigned to look after three mentees.As part of the course requirement，each mentee was expected to spend 8-hourofobservationsand hands-on sessionswith his/hermentor.All the sessions took place at thementors’training facility or competition sites.In the initial stageof the programme，the firstauthor and a research assistant visited each mentor and videoand audio-recorded one of theirmentoring sessions.The firstauthor viewed the session with the mentor to ensure consistency in the method of delivery.Thementorsalsomaintained a close contactwith the firstauthor via on-site visits，emails and tele-communications to clarify doubts，discussmentoring issues，and provide suggestions for improvement.

2.3 Data Collection

Interviewswere conducted onemonth after the completion of the coaching course，led by the first and second authors who had experience in qualitative research methods.Focus group session lasted for 78 minutes in duration，and was held in ameeting room located within the university.The interview followed a semi-structured questionnaire that consisted of opening questions，key questions，and summary questions.Mentorswere informed there were no rights or wrong answers and that they could respond freely whenever they had something to contribute.

2.4 Data Analysis

The focus group interview was transcribed into texts.The first author read the texts repeatedly before dividing them into chunks of texts that conveyed a specificmeaning related to the purpose of the study.These chunks of text were given labels，called codes.The researcherschosethenamesofthecodesasbeing logically related tothe data they represented[25]，making reference to the three psychological needs that could explain the effectiveness of mentoring training programme from the perspectiveof thementors.

A number of precautions were taken to ensure the trustworthinessoraccuracy of the data analysis.First，the interviewer completed an oral summary for the participants at the completion of each session，providing the participantswith an opportunity to agree or disagreewith the key ideas raised in each session.Second，a peer review took place ateach stage of the analysis.A peer examined 25%of themeaning unitsandmatched them with a listof codes created by members of the research team.Any discrepancies were discussed untila common understandingwas reached[25].

3 Results

The transcriptsofcoaches’interviewswere coded and presented according to the threepsychologicalneedswithin SDT’s framework i.e.（1）perceived autonomy，（2）perceived competence，（3）perceived relatedness.

3.1 Perceived autonomy

We were given information such as guidelines on mentoring，planning and evaluation of a coaching session.However，the organiser did notdictate a singlemethod ofmentoring and facilitating thementees.They encouraged us to be ourselves when guiding the mentees instead.Such flexibility is important as all of us are different，even thementeesunderour chargeare different.（C6）

Somementors also acknowledged the advantage of giving them choiceswhen guiding theirmentees.C3 said that：“Actually Ihad no clue on how to start off initially.Through all these[training]sessions，Ipicked up somementoring ideas，and was given the free room to incorporate things that I want to do into the mentoring programme”.

3.2 Perceived com petence

The training programme provided an excellent platform for the mentors to acquirementoring knowledge and facilitation skills.This，in turn，allowed them to feel competent about sharing their experienceswith thementees to help shorten their learning curve：

Igained themost from the trainingworkshop onmentoring and facilitation skills.It taught me how to go about sharing my experiences as a coach that Ihave gained over all the years.I feel competent now to guide thementees notmake the samemistakes.Thiswould allow them to learn faster tobecomea better coach.（C5）

Mentors perceived that they have improved their interpersonal and communication skills with others，and becamemore competent in facilitatingand interactingwith thementees：

As a coach，we will have to interactwith all kinds of players，likewise different people.The training equipped me well in that sense.Forme，Ibelieve thatas thementees are learning from me，I do learn to interact with them during discussion.It’s a win-win situation.（C8）

3.3 Perceived relatedness

Thementors seem to have developed a sense of ownership for the formalised mentoring programme in the way they expressed a feeling of belonging to the local basketball coaching community and shared a common vision of seeing it advance.They provided suggestions to strengthen future programme tomake itmore beneficial to the young coaches.For example，theymentioned that thementees and mentors should bematched based on their experience level and the levelofbasketball they are coaching.C7 suggested，“in termsof matching，organisershave to seewhat level thementeesare coaching atand attach them to amentor who is coaching their level.Thiswill bemore appropriate for them.”

Some other suggestionsmade for improvementsareas follows：

Amongmy peers，we have discussed that the novice coaches should havementors coaches so that they can gain some first-hand experiences…This will provide good base of coaches who are coaching，so I do feel that this[mentoring]programme needs to continue，for example，extend the from eight hours to fifteen hours（C10）.

I think so far the programme is good because from my previous experience，last timewe don’thaveanyone to train and guide us.We have to take a longway to get towherewe are now.So this[training programme]is more or less helping Singapore basketball coaches[and mentors].We could domuch better if allmentors are given a more proper type of training and information，connected with the sport and BAS likemyself，and willing to serve asmentors for long period of time.Then the programmewillbea successfulone（5）.

4 Discussion

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a training programme formentorswho were involved in a formalisedmentoring programme for novice basketball coaches，with SDT adopted as the theoretical framework.The results suggest that the training programme，aimed at helping mentors becoming better atmentoring，was perceived to be effective for thementors.This is consistentwith the existingmentoring literature in non-sport settings[26-27].In effect，the current programme enabled mentors to acquireusefulpedagogicalknowledgeand facilitation skills，which in turn，enabled them to better guide their mentees efficiently and effectively.Such experiencesalso seem to improve their interpersonal and communication skills.

The findings of our study are consistentwith self-determination theory[28]，which fundamentally suggests thatif the three psychological needs，i.e.autonomy，competence and relatedness are satisfied，humans are likely to be self-motivated，and positive psychological well-being is the outcome.Here we observed that relatedness with the program is especially prominent.In our study，all thementors were proud and honoured to be invited and involved in the programme.Theywere trained by the firstauthoronmentoring skills.The support and feedback provided by the first author subsequently made them feel competentabout delivering their duties.In addition，the mentors were given the freedom （autonomy） to guide the mentees，supported by the basic structure and guidelines provided to them.Lastly，thementors related well with the programme as they recognised the importance of the programme in developing quality novice coaches，and the important roles they played.They were actively engaged in discussion with the first author，and provided valuablessuggestionson how theprogramme can bestrengthened and improved.This isa sign of‘relatedness’in action.

The other interesting observation pertains to satisfaction ofneeds for competency.Our results show that the knowledge and facilitation skills acquired during the training programme better enable the mentors to provide proper guidance to theirmentees.The learning opportunity could be particularly useful for experienced coaches interested to serve asmentors in the future，and for enriching their professional knowledge[29].Through this process，the mentors also developed interpersonaland communication skills，which are helpful for handling challenging questions posted by thementees，and also inmanaging their expectations.Empowering thementors in attaining some levels of competence in mentoring through the training programme is an integral part of setting the right tone for their engagementwith thementees.As thementors had benefited through the training programme；with theneeds for competency fulfilled，it is likely that they aremoremotivated to guide their chargeswell.

Given the current findings，we suggest that designers of future mentoring programme can adopt principles in SDT to appropriately guide the creation and implementation of a formalised training programme formentors，such that it in turn benefitsmentees.When designing the training package，careful attention should be paid to increase the satisfaction ofmentors’three basic needs.One avenue that can further enhance mentors’overall commitment towards the programme，for example，can be achieved by increasingmentors’perceived autonomy support through gettingmentors tobe involved in co-creating thementoring training package toensure consistency and greaterownership（relatedness）of the programme.

In summary，our study contributes to the idea of how“community of learning”[30]can be purposefully created，using a formalised mentoring programme as a potential platform to promote learning among the mentors and mentees.We attribute it to the carefully planned training packagewhich enabledmentors to acquire useful knowledge on mentoring methods and facilitation skill，grounded in SDT.In turn，they were able to use the knowledge learned to guide theirmentees efficiently and effectively.Therefore，satisfying the three basic psychologicalneeds is a viable approach in structuringmentoring programme.

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Perceptions of Mentorson a Structured Mentoring Programme for Novice Coaches-A Case Study Using Self-Determ ination Theory

Koon Teck KOH1，Ying Hwa KEE1，Gordon BLOOM2，John WANG1，SUN Yanlin3
（1.Dept.of Sport and Exercise Science，Singapore National Institute of Education，Nanyang Technological University，Singapore；2.McGill University，Montreal，Canada；3.Tianjin University of Sport，Tianjin 300381，China）

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of the mentors involved in a formalised mentoring programme for novice basketball coaches aimed at facilitating and promoting quality learning.Twelvementors （1 female） were involved in this study.Self-determination theorywas used to frame a training package formentors.Focused group interview was employed to examinementors'perceptions of the programme.Mentors reported that they benefited from the programme，such as the acquisition of mentoring knowledge and facilitation skills.The results provide guidance for delivering future structured mentoring programme formentors in facilitating quality learning to enhance professional knowledge in beginning coaches.

mentoring；learning；basketball；motivation；self-determination theory

training for guiding mentees on planning，observing and providing useful feedback during coaching.They reflected that they also had the flexibility to decidehow togo aboutdoing it：

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2013-08-26；录用日期：2013-08-27

许坤德（1966-），男，新加坡人，博士，助理教授，研究方向为教练学和运动心理学。

1.南洋理工大学新加坡国立教育学院体育与运动科学部，新加坡南洋道 637616；2.麦吉尔大学，加拿大魁北克蒙特利尔；3.天津体育学院，天津 300381。

The mentors reported that they