Mentoring in Physical Education and Sports Coaching

Fiona C. Chambers

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317754275
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Physical Education

Mentoring is a core element of any successful teacher education or coach education programme, with evidence suggesting that teachers and coaches who are mentored early in their careers are more likely to become effective practitioners. Physical education and sports coaching share important pedagogical, practical and cultural terrain, and mentoring has become a vital tool with which to develop confidence, self-reflection and problem-solving abilities in trainee and early career PE teachers and sports coaches. This is the first book to introduce key theory and best practice in mentoring, for mentors and mentees, focusing on the particular challenges and opportunities in physical education and sports coaching.

Written by a team of international experts with extensive practical experience of mentoring in PE and coaching, the book clearly explains what mentoring is, how it should work, and how an understanding of socio-cultural factors can form the foundation of good mentoring practice. The book explores practical issues in mentoring in physical education, including pre-service and newly qualified teachers, and in coach education, including mentoring in high performance sport and the role of national governing bodies. Each chapter includes real mentoring stories, practical guidance and definitions of key terms, and a 'pedagogy toolbox' brings together the most important themes and techniques for easy reference. This is a hugely useful book for all teacher and coach education degree programmes, for any practising teacher or coach involved in mentoring, and for schools, clubs, sports organisations or NGBs looking to develop mentoring schemes.

SECTION 1 Theories of mentoring

1 Mentoring A primer

10.4324/9781315797687-3

Fiona C. Chambers

Thomas Templin

Bryan McCullick

Ward “Piggy” Lambert never seemed to see limitations . . . only possibilities. With him, I gained one of the most important mentors of my career. From Coach Lambert, I learned the philosophies that were to become my trademark both on and off the court: conditioning, skill, and team spirit. He demonstrated the importance of unity and cohesion for making a team, and this was a lesson I never forgot. He modeled the importance of decisive action and taking risks, but he also cautioned . . . not to be reckless. He showed . . . responsibility, compassion, and (perhaps above all else) how to bring your personal principles into your career . . . . His example gave me both the immediate counsel I craved and the confidence to trust my own instincts. As a mentor, he was a giant.

Wooden 2009, pp. 49–50

As you might have guessed, this vignette is not derived from data collected during empirical studies of effective mentors’ qualities. In fact, the story is taken from a popular book written by a famous coach and teacher, John Wooden. Wooden was the legendary University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) men's basketball coach and he wrote this piece to describe his own mentor, i.e. his college basketball coach. As it turns out, Wooden (2009) had several people he considered mentors for and at different parts of his life. His description, however, of his coaching mentor paints a picture that probably resonates with many of us. Quite eloquently, Wooden describes Ward “Piggy” Lambert's personal characteristics and mentoring actions that made him such a powerful influence on Wooden's coaching career.

Oftentimes, theory and research findings are believed to be at odds with what many consider the ‘real world’. With a combined total of sixty-five years of both mentoring pre-service teachers and working with practicing teachers, the authors have heard arguments from both sides: ‘Dr Templin, what you are teaching us is good . . . in theory’, an undergraduate has been known to say, or at a conference we'll hear a researcher intone, ‘Teachers just don't understand research, so that is why they don't put stock in it’.

We are not worried about which side is ‘right’, we just believe that when it comes to identifying the qualities of effective mentors, science and the real world align quite nicely. The combined knowledge from (a) mentoring literature, (b) first-hand accounts of mentoring relationships and (c) the biographical information from recognized teachers of sport and physical activity show that the qualities of effective mentors align. The language might differ, but the ideas and concepts expressed are in essence comparable.

In this chapter, we want to explore mentoring so as to ‘set the table’ for the rest of the book. Specifically, the three-fold purpose of this chapter is to (i) provide a background to and definition of mentoring, (ii) identify practical and theoretical issues surrounding the construct of mentoring and (iii) discuss the place of mentoring in teacher and coach development. In the end, this chapter should provide a nice segue into the remaining chapters in this text that present how mentoring occurs in various contexts, and culminate in the production of a mentoring schematic of lessons learned from each of the remaining chapters.

Background and definition of mentoring

The term ‘mentor’ is first mentioned in Homer's The Odyssey. In this mythological tale, Mentor (or Mentês), the son of Alcumus, an Ithacan noble and trusted friend of Odysseus, was charged with looking after the welfare and education of Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, when Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War. The French archbishop, theologian and writer François Fénelon wrote of how Athena, goddess of war, handicraft and wisdom, assumed the guise of Mentor when she accompanied Telemachus in search of his father. Les aventures de Télémaque, published in 1699, was written to educate the grandson of Louis XIV and includes the first recorded modern mention of mentoring ( Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008). Interestingly, this definition of mentoring has endured in the midst of much debate on the subject. Theorists have agreed on the function and focus of mentoring.

Currently, literature on mentoring offers a broad view of the construct of mentoring and defines it vis-à-vis the mentoring relationship and how the mentor behaves within that relationship. This commentary is specifically related to the perceived benefits of mentoring (Patton et al. 2005). Turning to the etymology of the noun mentor, investigations reveal that it emanates from the noun mentos meaning intent, purpose, spirit or passion; wise advisor; ‘man-tar’ one who thinks; and ‘mon-i-tor’ one who admonishes (Online Etymology Dictionary 2007). The dictionary supports this pastoral and professional description, describing the mentor as ‘a wise and trusted guide and advisor’; ‘a wise and trusted counselor or teacher’; an ‘experienced advisor and supporter’; ‘a guide, a wise and faithful counselor’; and ‘a person who gives another person help and advice over a period of time and often also teaches them how to do their job’. Kram (1985) indicates that the mentor ‘supports, guides, and counsels a young adult as he or she accomplishes mastery of the adult world or the world of work’ (p. 2). This is quite a hierarchical view of the mentor-mentee relationship, with the mentor in charge and the mentee in a more passive and compliant role. In other literature, however, a picture of a more symbiotic mentor-mentee relationship emerges. Ayers and Griffin (2005) speak of a ‘reciprocal dimension of mentoring relationships [that] can help us better understand the mentoring dynamic as the co-construction of new knowledge and understanding for both mentors and protégés’ (p. 369).

Within this perception of the mentoring liaison, the mentor designs a bespoke learning experience for the mentee, offering different types of support as the mentee moves through his or her journey. To do this, Kram (1985) asserts that the mentor has a range of psychosocial functions, including role-modeling, counseling, friendship, acceptance and confirmation. These aspects of the relationship enhance a sense of competence, clarity of identity and effectiveness in a professional role. Through this process, the mentee role evolves from passive receiver to active learner, where knowledge is no longer acquired from the mentor, but is replaced by self-directed knowledge and critical reflection. In this way, the role of mentor has the potential to become mutually beneficial in terms of professional growth. A considerable list of benefits accrue to both mentor and mentee. Turning specifically to the mentee, McIntyre et al. (1994) refer to the main benefits of mentoring as being reduced feelings of isolation, increased confidence and self-esteem, professional growth, and improved self-reflection and problem-solving capacities. In reality, both parties profit, as participating in mentoring can serve as a stimulus for reflection, a means of engaging in professional dialogue and a validation of good practice. ‘Serving as a mentor pushes one not only to model but also to be accountable for that modeling. Identifying the rationale requires reflection-on-action for validation’ (Weasmer and Woods 2003, p. 69; Jordan et al. 2008). According to Jordan et al. (2008, p. 202), reflection can be on practice, in practice and for practice and is rooted in Schon's (1987) framework of reflective practice. Such reflection is prompted by the mentee-mentor relationship in two ways:

As host teachers address their classes, aware that their student teachers are watching, their reflection-in-action presses them to strive toward good teaching decisions, as they visualize what the student teachers witness. Likewise, the student teacher's presence stimulates the host teacher toward reflection-on-action in order to later explain his or her classroom behaviours.

Weasmer and Woods 2003, p. 74

In sum, Healy and Welchert (1990) state that ‘mentoring is seen as a reciprocal relationship in a work environment between an advanced career incumbent (mentor) and a beginner (protégé) aimed at promoting the career development of both’ (p. 17).

Practical and theoretical issues in mentoring

Perhaps what is most important when introducing the construct of mentoring is to identify the characteristics of (a) an ideal mentor and (b) the ultimate mentoring relationship. The literature abounds with such information. While we do not (and could not) cover every possible finding or position on these topics, we do believe it essential for this literature to be summarised before moving on to the other chapters.

Characteristics of ideal mentors

As suggested in the earlier discussion, having a mentee-centred approach to mentorship requires that the mentor possess certain characteristics. Numerous sources (Allen and Eby 2010; Ensher and Murphy 2005; Kram 1985; Zachary and Fischler 2009; Zachary 2005; Merriman 1983; Ragins and Kram 2007) provide various paradigms of effective mentoring and the promotion of adult development. In relation to teacher development, Shulman and Sato (2006) and Feiman-Nemser (1996) provide insights into mentoring teachers with the goal of developing ‘highly qualified teachers’ and the nuances of teacher socialization during this process. Within physical education and sport, various studies or reviews (Bloom et al. 1998; Cushion 2006; Richards and Templin 2011; Galvin 2004; Marshall 2001; Rikard and Banville 2010; Weaver and Chelladurai 1999; Wright and Smith 2000; Jones et al. 2009) have addressed the elements of effective...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Introduction
• SECTION 1 Theories of mentoring
• SECTION 2 Sociocultural factors and mentoring
• SECTION 3 Mentoring and physical education
• SECTION 4 Mentoring and sport coaching
• SECTION 5 The Mentor Pedagogy Toolbox: An ecological systems perspective
• Index