Week 2 – Mentoring and Coaching

Topic goals:
• To define the concept of mentoring and coaching
• To discuss the main components of team coaching
• To present the coaching approaches for educational actors
 Mentoring and Coaching
Mentoring
Mentoring is a continuous structured process for supporting professional learners
through significant career transitions (Curee, 2005). It involves providing guidance
by showing the way, offering support and addressing challenges (Daloz, 1983).

Μentors are experienced colleagues with knowledge of the requirements of the role.
A mentor is a person of greater rank or expertise who teaches, counsels and guides a
novice in an organization or profession (Philips, 1982 ; Donaldson, Ensher, &
Grant-Vallone, 2000).

Coaching in educational settings

Coaching is a continuous structured process aimed at enabling the development of a
specific aspect of a professional learner’s practice.

‘Coaches are fellow professionals with knowledge and expertise relevant to the goals
of the professional learner. They enable professional learners to take control of their
own learning through non-judgemental questioning or support’, (Curee, 2005).

‘Coaching is a skill –it is a way of managing, a way of treating people, a way of thinking
and a way of being. Mentors know the answers, coaches know the questions’.
(Whitmore , 2009) .

Coaching in business

Teams carry out most of the work in organizations. Teams have different dynamics to
individuals and so we must be able to coach the team as a whole entity and to address
the needs of the members.

Coaching is an approach to management and how one carries out the role of being
a manager since it requires a set of skills for managing employee performance to
deliver results.

In addition, coaching is defined as a service which is given to get more efficient results,
aiming at the specific purpose of developing leadership or management skills.
It is a developmental process that is put in place in order to enable organizations to
produce solutions, overcome obstacles, discover strong points and areas for
improvement which can increase an individual’s self-performance and help them
achieving their target aims (Purcek, 2000).Brounstein (2000) stated that there are three
main factors to be considered when coaching a team:

1. Context:
2. The context has to do with the wider climate in which both the team and
individual operate. It is very important to create a culture and climate that
encourages and supports the goals of the team. The leader in an organization
needs to create the appropriate cultural climate in order for the team to perform
effectively.Process:
The processes that can be used to develop a cohesive team also need to be
considered. In specific, there are three subcomponents involved in a process:
• Relays: One of the processes is the usage of team members to act as a relay.
If there is a subgroup of senior team members who are aware of and share
the coach’s vision and mission, then they can act as substitute team managers
and coaches and they will remind team members of the team goals and values.
This is very helpful for a coach as it can be difficult to manage and control
everything in the team.
• Relationships: Another important component of process is the relationship
between team members. For example, the level of trust between the members
of the team or their differences. It is very important for a coach to build a
level of trust between the team and to explore how this trust can be further
developed.
 • Shared Purpose: The coach should initiate and facilitate conversations with
the team members regarding the shared purpose of the team as there is a
need to have a clarity around this shared purpose from everyone on the
team.

3. Contact:
This has to do with managing individual talent in a team. Coaches should be able to
address the individual needs, issues, talents and preferences in a team They need to be
aware of the team goals and any potential clashes between individual goals and team
goals. They also need to be flexible to individual needs within the team and adapt the
coaching style to the needs of the team members. Addressing the individual needs of
team members as well as the needs of the team itself will ensure that the team
functions effectively.

Hawkins (2009) developed a model focusing on three aspects and five disciplines of
team coaching. The first aspect involved in team coaching is the task, which refers to
the purpose of the team while the second aspect is the process, which has to do with
how the team will achieve its purpose. The final aspect is relationships, which can
involve both internal and external relationships. Around these three aspects, there
are five key disciplines. For each of the five disciplines, there are some useful
questions you can ask when coaching a team:

Commissioning: Who does the team serve? What is its purpose? Why does it exist?

Clarifying: Is the team clear about the roles? Is the team clear about the working
processes?

Co-creating: How is the team working together? How creative?

Connecting: How does the team partner with the wider system?
Core Learning: How does the team learn? How does it develop as a team?

Principles of mentoring and coaching

There are 10 principles based on evidence from research and consultation which are
recommended to inform coaching and mentoring programs in schools.

• Α learning conversation: there is a need for structured professional

dialogue.
• A thoughtful relationship: the development of trust and respect
• A learning agreement: the agreement of rules in order to establish
confidence regarding the relationship between the team members.
• Combining support from fellow professional learners and
specialists: collaborating with colleagues in order to sustain
commitment to learning; seeking out specialist expertise to extend
skills and knowledge and to model good practice.
Increasing self- direction: the learner needs to take increasing
responsibility for their professional development as skills, knowledge
and self-awareness increase.
• Setting challenging and personalised goals: identifying goals that
expand on what learners know and can do already.
• Understanding why different approaches work: understanding new
practices that may be adapted for different contexts.
• Acknowledging the benefits to the mentors and coaches: recognizing
the professional learning that mentors and coaches gain from the
opportunity to mentor or coach.
 • Experimenting and observing: creating a learning environment that
supports innovation and practice.
• Using resources effectively: using other resources in a manner that
promotes continuous learning.

Coach and Coaching in Education

Coaching and leading in education:

According to Purcek (2014), coaching in education is identified as a source of

development of school authorities.
The focus of educational coaching is learning and development. Coaching is related to
leadership, management, counseling, mentoring and guidance.

Coaching is a powerful tool that can be used to support learning and

development for students, teachers, school leaders and their educational
establishments (Devine, Meyers and Houssemand, 2012). There are a variety of
coaching approaches that have been used successfully. These approaches are the
following: behavioral coaching, solution-focused coaching, cognitive and cognitive-
behavioral coaching, instructional coaching, executive coaching, peer coaching, and
positive organizational leadership. These
coaching approaches have been reviewed based on their focus on the three main
educational actors: students, teachers, and school leaders.
According to Skiffington and Zeus (2003), coaching is a “a holistic multifaceted
approach to learning and change” and it plays a key role in education: in the classroom,
in the professional development of key actors in the educational system, and in the
creation of learning cultures.
The main motivation of coaching in education is to create a difference in
student’s learning and teacher’s professional development.
There are several coaching approaches that have been used successfully:
• Behavioral coaching: It can easily be used for teaching and learning by
students, teachers and school leaders. It is believed that behavioral coaching
works to decrease student’s anxiety during exams and increase test
performance and managing stress (Short, Kinman, & Baker, 2010). Some
models under behavioral coaching are the GROW (Alexander & Renshaw,
2005) and TGROW (Downey, 2003), which are goal-oriented and
solutionoriented approaches. Those two models are used extensively in t h e
education sector and it is the coaching approach adopted in the UK
education sector. However, some researchers, criticized this approach for not
taking into account the cognitive-emotional factors, unconscious material and
the systemic features impacting learning (Grant, 2001; Passmore, 2006;
Palmer & Szymanska, 2007).

• Solution-focused Coaching: It has been used successfully for developing life

skills. It is easily learnt and can be used by all members of the education system.
It empowers coaches to draw upon their own resources in developing solutions
to problems. Researchers have been criticized solution-focused coaching in that
it is too simplistic when problems are complex, therefore long term learning
might may not occur. However, when it is combined with other approaches, it
enhances students’ problem-solving skills, coping skills, resilience, well-being
and study-skills (Campbell & Gardner, 2005; Green et al., 2007).
• Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral coaching: Cognitive-behavioral approaches
focus on emotions and behavior and are helpful in building psychological
resilience, enhancing performance, improving well-being and reducing stress
(Palmer & Szymanska, 2007). Cognitive coaching emphasizes reflection, self-
analysis and self-evaluation and is used to assist teachers to examine their
thinking behind their teaching practices.

• Instructional coaching: It is a specialist and content–based approach which is

effective in supporting children’s professional development and increase
students’ achievement of outcomes (Cornett & Knight, 2009). Although
effective, they are complex to implement as they rely on multiple
stakeholders such as national and local government, school culture, principals,
and teacher uptake to ensure they are effective. Coaches require extensive
training (usually about one year) and ongoing continuous development, and
the programs are costly to implement.

• Executive Coaching: It supports head teachers, principals and teachers

transitioning into management roles as stand-alone interventions. According to
Page et al. (2014), executive coaching can be defined as a form of organizational
learning through one- to- one conversations that facilitates development for a
leader. It is an ‘empowering process’ that aims to find solutions through
effective listening, asking powerful questions and using feedback so that people
take ownership.

• Peer Coaching: It is a collaborative process in which two or more professional

colleagues explore and reflect on their teaching practice, and thus refine,
expand, and enhance their knowledge about the teaching profession. There is
a variety of approaches to peer coaching. One type is designed to help
teachers transfer new skills they have learned in a workshop or training
session into their classroom practices. This type of coaching usually follows
training in specific strategies or methods, and is directly related to the
workshop or training content. The other
 approach involves colleagues working collaboratively around issues unrelated
to a specific training. This approach is intended to increase professional sharing,
to refine teaching practices, and to enhance teacher reflection. It may include
instructional strategies, curriculum content, classroom management practices,
specific students, particular problems, or instructional skills such as questioning
techniques or process skills to generate higher-order thinking. In peer coaching,
the focus is on the teacher as learner. Fullan, Bennett, and Rolheiser-Bennett
(1990) describe four aspects of the teacher as learner—the technical, the
reflective, the research, and the collaborative—which are played out in a variety
of coaching experiences.

The technical aspect The research aspect

TEACHER
AS
LEARNER

The collaborative
The reflective aspect aspect
 • Positive organizational scholarship: Ιts main aim is to support change at
individual, group, and organizational levels. This approach develops a more
holistic view of education and give emphasis on the strengths of the individual
or the system, and developing skills that go beyond the traditional academic
subjects to enhance wellbeing. Projects such as the Geelong Grammar School
Project (GCS) in Australia and the Pennsylvania Resilience Program (PRP) in
the USA have delivered excellent results. These again are big initiatives with
multiple stakeholders, and are costly and complex to implement.

All the above approaches have valuable contributions to make in educational settings,
proving that coaching is valuable. There are two broad stands. The first one is the
‘traditional coaching approach’, where the coach does not need to have specialist
knowledge of teaching practices and educational setting specificities, whereas the
second one is specialized in terms of content, educational substance and leadership for
learning.

Application of coaching approaches for main educational actors

Coaching for teachers:

Teachers’ practices in the classroom are the greatest predictors of student achievement
(Knight, 2009; Bush, 2009). Focusing on supporting teachers’ professional
development will therefore have the most significant impact on student outcomes.
Research shows that coaching is an effective strategy for ongoing teacher development
(e.g. Cornett & Knight, 2009; Joyce & Showers, 1987; Knight, 2009).
Peer coaching or learning is a powerful way to transfer learning in teacher professional
development (Shower & Joyce, 1987). Developmental coaching for teachers needs to
rely on both peer and specialist support. The National Framework in the UK makes
references to mentoring, specialist coaching and collaborative coaching as ways to do
this. Collaborative coaching involves a small group of teachers who share experiences
and practices, reflection, offer support, feedback and encouragement. Ιn this way,
teachers share knowledge and experience. Special coaching reinforces these aspects
and supports the development of specific teaching competencies and strategies and their
implementation in the classroom. Instructional coaching focuses on providing a
comprehensive framework for instructional excellence in four areas: classroom
management, content planning, instruction and assessment for learning. Instructional
coaching is directed towards teachers in their own classroom and has a positive impact
on a teacher’s attitudes. In addition, instructional coaching leads to the
implementation of new strategies in the classroom, increases feeling of teacher-
efficacy and improves students’ achievements.

Coaching for school leaders:

According to Duncan and Stock (2010), coaching for school leaders
requires developmental, specialist and collaborative coaching approaches. High
quality leadership makes a significant difference to school improvement and student
learning outcomes and coaching programs have been found to be very useful
(Leithwood, Day, Sammons, Harris, & Hopkins, 2006; Bush, 2009). Leaders in
school and higher education systems are teachers who have moved into leadership
roles. This transition requires preparation and development (Bush, 2009). Oakland
district has established a Leadership Coaching department and a Transformational
Leadership Coaching team, which includes former teachers with coaching or
administration experience, to support school leaders in their own development and
to promote school improvement (Aguilar, Goldwasser, & Tank-Crestetto, 2011).
Having effective educational leaders is vital because it develops individual leadership
capacity, and reinforces and sustains ongoing learning. School leadership has an
important influence and increases the likelihood that teachers will change classroom
practices. In addition, leaders who work with teachers can significantly influence
their instructional practices, which in turn increases student’s learning (Supovitz,
Sirinides, & May, 2010).
Coaching for students:
Coaching for students has been applied successfully by teachers, coaches,
student counselors and also by students coaching other students.
Studies showed that coaching enables the development of students’ coping skills
and resilience, improves well-being, and decreases levels of depression. Also, it
contributes to the development of study skills and personal learning goals, which
can lead to enhanced performance.
Life coaching by student peers, also has positive impacts in enhancing skills and in
children’s personal development. It also helps the children cope with stress (Green et
al., 2007; Roussis & Wells, 2008). Coaching aimed to help manage stress is
important as it can impact academic performance.
Coaching can also help children to identify what areas they are good at and
find ways to optimize their strengths. Furthermore, it can provide them with life-
skills which will enable them to succeed through life.
Positive psychology has a valuable contribution in educational settings
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).Evidence-based coaching has been used as a
methodology to apply positive psychology research, and has been shown to enhance
wellbeing, facilitate goal attainment and foster purposeful positive change.
In conclusion, one-to-one coaching interventions for educational leaders, teaching staff
and students are crucial for the development of coaching cultures in educational
settings.
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