As the new school year begins, it's timely to explore how coaching in education can make a significant impact. In today’s rapidly changing world, the role of education goes far beyond delivering academic knowledge. It’s about shaping futures, fostering resilience, and unlocking the potential within every student…and educator too! Coaching in education is a powerful tool to achieve these aims, offering support that empowers students, educators, and institutions alike. By integrating coaching into the educational landscape, we can build stronger, more adaptable futures, ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to thrive in an increasingly changing environment.
If what you’re building is physical and tangible, this question is relatively easy to answer. It requires having a vision of what you want to achieve; selecting the right approach and sourcing the right materials; plus finding the right craftspeople and creating a culture where everyone is pulling in the same direction.
If what you’re building is ‘people’ rather than structures, the recipe for success is more complex. However, many of the elements remain the same:-
Firstly, you need to know what the ideal outcome is. Many scholars that focus their work on human development are likely to suggest that the ideal outcome for human beings is to flourish. The Templeton World Charity Foundation suggests that for humans to flourish, it means we're on a path towards physical and mental wellbeing that's holistically good, both for individuals and communities. And yet, our current education system in the UK and beyond is not designed to put people on a path towards physical and mental wellbeing as its main objective.
In fact, it is centred around a human capital model. Based on Human Capital Theory, initially formulated by Becker (1962) and Rosen (1976), this model assumes that individual workers have a set of skills or abilities which they can improve or accumulate through training and education. In essence, our education system is all geared towards young people being productive, efficient and effective. There is merit in this approach, and it would be naïve to think that we don’t need to create a labour force for the future – whatever that may look like. However, workers of the future need something that cannot be quantified quite so easily: they need to flourish as human beings, so perhaps our education system is not quite so fit for purpose in this particular regard.
Coaching on the other hand is focused on what a person wants to achieve ultimately. For many, this comes down to flourishing.
Clients don’t always use this word; some call it wellbeing, some term it happiness, others call it fulfilment, for some they label it contentment – there are endless ways people describe flourishing but what all the labels share in common is that they describe a client’s ultimate goal. You don’t need to ask ‘so what would that give you?’… because it’s obvious.
Secondly, when building a person, selecting the approach and the materials is key. In education, these are curricula, pedagogy (the methods/strategies used to help students learn the curriculum) and relationships. What do we teach young people about themselves and the world, and how do we do it?
Despite a move away from didactic methods of teaching, there are still a lot of methods in education that direct pupils to what they should know and how they should know it. Although there is a place for this, and knowledge is hugely important, there is still plenty of space for children and young people to foster a sense of curiosity, exploration and even some risk-taking – all of which have been shown to be beneficial for mental health and wellbeing.
A coaching approach, where children and young people are able to set their own goals in line with their values and aspirations, gives space for this kind of exploration. It gives a sense of identity and individuality which provides meaning and fuels intrinsic motivation. It is also the most effective way to differentiate because when we differentiate by outcome, the steps to achieve your goal are by definition personalised.
Our current system judges everyone on the same narrow goals and as the saying goes ‘if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ The strength-based approach of coaching as well as the goal-setting philosophy could bolster the self-esteem of thousands of children and young people who currently spend a lot of their time in school feeling like failures.
Finally, when it comes to building a person, expert craftspeople forming a community of good practice is key. There is huge potential for teachers and coaches to work together to provide a more holistic approach to education. For me, this looks like coaches getting involved in their local schools, becoming ‘community coaches’, sharing ideas and resources with other coaches in education and really driving forward the importance of non-directive coaching approaches as key for pupil and staff wellbeing.
Subject knowledge has always been and probably always will be hugely valuable; however, without good mental and physical wellbeing, a person will never flourish however many exams they pass. To flourish, people need to learn about themselves and what they can bring to the world.
There are of course already pockets of excellent coaching practice in schools but these are too few and far between. To bring within-reach coaching to schools in a practical, affordable and impactful way, funders need to invest in the philosophy of coaching and all it can bring to education for human flourishing. This will take time and a concerted effort from the coaching in education community.
In the meantime, if you are a coach in education or interested in this niche, what are the ways you can support?
All of these approaches will highlight the value of coaching in education encouraging investment and funding for building young people’s futures in ways that are meaningful to each and every one of them.
Let’s judge a fish by its ability to swim in the sea – if that’s what it wants to do!
Feeling inspired?
If you're interested in Coaching within Education, do join our free Introduction Life Coaching webinar and follow-up session, Insight into Coaching Within Education. Check our online coaching training events calendar to book your free spot!
Rachael is Founding Director of Dragonfly: Impact Education and Coaches in Kind C.I.C. As a result of her positive experience of coaching, Rachael strongly feels children and young people can be supported to set goals and find their own answers, and that the philosophy of asking wise, character-developing questions is lacking in our current education system.
Rachael is an International Coaching Federation ACC Accredited coach and a coach-trainer for The Coaching Academy (TCA), delivering on the Coaching in Education programme, the Mental Health and Wellbeing CPD and the Wellbeing Niche Day, as well as Coaching Skills and Peer-to-Peers sessions on the Personal Performance Diploma.
Rachael’s love of questions led her to complete an MA in Character Education and embark on a PhD focused on the subject of curiosity. She is also a research fellow at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham.
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