Impact of Coaching on Highschool Students
Dedeche (2019) conducted a study in Qatar to see the effects of coaching on life satisfaction and goal achievement in high school students. Experimenters believed that introducing coaching early in life would lead to greater development of academic and personal skills, which is why this study included 40 male students, who were between 13 and 16 years old. All of the students were asked to set an academic and personal goal they wished to accomplish by the end of the school year. Afterwards, 20 of the 40 students met once a week for 50 minutes over a 24 week period for a coaching session led by a teacher of the school.
The coaching sessions included an icebreaker activity, teaching of life and leadership skills, discussing challenges when achieving certain goals or specific challenges they may face, and what their key takeaways from the sessions were. They were also encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings with other students about how they felt. Results revealed that prior to coaching, all students, including the 20 students who did not receive coaching, had a decrease in life satisfaction. However, the coaching group had a slightly higher increase in life satisfaction than the non-coaching group, and a 40% higher goal achievement.
Furthermore, those who had received coaching reported that they were interested in the coaching program and believed that it had improved their wellbeing and engagement with their academic and personal goals, which were one of their favorite parts. The students also reported to enjoy the coaching sessions, felt it had improved their wellbeing and helped them achieve their goals. 40% of the coaching group had successfully completed their goals while only 20% of the non coaching group did. This may not sound like a lot, but twice as many students had achieved their end of the school year goals if they had received coaching!
