the role of coachIng In vocatIonal educatIon and traInIng

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Coaching’s collaborative process of engagement in social
learning can also be linked to participation by the coach and
coachee in a ‘community of practice’ (Lave & Wenger, 1991).
Communities of practice enable a range of types of informal
learning in which the novice coachee is enabled to engage in
‘legitimate peripheral participation’ in the activities of the
community, learning expert practices from more advanced peers.
This type of peer-based social learning is based on
relationships with experts who guide the coachee to learn about
new kinds of knowledge and skills that are relevant for the
practice involved. Coachees gradually become experts themselves
through the guidance provided both by the coach and from
the processes of social learning that take place with engagement
within the community. The community of practice will
demonstrate and articulate forms of ‘tacit knowledge’ in types
of professional expertise that are difficult to teach in the
classroom. Tacit elements of expert practice may be tricky to
identify and may only be observable through lengthy periods
of engagement and observation in the community. It is hard to
say, for example, why and how a practitioner is so good at
his or her job upon first observation. After a period of observation,
work shadowing, coaching and engagement in a community
of practice involving other practitioners, less visible areas of tacit
knowledge may be gradually revealed.
Conclusion
The main benefit of incorporating coaching practices in other
approaches to VET is that coaching provides vocational students
with a local, tailored and flexible relationship with a more
expert peer using a robust model that has been shown to have
high levels of impact (Ketelaar et al., 2009). Coaching allows
learners to reflect on and participate actively in the development
of their own knowledge and understanding. The development
of more advanced practice takes place as students learn how to
direct and regulate their own learning, striving for individualised
goals and higher achievement.
As an approach that aims to help people to learn for
themselves under the close guidance of an expert, the role of
coaching naturally fits in with a range of other approaches in
VET. Coaching complements classroom teaching and workshop
delivery by providing a learner-focused approach in which
students learn through experience in real-world situations. This
naturally complements VET classroom and workplace
demonstration practices. As a socio-cultural and cognitive
apprenticeship-type pedagogical approach that fosters
both independence and self-directed learning, coaching involves
students working in partnership with expert coaches in the
vocational field involved.
The development of more advanced practice occurs as
students learn how to direct and regulate their own learning.
In striving for individualised goals and higher levels of achievement,
coachees benefit directly from engagement with a coach. To
achieve the best from the relationship, an atmosphere of trust
between coach and coachee needs to be established in which
both parties respect the skills and knowledge of the other. Both
parties need to be committed to an interactive relationship
which involves a subtle balance of power, in which the authority
of the coach is respected, but the coachee is also valued for
his or her skills and potential. To motivate the coachee, the coach
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CHAPTER 3
The role of coaching in vocational education and training