This study examined evidence-based coaching, based on the REGROW model, as a tool to improve career counselling in vocational education. Specifically, it was investigated whether teacher...Show moreThis study examined evidence-based coaching, based on the REGROW model, as a tool to improve career counselling in vocational education. Specifically, it was investigated whether teacher administered coaching was more effective in improving student wellbeing and motivation for career counselling sessions, from pre- to post-test, than only receiving regular career advice conversations. In addition, teacher and student evaluations of coaching and career advice conversations were investigated. The participants were 114 vocational education students between the ages of 16 and 27. Of those, 71 students received coaching and career advice conversations and 43 students received only career advice conversations. Additionally, 16 teachers provided coaching and career advice conversations to the experimental group and 9 teachers provided career advice conversations to the control condition. It was found that motivation, perceived choice, and experienced usefulness of the sessions increased over time, regardless of condition. This study did not find coaching to be more effective in increasing wellbeing and motivation for sessions compared to the academic career advice conversations. Neither condition appeared to contribute to a significant increase in student wellbeing. Furthermore, student and teacher evaluations of the coaching/career advice sessions did not differ for the coaching and career advice group. Teacher and student evaluations were positively correlated, indicating that students and teachers were overall in alignment with their evaluation of the coaching/academic career advice conversations. In addition, limitations of the study and suggestions for future research were discussed.Show less
Objective: The present study examined coaching’s impact on students’ mental health wellness, perception of inclusion, and attitudes to learning. Design: In a pretest-intervention-posttest control...Show moreObjective: The present study examined coaching’s impact on students’ mental health wellness, perception of inclusion, and attitudes to learning. Design: In a pretest-intervention-posttest control group design, 102 students (mean age 18.2 years) participated in either coaching or a regular tutoring period at an institution of vocational education in the Netherlands. Method: Students were randomly assigned to the experimental or control condition. Questionnaires of wellbeing, perceptive inclusion, and attitudes to learning were completed pretest and posttest, while coached students completed an additional two questionnaires of coach and coaching perception. Results: There was a statistical trend in gains of mental health wellness in the experimental group compared to the control group, while the effect of coaching on perceptive inclusion and learning attitudes were not significant. The perception of coaching could predict gains in learning attitudes and perceptive inclusion, and a statistical trend showed perception of coach could predict learning attitudes. Conclusion: Evidence-based coaching methods can be implemented into educational institutions as an intervention to promote mental health wellness, while further research should investigate the importance of coachee perceptions of the experience and their coach to achieve coaching benefits.Show less
Objective To examine the relationship between maternal reflective functioning (RF) and child aggression and whether this relationship is mediated by child’s precursors of Theory of Mind (ToM). The...Show moreObjective To examine the relationship between maternal reflective functioning (RF) and child aggression and whether this relationship is mediated by child’s precursors of Theory of Mind (ToM). The influence of coaching on maternal reflective functioning and child aggression is also examined. Method The sample consisted of 85 mother-infant dyads. Mothers were allocated to a high or low risk group based on maternal characteristics. Half of the high risk mothers were randomly assigned to a coaching group. Maternal reflective functioning was assessed prenatally and when children were 20 months of age by Pregnancy Interview (PI) and Parental Development Interview (PDI). Mothers were asked to aggressive symptoms in their child. Children’s precursors of ToM were measured at 20 months by an imitation task, a visual perspectives task and a discrepant desires task. Results Maternal prenatal reflective functioning was found to be negatively related to child aggressive behaviour. However maternal postnatal self-related RF was positively related to child aggression. In addition, maternal reflective functioning was found to be positively related to one precursor of ToM, but ToM did not mediate the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and child aggression. No effect of coaching on maternal reflective functioning and child aggression was found. Conclusion The present study provides evidence for the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and child aggression at a young age. This emphasizes the importance of well-developed maternal reflective functioning capacities for the behavioural development of children. This relationship could be mediated by child’s ToM, but this should be further researched. Coaching would be a suitable way to enhance maternal reflective functioning capacities, but the effects of coaching should be investigated after mothers received coaching for a longer period of time.Show less
