Each academic year, a large number of teachers voluntarily assume coaching positions in Canadian high schools and thus undertake the dual role of teacher-coach. To date, much of the scholarship on teacher-coaches has been conducted with small samples of participants and as such, the conclusions that can be drawn about the status of the Canadian teacher-coach are limited. The purpose of the current study was to profile the Canadian high school teacher-coach using a national sample. A total of 3062 teacher-coaches (males = 2046, 67%) emanating from all Canadian provinces and territories completed a questionnaire examining personal background and work conditions. Results indicated that aspects of teacher-coaches’ personal background significantly influenced the benefits and challenges they perceived from coaching as well as the recommendations they suggested to improve their coaching experience. The recommendations put forth by the teacher-coaches to improve their work conditions must be earnestly considered by school administrators to ensure the long-term viability of the Canadian high school sport system, which is largely sustained by dedicated volunteers.
Profiling the Canadian High School Teacher-Coach: A National Survey
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Martin Camiré is an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics in Ottawa, Canada. His areas of interest lie in sport psychology and sport pedagogy. Through his research, he is interested in examining how positive youth development can be facilitated in the context of sport and how coaches learn to implement strategies to promote the development of life skills.
Meredith Rocchi is a PhD student at the University of Ottawa’s School of Psychology, where she is studying coach motivation. Her research focuses on the contextual factors that impact coaches and how these factors influence their behaviors when coaching their athletes. Beyond her main work, she is also examining how coaches learn, the role of parents in sport, and the influence of athlete motivation on sport success over time.
Kelsey Kendellen is a PhD student at the University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics in Ottawa, Canada. Through her doctoral research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada as well as Sport Canada, she is interested in investigating the process of transfer, whereby athletes apply in the different areas of their lives the life skills they developed during sport participation.
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