Our Profession is a Powerful Tool : A Qualitative Exploration of Coaches Thoughts on Ethics in Sport

Transcription

1 Our Profession is a Powerful Tool : A Qualitative Exploration of Coaches Thoughts on Ethics in Sport Kristen Dieffenbach West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV In collaboration with: Drs. Jack Watson II & Ed Etzel, West Virginia University Special Thanks to : National Federation of High School Associations( NFHS)

2 Ethics? The principle of conduct governing an individual or profession - a standard of behavior Behavior regarding. right vs. wrong good vs. bad ought vs. ought not

3 Central Ethical Assumptions Do no harm Help others Respect autonomy Golden rule : treat others in a fair, equitable Be trustworthy Respect dignity Practice competently Be responsible & accountable for what you do Koocher & Keith-Speigel, 2008

4 8 Domains of Coaching Knowledge National Standards for Athletic Coaching, NASPE (2006) 1. Philosophy and ethics 2. Safety and injury prevention 3. Physical conditioning 4. Growth and development 5. Teaching and communication 6. Sports skills and tactics 7. Organization and administration 8. Evaluation

5 Common Ethical Concerns in Sport Respect for the game Steroids/ ergogenic aids Team relationships/favoritism Rule enforcement Win at all cost mentality Sportsmanship vs. Gamesmanship Eligibility concerns Dual role conflict Using athletes for personal gain Spirit of the sport Gender, race and cultural issues Athlete vs. student status

6 Coaching & Ethics Ethical challenges in sport often distinctive and multifaceted Need to appreciate coach s ethical perspectives for effective consultation Over 90% of NCAA coaches support a code and enforcement (Jorden, et al., 2004) Josephson Institute for Ethics (2004) reported a high percentage of coaches engaging in questionable behaviors

7 Purpose 1) To understand the ethical training backgrounds of U.S scholastic, high school coaches 2) To learn about ethical beliefs and behaviors these coaches 3) To learn about coaches ideas and concerns regarding ethics in their sport culture

8 Method IRB approved NFHS support Survey creation Three parts I demographics, basic ethics knowledge, and beliefs II expanded beliefs and open ended questions III - behaviors Survey peer reviewed Created secure online survey Multiple links to survey On NFSH website Direct to coach campaign

9 Participants 10,400 scholastic coaches Age (M = 43.18, SD = 10.24) 8,030 males and 2,281 females Identified ethnicity 89.7% Caucasian 4.3% African American 3.5% Hispanic/Hispanic American 1.3 % Native American 0.9% Asian/Asian American

10 Participants Education 49.8% Advanced degree 9.4% Some graduate work 35.3% Bachelor s degree 1.8% Associate s degree 2.1% Some college 1.7% High school Occupation 60.1% Teacher 13.7% PE teacher 7.3% Full time coach 6.5% Athletic director 4.5% Non academic 4.4% School administrator

11 Coaching Status 91.5% coach at high school level 98.8% are paid 92.8% are head coaches 49.6% members of NFHS Coaches Association 26.8% unsure about membership

12 Coaching Ethics 67.5% have not read the NFHS s Code of Ethics 12% indicated they had never been exposed to ethics at all Exposure coursework, workshop, self reading, coaches Of those familiar with the code 82% feel it is relevant 89% feel they follow it well 26% feel others follow it well 51 % feel it is enforced well by sports organization

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14 Open Ended Question Areas Coach s responsibility towards ethical standard Expectation on coach to uphold code of ethics First hand observed questionable ethical behaviors Personal actions in response to the questionable actions of others Role and function of the NFHS or similar agency regarding coach ethics? Suggestions for increasing aware of ethical principles and behaviors, the code itself, and improvements to the coach

15 Data Analysis Trained three person panel Group consensus Hierarchical content analysis Organization of themes Umbrella group Higher Order Category Lower Order Category Summary tags/ Meaning units Raw themes Miles & Huberman,1994; Cote et al, 1993; Gould et al, 1992a, 1992b,1999

16 Coach Ideas and Suggestions Umbrella Groups Coach Concerns (162) Code Recommendations (270) Organization Recommendations (750)

17 Coach Concerns Current problems (78) Parental ethics (11) Personal ethics (58) Doesn't matter (12) Barriers (4) Of Note: Doesn t know code (287) Requested a copy (5)

18 Code Recommendations Code changes (150) Fine with current code (120)

19 Organization Recommendations Education (275) Enforcement (189) General recommendations (91) Accountability (82) Leadership from above (70) Hiring practices (27) Coach resources/ empowerment (15)

20 Discussion The code is not perceived as prominent in training or in the coaching materials received Multiple level educational approach There is concern over enforcement of a code There is an interest in training and certification from coaches themselves Additional research is certainly warranted in this area

21 Recommendations for Coaching Educators, AD s, and Sport Administrators Better awareness of NFHS s Code of Ethics Better understanding of ethical situations from coach vantage Increase discussion of ethics in sport - particularly about controversial issues Help coaches see own behavior, behavior of others, and of organization

22 Recommendations for Coaches Have a clear philosophy Read, reread, & review your code Talk with others about the grey Be vocal about concerns

23 Code of Conduct: Clear Ethical Expectations US Olympic Committee National Governing Bodies Australian Sports Commission Coaching Association of Canada National Federation of State High School Associations

24 Strengths Large sample size Across sports Limitations Self reported data Social desirability Narrow ethnic capture Captured the choir

25 Future Directions Focus groups to further explore coach experiences Explore reported actual behaviors Explore coaching ethics at other levels Educational intervention assesssment

26 Questions? Comments? Please contact me at