Coaching skills of adult education professionals

Abstract

The article presents studies carried out within the European project Coach4You – COACH4U, developed in the years 2014 to 2105 by the consortium of six European countries: Sweden, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain and the UK. The research group has consisted of 136 people (81 females, 55 males): teachers, educators, trainers. The study investigated the coaching skills necessary to work effectively with adult learners, based on ICF Core Competencies: full participation in the interaction and focus on the other person; referring to the student resource; having communication skills; creativity – flexibility of thinking, openness; the use of coaching methods and tools; constructive Summary Coaching skills of adult education professionals The article presents studies carried out within the European project Coach4You – COACH4U, developed in the years 2014 to 2105 by the consortium of six European countries: Sweden, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain and the UK. The research group has consisted of 136 people (81 females, 55 males): teachers, and stimulating to face challenges. The study showed that the teachers’ level of coaching skills were average, which implied the need for improvement in this area. Specific training needs were identified in following areas: communication skills, creativity (flexibility of thinking, openness) and the use of coaching methods and tools. The comparison of representatives of individual countries indicated the highest level of competencies among educators in the UK and lowest (and highest need for this training) among educators in Cyprus.