08: Coaching in Education

This podcast is dedicated to the memory of Edgar Schein, a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of ‘Process Consultation’ who sadly died four days before this podcast was recorded.  He made notable contributions in the field of organizational development in many areas, including career development, group process consultation, and organizational culture.  Professor Schein’s influence has extended into many other ‘helping’ domains, including Educational Psychology and Coaching Psychology.  His valued legacy will live on, while we send condolences to his family and loved ones.

In this episode, Dr Natalie Lancer discusses with Mark Adams, Prof. Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Dr. Manfusa Shams how coaching benefits students and staff alike. We highlight the two streams of practice in coaching in education, one involving educators using coaching tools and models from an educational perspective, and the other involving coaching psychologists using psychological knowledge to support individuals. We discuss the specific ways in which coaching psychology can make a positive difference in schools and education. We explore:

• Why is coaching psychology in education important?
• What do we know about coaching in education today?
• What impact can coaching have on students and teachers?
• How does coaching psychology interface with educational psychology?
• To what extent is grounding coaching practice in appropriate theories and models important?
• What are the key considerations in making coaching initiatives successful in schools?
• How do the different methods of delivery (external/internal coaches, peer-to-peer) affect coaching outcomes?
• How can coaching psychology help build capacity within school communities?
• What is the value of reflective coaching spaces for leaders in schools?
• What are some key current priorities for research and the application of coaching psychology in education?

There are a growing number of pathways into coaching in education and a variety of ways that coaching initiatives can be implements in schools. Coaching in education can also be used to help address mental health and well-being issues in schools and we discuss its future potential uses in this context. Our guests today are:

Mark Adams is a Chartered Educational Psychologist and a Chartered Coaching Psychologist with over 25 years' experience. Mark is the Director of Aspen Psychology Services, an independent psychology service, based in Bristol. He was a teacher and has worked as an Educational Psychologist since 2003, supporting schools and families with individual children's needs.

He is the author of Coaching Psychology in Schools (2015), a collection of case studies demonstrating how psychology-informed coaching can support enhanced performance, development and wellbeing in schools. Mark recently co-authored a book chapter on how coaching can support staff and pupil mental health, and wellbeing in education (Watts & Florance, 2021). 

Prof. Christian van Nieuwerburgh is an academic, consultant and executive coach. He is Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Global Director for Growth Coaching International, a provider of coach training and consultancy for the education sector. 

Christian has written extensively in the fields of coaching and positive psychology and is the author of An Introduction to Coaching Skills: A Practical Guide and co-author of From Surviving to Thriving: A Student’s Guide to Feeling and Doing Well at University.

Dr. Manfusa Shams is a Senior Fellow of the UK Advance Higher Education Academy and a Chartered Psychologist, coach, mentor, and supervisor. She is the series editor for 'Coaching Psychology for Pro