‘Teaching vs Coaching’
Teaching and coaching are practices that have many similarities with regards to the delivery,
the aims/outcomes and instructional behaviours. As a prospective physical education teacher, I want
to explore the key differences between teaching and coaching to gain better understanding of how
to excel as both. Teaching (in Scotland) can be defined as the development of a learner’s knowledge
and understanding across many subjects within an educational setting – underpinned by GTC
Scotland’s professional teaching standards with an emphasis on the statement ‘getting it right for
every child’ (GIRFEC) (GTC Scotland 2021). Coaching can be defined as the development of a
learner’s knowledge and understanding across many sports, hobbies and recreations – underpinned
by formative assessments and analysis of performance or progress, to measure success. This work
aims to discuss similarities but identify the key differences between teaching and coaching.
Both teaching and coaching require effective communication with appropriate use of voice
within certain contexts. Moreover, this means both must have adaptable communication to deal
with factors such as setting, weather conditions or a change in group size. It is important for both to
effectively communicate to get the best out of their learners, however Rupert and Buschner (1989)
found some communications to be better suited to each role. They found that management was
more effective when teaching compared to coaching, while coaching showed better preinstuction,
use of praise and appropriate silence. It is clear that there is some overlap between how both roles
communicate but even this varies depending on context. From my experience, football coaching is
often done in a large outdoor environment, and it often requires loud volumes to reach every
learner. I’d like to incorporate effective use of voice as a management tool in my practice focusing
on pitch, volume and language to get the best out of the learners. I feel it’s important to build
relationships with learners, to be seen as “autonomy supportive” rather than “controlling” to
encourage learners to be “self-determined" (Raabe 2019).
Another deliberate quality that both teachers and coaches should employ is inclusivity. As
educators it is imperative that we adhere to GIRFEC and for us to maximise learning in our lessons.
Therefore, inclusivity is something we need to consider for our lessons in order to engage every
pupil. Similarly, with coaching, you want every learner to be engaged and to feel that they have
learned or develop something. However, I think teachers and coaches maximise inclusion for
contrasting reasons. Teachers are inclusive because it is in the child’s best interest, while coaches
can be inclusive because it is in the coaches’ best interest.
One key difference between the two roles is where we place the learners’ responsibility. The
two roles share very similar goals such as enabling learners to develop knowledge or learn new
behaviours/skills but the journey to achieve these can be very different. Coaching has been
described as “supported self-work" where the responsibility for learning is ultimately with the
learner (Lofthouse 2010). On the other hand, teaching places the responsibility on the teacher as
they should have credible knowledge on the subject material with an understanding of educational
pedagogy.
In conclusion, the main differences between teaching and coaching are the way we
communicate to our learners, how we include our learners and get the best from them as well as
where we place responsibility as leaders and learners. These three differences will be a focus for me
as I develop my teaching practice; transitioning from a coaching role.
Reference list
General Teaching Council for Scotland (2021). Standard For Provisional Registration. Professional
Standards for Teaching. https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/professional-standards-forteachers/ [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Lofthouse, R., Leat, D. and Towler, C., (2010). Coaching for teaching and learning: a practical guide
for schools. CfBT Education Trust. [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Raabe, J., Schmidt, K., Carl, J., and Höner, O. (2019). The Effectiveness of Autonomy Support
Interventions with Physical Education Teachers and Youth Sport Coaches: A Systematic Review.
Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 41, 6, 345-355, available from: <
https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2019-0026> [Accessed 24 August 2023]
Rupert, T., and Buschner, C. (1989). Teaching and Coaching: A Comparison of Instructional Behaviors.
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 9, 1, 49-57, available from: <
https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.9.1.49> [Accessed 24 August 2023]