Postgraduate Course: Developing Professional Expertise (SPRT11015)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will help students to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be an expert and professional in their respective fields. It will enable students to make connections between academic theory, professional practice and their professional learning and development. In exploring the complex and dynamic relationship between theory and practice, students will be required to articulate their strengths and weaknesses and to learn how to take responsibility for their professional growth.
The course focuses on a critical exploration of the nature of professionalism. In particular, it considers conceptions of 'the professions' and the assumed desirability of being a member of a profession. With coaches' professional learning increasingly being recognised as a career-long capacity-building endeavour, the course investigates how contemporary conceptualisations of professional learning are moving away from traditional modernist views towards more postmodern perspectives.
The course analyses how professional learning is increasingly being informed by thinking from complexity, constructivist and situated perspectives and is beginning to be more actively engage coaches in more open-ended and collaborative learning processes. Accordingly, the course explores the potential role that coach innovation, creativity, adaptability, pedagogic agility, professional learning communities, networks, distributed leadership, and digital technologies may play in the ongoing evolution of their practice. The course relies on a wide range of literature but specifically involves consideration of ethical issues and critical incidents to develop philosophical understanding of the student's coaching philosophy and practices.
In overall terms, the course will address complex ethical and professional issues and requires students to make informed judgments on those issues. The premise is that modern-day professionals need to be able to exercise professional judgement and decision making in a range of complex contexts.
Students must have access to a coaching environment to undertake this course. |
| Course description |
This course will include:
Professionals, professionalism, and professions
Professional values and codes of ethics
Ethical issues and dilemmas: for example, inclusion, race, ethnicity, equity, equality, gender and need
Traditional and contemporary conceptions of professional learning
Complexity, constructivism, situated perspectives and career-long professional learning
Contextualising professional learning, personal capacities, experiences, opportunities, barriers, and reflections
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Articulate a critical understanding of principal contemporary theoretical perspectives informing conceptions of educators, professional learning as a career-long endeavour
- Critically reflect on, consolidate and extend knowledge on the nature of professional learning approaches informed by key tenets from complexity, constructivist and situated perspectives
- Analyse, evaluate and synthesise the potential of coach innovation, professional learning communities, networks, distributed leadership and digital technologies as key features of professional learning
- Undertake a critical analysis of their personal professional learning experiences and their future trajectory
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Reading List
Robyn L. Jones, Christian Edwards & I. A. Tuim Viotto Filho (2016) Activity theory, complexity and sports coaching: an epistemology for a discipline, Sport, Education and Society, 21:2, 200-216, DOI: 10.1080/13573322.2014.895713
Nash, C. (2021). The coaching professional. In C. Nash (Ed.), Practical Sports Coaching 2nd Edition Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group
Jørgen Bagger Kjær, Daniel Bjärsholm, Per Göran Fahlström & Susanne Linnér (2022) Breaking through? Exploring care in the early life of elite Swedish athletes, Sports Coaching Review, DOI: 10.1080/21640629.2022.2057695
Hamilton, M. G. B., & LaVoi, N. M. (2017). Ethical professional identity and the development of moral exemplar collegiate coaches. Journal of Moral Education, 46(2), 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2017.1313724
Nash, C. (in press) Developing Sports Coaches. Routledge
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critically question current coaching knowledge and policy and how they relate to global challenges
Be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflections, self-evaluation and self-improvement
Be able to exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in academic activities, including decision making on the basis of independent thought
Be able to reflect on social, ethical and inclusive responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments in coaching
Be able to use communication as a means for collaborating and relating to others including support staff, fellow coaches, research participants
Be able to engage in critical discussion demonstrating listening skills, effective use of evidence and own experience to support assertions, and clear articulation of points.
Be able to seek and value open feedback to inform genuine self-awareness
Be able to identify and manage risks appropriately (for example, during fieldwork, working with vulnerable groups)
Be able to transfer knowledge, skills and abilities to a professional context
Be able to effectively work collaboratively with others, recognising the diversity of contributions individuals can make
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| Keywords | Professional Judgement,Ethics,Development,Professional Learning,Expertise |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Christine Nash
Tel: (0131 6)51 6581
Email: c.nash@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Alta Mene
Tel:
Email: amene@ed.ac.uk |
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