Concordia University’s Coach Certification Program
by Jim GAVIN and Madeleine MCBREARTY

A coach certification program was launched at Concordia University in March 2007 and is currently accepting applications for its third cohort. The program owes much of its success to the popularity of coaching and the need for high quality English programs in Quebec . However, the fact that this Personal and Professional Coach Certification (PPCC) program is academically-based adds to its appeal.

Currently, most coach certification programs are in the private sector, though this may change significantly in the next decade. Universities are quickly catching on to the fact that coaching deserves serious academic attention. The coaching field will not only attract students to university studies, but it will also provide rich grounds for academic research and doctoral studies. The University of Sydney , for instance, already has a doctoral program in coaching psychology.

Concordia University ’s new program fully embraces the 11 core competencies advocated by ICF, while breaking new ground through its emphasis on evidence-based practices. Here are a few of the unique features of the program:

• PPCC articulates the theoretical foundations of coaching that are often assumed but rarely detailed.
• Concordia’s program draws upon established and well-researched theories to frame the roots of coaching. These include theories of individual behavior change that emphasize self-efficacy and self-regulation, as well as models of adult development, appreciative inquiry, and research on goal-settin

• PPCC moves beyond phase models of the helping relationship to a coach-specific meta-model of the coaching process.
• Concordia’s program explores models that describe the phases of a helping relationship; it then delineates a meta-model that is specific to coaching relationships. This model looks at the balance of inquiry and action in coaching and the importance of “actions” designed to increase coachees’ levels of self-understanding, insight, and motivation.

• PPCC connects coaching to the broader realm of helping professions as opposed to treating it as an entirely new entity.
• Unfortunately, some approaches to coaching represent the field as something completely new or only tangentially related to older helping disciplines such as psychology, social work, and communications studies. Skills presented in the PPCC program are grounded in the extensive history of the helping professions with indications of how these skills are uniquely applied in coaching practice.

• PPCC languages concepts in a manner that readily applies to practice.
• Academic language is rarely user-friendly. We did not want to submerge practical concepts in academic mystery; rather, we wished to make them accessible to aspiring coaches. With an emphasis on terminology that is easily linked to research and practice, PPCC offers participants frameworks for understanding that are easily linked to strategic applications.

• PPCC integrates skill development with clinic sessions of coaching experiences.
• A hallmark of the PPCC program is its basis in experiential education. We believe in learning-by-doing. We adhere to a learning cycle that includes theory, practice and reflection. Classes include peer coaching exercises, demonstrations, role plays, and video-replay reviews. Moreover, participants must undertake practicum work in coaching and mentored coaching experiences during the program.

The Personal and Professional Coach Certification program provides a strong grounding in the fundamentals of coaching that can be oriented toward personal or organizational practice. Applicants are expected to have an undergraduate degree and at least five years of related full-time work experience, such as in human resources or management.

The program is offered through Concordia’s Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies (CHRCS), which has for 45 years offered training, consulting, research and publishing services to groups and individuals. The Centre is based in the Department of Applied Human Sciences, where full-time faculty members an d g raduates of the department guide its programs. More information about this exciting new program can be found at http://chrcs.concordia.ca/coach_certificate_program.html

Jim Gavin , PhD, ABPP and Madeleine Mcbrearty, MA