Features, mechanisms and outcomes: proposing a model for understanding coaching in early childhood education and beyond

Purpose This paper proposes a model for understanding the key features of coaching and the mechanisms of change that lead to professional learning and development in an educational context. Design/methodology/approach The model was developed through an interactive process of conceptualisation and testing, drawing on a synthesis of findings from two case studies of coaching for early childhood educators. The case studies were analysed through four theoretical lenses and influenced by a critical realist perspective. Findings The synthesis of findings from case study data suggests that critical reflection is the key mechanism that drives learning and change in coaching. The findings further suggest that the focus should be meaningful and relevant to educators and their contexts (“coherent”), yet different enough from educators' pre-existing beliefs, practices, or assumptions to trigger critical reflection (“challenging”). The findings also indicate the processes and conditions of coaching that may be important to enable critical reflection on the issue in focus. The proposed model presents the focus, processes, conditions, and key mechanisms of coaching as interlinked components. Originality/value What happens during coaching and how and why it “works” is not well understood. The proposed model provides a framework for further exploring the features of coaching, its impact on learning and practice and the mechanisms of change that underpin these impacts. It could provide guidance for continued innovation and evaluation of coaching practice in early childhood education more broadly.