Designing and validating a coaching model based on choice theory in Farhangiān University

The coaching ability of the student-teachers in the educational environment is a key competence for any teacher. The purpose of this study was to design and validate a coaching model based on the choice theory at the University. It was a sequential mixed-methods study which consisted of a qualitative section with grounded theory approach and a quantitative section with field finding method. In the qualitative section, the University professors were interviewed. They were selected according to the principle of theoretical saturation using purposive sampling method (N= 32). In the quantitative section of the study, the sample size was calculated based on the Cochran's formula and therefore, 360 students and teachers of Farhangiān University were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling method. Document mining and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data in the qualitative section and a researcher-made questionnaire was used in the quantitative section of the study. The method of data analysis in the qualitative section was open, axial and selective coding which was done by MAXqd software with thematic analysis approach. In the quantitative section of the study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used. The results showed that the coaching model includes two dimensions of personal coaching and educational coaching, 7 main components including (self-discovery, smart Chinese goal, searching and staying at work, relationship building, training and knowledge creation, environment building, effectiveness and influence) and 35 indicators were presented as a coaching model. Finally, the main dimensions and components of the coaching model was identified based on the choice theory. It was found that the proposed model has an acceptable fit and the assumed factor structure was confirmed.