While we present the mean, variance and T-Test Scores in the next section of this report for each of the seven questions on which we focused in the previous three studies, the reader should be informed (as was also the case with the study of gender differences) that no significant differences were found for the responses to any of the items contained in these seven questions. In fact, none of the T-Tests produced scores greater than 1.00. The degree of congruence between younger and older coaches in their responses to these two survey is truly remarkable. Apparently, age doesn’t make much of a difference when it comes to the perspectives held by professional coaches and responses to challenges faced by coaches (or at least those responding to these two surveys).
Results
As we did in the first four report we will offer basic descriptive statistics (mean and variance) for all of the statements associated with each of these questions. The mean scores will give us an initial impression regarding the extent to which respondents rated themselves low or high on each item, while the variance scores will give us an initial impression of the extent to which respondents tend to agree with one another in their rating of each item. In addition, we provide T-Test scores for each item to determine the extent to which age differences are significant. In each table, we also indicate whether the magnitude of T-Test scores reach at least a .05 level of probable significance. As we have already noted, there are no T-Test scores that reach this level of significance. Probably the most interesting result concerns the basic division between young and older coaches. We found that the median age is 60, with about half of the respondents (123) being less than 60 years of age and the other half (113) being 60 years of age or more. In other words, we are looking at a “graying” population of coaches. Does this represent the status of the field, with regard to age, or just the status of those who completed one of these two surveys?
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Rey Carr
September 15, 2016 at 6:55 pm
There are a number of important points made in this article. And not just the ones that I’m quoted as saying. As a clarification about the value of surveys, I wasn’t picking on SurveyMonkey specifically, but on survey methods in general. This fifth report is another example of the limits of most Internet surveys where the responses of the respondents cannot be used to make valid generalizations about coaching. There is no data collected here that yields confidence in either the reliability of the survey or allow us to make credible claims about the survey findings.
We can speculate, guess, and create talking points. That’s the value of this survey. Another important point from this survey is wondering about the role age might play in coach development From Bill’s results it appears that coaches keep the same perspectives over time. But what we can really say is that the coaches who completed this survey may keep such perspectives over time.
In addition, there is a whole group of younger coaches who are not connected to certification or professional coaching associations. This is the parallel universe of uncredentialed (and could care less about it) people who call themselves coaches.