Counsel
Evaluation
This tool assists to evaluate a single counselling session or an entire counselling process. By using the tool, counselling practice can be monitored and continuously improved.
Professional dual career counselling focuses on results that are considered meaningful, trendsetting and empowering by an athlete. Correspondingly, a profound evaluation is an indispensable element of a quality assured counselling process.
Its assessment by the athlete helps compare outcomes with previously agreed objectives. Moreover, the professional interaction with an athlete provides a rich breeding ground for reflection on the part of the counsellor. What went well? What difficulties were experienced? What can be done differently next time?
This is where the tool Evaluation comes into play. It helps dual career counsellors implement a self-assessment routine which assists to extract learnings considering social, cultural, and organisational contexts.
The Athlete Feedback (pdf) represents an easily applicable evaluation form that takes an athlete approximately 10 minutes to fill in. The anonymous assessment consists of a set of quantitative (page 1) and qualitative (page 2) questions. By using the form, a compact feedback on organisational and relationship aspects can be gathered. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the counselling practice is concisely assessed.
The Self-Assessment (pdf)Â supports a counsellor to evaluate their own performance in the most objective manner possible. Used and reviewed regularly, the self-assessment helps identify strengths and weaknesses of the counselling practice, assists the improvement of future sessions, and acts as a source of motivation.
- Provide the athlete with the Athlete Feedback (pdf) as a print-out or via email after the end of a completed counselling process.
- Ask the athlete to fill in the questionnaire within a defined period (recommendation: max. 5 days) and return it physically or via email. If possible, further anonymize the assessment. Exemplarily, use a closed feedback box, or nominate an associated email recipient within your system (who collects a defined number of feedbacks before forwarding them to the counsellor). A regular evaluation report (e.g., per semester, per season, quarterly, biannual or annual) fosters the continuous quality assurance of a dual career counselling service.
- Fill in the Self-Assessment (pdf) yourself following each counselling session or each completed counselling process. If points are not applicable to your service, please leave them out.
- Re-read your self-assessment prior to your next meetings. Pay extra attention to those areas you had identified as mainly requiring improvement and the “one thing” to remember/take away.
- Review your evaluation regularly to detect trends and update your practice. Cross-check the average results of your self-assessments with the athlete feedbacks of a certain period for deviations.
An assisting intervision and/or supervision is advised to be an integral part of a professional counselling service.
- Counselling Tutor (2020): Podcast
- ECVision (2015): A European Competence Framework of Supervision and Coaching
- European Mentoring and Coaching Council (2015): EMCC Competence Framework V2
- Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS): Talented Athlete Lifestyle Support (TALS) Training Course
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2019): Dual Career Competency Questionnaire for Support Providers (DCCQ-SP)
- Wensor, D. (2016): Coaching young athletes – How to evaluate your own coaching performance
- Deutscher Verband für Bildungs- und Berufsberatung e.V. (2016): Professionelle Bildungs- und Berufsberatung – Positionen des dvb
- Thorpe, S., Clifford, J. (2003): The Coaching Handbook: An Action Kit for Trainers and Managers
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In practice
The tool "Evaluation" in action: See real-life examples of its application in EU dual career practice.