UEL leads pioneering coaching in driver development course
Thursday 17 December 2009
The University of East London (UEL) is leading the way in coaching skills for the driving industry with an innovative course designed to look at new ways of improving driver standards and training.
The course for professional drivers is called 'Coaching for driver development'. It is a five-day programme that aims to teach psychological theory with the practical application of ‘in car coaching’.
The driving industry is always looking at ways to improve road safety, especially for groups such as 17 to 25-year olds, who are the highest risk group for accidents. UEL has been talking with the Driving Standards Agency and ROSPA – the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to look at the benefits of coaching to drivers, and has been conducting research into this area, with the first study due for publication later in the year.
One of the UK's leading coaching psychologists, Dr Jonathan Passmore, has been working with the Executive Chairman of Performance Consultants, Sir John Whitmore, to bring coaching skills into driving.
Jonathan said: "UEL is trying to help those in the driving development industry make the shift from old traditional methods to using what we know from research to improve the overall learning experience for learner drivers. This includes using techniques such as coaching which can help learners not only understand what to do, but why they are doing it.”
Feedback from participants of the first course for Adult Driving Instructors has also been positive. Susan McCormack is the Director of Drive Ed, an Instructing School based in Bury St Edmonds. She said: “Learner drivers are likely to take more responsibility for their driving actions when they learn to self evaluate and this course gave us coaching techniques that we could apply daily.”
Jonathan is running the course again in March 2010, and already has a waiting list.
Jonathan’s research into a study with HGV drivers show that coaching can make a significant difference in the speed at which learners progressed and increased the first time pass rate. This is the first significant study towards the use of coaching in driver development.
Notes to Editors
The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 23,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.
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