What is the rationale for the course?

The course is the main result of the COACH+ project, a cooperation partnership (2022-2024) co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

The rationale for the project was based on several considerations, among others:

•  The objective of the EU to increase the level of employability of young NEETs (15 to 29 year-olds) as a response to their high unemployment rates.
•  The EU recognising the potential of sport to increase youth employability (see EU Work Plan for Sport 2021-2024).
•  The growing number of organisations in the EU (and elsewhere) that make use of sport to increase employability levels of young people.
• The recommendation for specific and dedicated courses for sports coaches  and to use insights from youth work when targeting personal development (including employability skills) of young NEETs through the use of sport.

How is it organised?

The course uses a MOOC format, an acronym for ‘Massive Open Online Course’:

• Massive: aimed at large numbers of geographically dispersed learners.
• Open: anyone can have access to it as it requires no tuition fee or commitment to a regular teaching course.
• Online: a web-based distance learning programme.
• Course: loosely structured and includes different modules.

The MOOC consists of 6 modules. Apart from module 1 (introduction), all other modules discuss a specific aspect of organising a SfE programme (‘employability’, ‘youth work and youth development’, ‘sport-plus’, ‘mentoring’ and ‘monitoring and evaluation’). Because most of the aspects addressed in these modules are interrelated, many cross-references are used throughout the text.

To help you better understand the information that is outlined, visuals (graphics, video clips, interactive pdf’s), links and exercises are included throughout the text. At the end of each of the modules, self-assessment questions are included. There are also online forums in each module to enable interaction between you and other users of the MOOC.

The primary target group for this course is sports coaches who work (or intend to work) with young NEETs in SfE organisations. It is highly recommended that you go through all modules progressively (i.e., from 1 to 6) as they address systematically and progressively the most important aspects of the design, implementation, outcome definition and monitoring and evaluation relevant to a systematic and effective delivery of a SfE programme. The course can also be relevant for other groups working with young NEETs and (interested in) using sport for developmental purposes. For example, for youth/social workers module 3 (‘youth work and youth development’) and module 5 (‘mentoring’) might be less relevant.

Lastly, we recognise that the MOOC contains a lot of information. Processing all content individually might be very challenging. It is therefore recommended that you organise the MOOC in a group workshop context. For example, by exploring each module separately within a workshop format with a group of learners being guided through the different parts. The exercises and self-assessment questions within each of the modules can then provide various opportunities for interaction. Such an approach can be used for initial staff training and ongoing staff development.

Scroll down the page to see all the different modules and start with Module 1

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.