Research on the Competence of Future Coaches to Deal with Harassment and Aggression amongst Children during Sports Training

Bullying and aggressive behavior among children are a serious problem in our society. This study aims to investigate to what extent future sports pedagogues – and sports coaches – are prepared to recognize and respond to bullying among children aged 7 – 10. One hundred eighty full-time undergraduate university students voluntarily participated in the empirical study. The students were in their second year of undergraduate programs, preparing future coaches with different sports profiles. A questionnaire with study cases was developed and distributed for the students to complete. The questions were designed to explore students’ knowledge regarding the application of punishment in education and the skills formed to prevent and intervene in bullying among sporting children. The surveyed students were “more sparing” regarding the possible use of harsher punishments, such as removal from play/practice, and the widespread use (in sports contexts) of punishment through individual and additional exercise. The surveyed students demonstrated good knowledge and competence in applying punishment as an educational method in cases of bullying and aggression among children and preferred intervention measures to be more positive. It can be summarized that second-year students have the attitude to carry out educational influences on sporting children and do not entirely rely on parents’ assistance and support in education.