| Description |
Anecdotal evidence from within the Taekwondo community supports the idea that Taekwondo instructors often interact with their students on topics of intra- and interpersonal concern. These interactions can be construed as informal counseling or informal helping. This study examines the frequency and content of these informal interactions and measures the degree to which instructors' counseling self-efficacy is related to these interactions. Data were obtained from Taekwondo instructors through a self-report questionnaire designed to conceptualize the nature of this psychomartial interaction. The relationship of demographic factors such as education, age, gender, years of teaching Taekwondo, and counseling self-efficacy were examined as predictors of number of helping strategies used and number of helping topics identified by instructors. Results indicate that all of the instructors reported providing informal counseling. Further, across this sample of instructors, the full range of counseling topic areas were discussed. Significant correlations were found between instructor counseling self-efficacy and years of education, number of students counseled per week, and number of topics discussed. The results of this research suggest that Taekwondo instructors not only engage in informal counseling, but they employ a wide range of counseling strategies. Additionally, the research provides information to guide future research and instructor education designed to promote counseling skill training in Taekwondo instructors. |
