Life coaching study achieves results for HSC students

A world-first Australian study on life coaching for senior high school students has shown a significant increase in levels of hope and a significant reduction in levels of depression among Year 11 schoolgirls who completed the program.

University of Sydney researchers, Dr Suzy Green and Dr Anthony Grant from the Coaching Psychology Unit conducted the research study with 54 Year 11 students at MLC School, Burwood in Sydney. The students were aged from 16 to 17 years.

Australia leads the world in research in the increasingly popular field of life coaching.  Earlier studies conducted by the Coaching Psychology Unit at the University of Sydney have shown that life coaching can enhance goal-striving and well-being but this was the first study in the world to look at the effectiveness of life coaching for high school students. The research has recently been accepted for publication in the new Journal of  Positive Psychology, a blossoming field of research in the United States. 

In an extension of the research, 10 teachers at the MLC School were trained as “coaches” who conducted 10 one-hour individual life coaching sessions over two terms.  The students set both academic and personal goals and the coaching sessions involved identifying obstacles and finding solutions to achieve their goals.  An evaluation of the intervention showed that after completion of the program the girls had significant increases in their levels of hope ie belief in their ability to achieve their goals and the capacity to find pathways to success.

While private academic coaching schools have existed for many years to improve academic performance, life coaching is a new approach which not only targets academic performance but aims to build overall resilience and cognitive ‘hardiness’.

Previous research has shown that high hope predicts better academic performance, goal attainment and well-being. “The results are exciting and suggest life coaching is useful to assist senior high school students not only in their academic performance but in building resilience to manage the tremendous pressures and associated stress that occurs leading up to the HSC,” said researcher Dr Suzy Green.

Dr Green says the research will not only assist the girls through the HSC but well into their adult lives.  Feedback from the students suggested having a supportive and encouraging relationship with their coaches was an important factor in the success of the program.

Media inquiries and interviews: Virginia Gawler (02) 9351 2261 or 0423 782 603

Dr Suzy Green: 0412 427 373 or Dr Tony Grant: 0413 747 493