A cautionary tale of policy development and enactment in sport coach education: counting the cost

Derek O’Riordan and Noel Dempsey

Abstract

Policy enactment in sport coach education continues to be a broad topic of critical debate. More specifically, there has been a drive to explore and understand how policies come to be (in)formed. As such, engaging individuals tasked with the responsibility to create large-scale policy reform would appear essential.

Therefore, the aim of this study was to surface critical incidents and moments of disjuncture experienced within sport coach education policy reform through dialogical reflection and explore the demanding nature of co-constructing policy from a stakeholder perspective. Narrative material focusses on the relational acts of policymaking and the subsequent emotional, personal and professional toll(s) taken. The work of Goffman and Hochschild are utilised to offer and extend theoretical considerations within stakeholder spaces. The significance of this study lies in its epistemic insiderness; a rare glance behind the curtain, into the backstage of policymaking in the field of sport coach education.