Abstract
Employers report that new hires do not work out for reasons such as lack of coachability, rather than content knowledge. Although all students would benefit tremendously from executive function (EF) coaching, only some colleges provide it to some students. This qualitative research project is a collection of three case studies of colleges with self-proclaimed strong EF coaching practices. In seeking insights into the comprehensiveness of existing EF coaching programs in college, the author found four major trends: coaching must be comprehensive and cover many EF skills, coaching must be individually tailored and based in real life, coaching must build in complexity over time and allow participants to apply skills across generalized contexts, and many tangible tools must be shared. By sharing this cross-case analysis, more colleges can enact EF coaching practices that go beyond merely coaching a segment of the student population to a more inclusive approach for all students, thereby creating more equity and more opportunities for professional growth beyond the college years.
TopTheoretical Background
In order to effectively examine the role of EF coaching in higher education, this literature review will cover three domains: The underpinnings of EF, the theoretical foundation of the coaching process immersed in an overview of previous studies on EF coaching in higher education, and transition to postsecondary employment.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Neurodivergent: A nonmedical term that describes people whose brain develops or works differently for some reason. A neurodivergent person has different strengths and struggles from people whose brain develops or works more typically.
Coaching: Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
Executive Function Coaching: A specialty within the expanding fields of personal and professional coaching, EF coaching provides support for the development of skills, strategies, and beliefs needed to manage EF challenges.
Emotional Intelligence: The ability to control and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.
Executive Function (EF): Rooted in the brain, EF is a specific and related set of skills involved in conscious problem solving and self-directed, controlled behavior. EF is an umbrella term with many subdomains, including planning, organization, working memory, task initiation, flexibility, emotional control, impulse control, time management and prioritization, sustained attention, responding appropriately in social situations, and self-monitoring.
Transfer of Skills: The ability to apply skills across generalized contexts, with implications that may include both “near” and “far” or “hot” and “cold” (referring to stressful or neutral situations, or close/easy or far/more difficult situations).
Self-Determination: A combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, and autonomous behavior.
Reflection: A meaning-making process that moves a learner from one experience into the next with greater understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas.