CONTINUING EDUCATION AND SELF-PERCEPTION OF COMPETENCE: A STUDY WITH TENNIS COACHES

The aim of this study was to associate the coaches' continuing education and self-perception and the importance attributed to the construct of coaches' professional competence. The sample was 69 tennis coaches, whom have participated in professional training actions promoted by the Parana Tennis Federation. The characteristics of participants were: more than eight years of professional experience; experience as a tennis player; and graduate level in Physical Education. A chart containing the sociodemographic variables and the Competence Self Perception Scale were used on data collection. The results indicated that participation in workshops / courses did not demonstrate a significant association with the self-perception of competencies for the Professional Knowledge dimension. For the Professional Skills dimension, involvement in these actions was significantly related to self-perception of mastery, with emphasis on skills related to Sports Planning and Sports Management and, Sports Assessment, skills considered as pivotal to the professional coaching intervention. The importance attached to Knowledge and Professional skills was high, always being higher than the self-perception of domain.