Coaching home visitors: A thematic review with an emphasis on research and practice needs

There is wide recognition in early childhood fields that coaching is important to a professional's development and growth in general, but little is known about coaching home visiting professionals in particular. An early childhood home visiting professional works with families to encourage positive parent-child interactions, family goal setting, and family well-being and health. Determining the essential components of coaching home visitors will help advance this field. Because coaching in the home visiting field is emergent, this article draws on literature from the early childhood field with an emphasis on applications for home visiting. We gleaned six themes that may represent common features of coaching. This article presents a compilation of common themes identified in literature reviews on coaching professionals across the early childhood field that warrant further development and evaluation by home visiting practitioners and researchers regardless of the home visiting model. The discussion concludes with recommendations to stimulate research and practice on coaching home visitors.