An Examination of the Cooperative and Competitive Mindset of High School Coaches

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of cooperation and competitiveness in high school coaches. Information was collected using a scale measurement survey that measured to what degree people viewed cooperation and competition as useful strategies to reach their goals. The Cooperative/Competitive Strategy Scale (CCSS) was originated by Simmons et al. in 1986 and then adapted by Tang (1998). The Simmons’ survey had 24 items on a 5-point Likert Scale while the Tang survey consists of 19 questions measuring opinions about cooperation and competitiveness and their relationship with an unspecified Likert Scale. There are eight questions focused on cooperation and 11 questions focused on competition. These 19 questions are on a one to seven scale with one being “always” and seven being “never”. The results are shown as a mean score for cooperation and competition, respectively. This researcher added four personal background questions and three follow up questions about their work environment. The mean cooperative score (mean = 6.25; standard deviation = .56) was significantly higher than the mean competitive score (mean – 5.36; standard deviation .42) [+(5) = 2.51, p =.05]. This indicates that the coaches that participated in the survey are very cooperative oriented.