The purpose of this study was to analyze educational needs for class communication competencies among Pilates instructors and to examine differences according to teaching experience and teaching type. Specifically, this study identified priority areas...
The purpose of this study was to analyze educational needs for class communication competencies among Pilates instructors and to examine differences according to teaching experience and teaching type. Specifically, this study identified priority areas for educational intervention by examining gaps between importance and current performance level and applying Borich’s needs assessment model and the Locus for Focus model. Through this process, the study aimed to provide empirical evidence for developing competency-based education programs for Pilates instructors. Data were collected from 210 Pilates instructors who were actively teaching Pilates classes. Class communication competencies were classified into three sub-factors: verbal communication competency, nonverbal communication competency, and relationship-building and psychological support competency. For each sub-factor, perceived importance and current performance level were measured. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Welch’s test, Games-Howell post hoc test, Borich’s needs assessment, and the Locus for Focus model. These analyses were conducted to examine differences in importance and current performance level and to identify priority educational needs. The major findings were as follows. First, all three sub-factors were perceived as highly important by Pilates instructors. Among them, verbal communication competency showed the highest perceived importance and the largest gap between importance and current performance level. This result indicates that Pilates instructors recognized verbal instructional skills, such as movement explanation, cueing, corrective feedback, safety guidance, and level-adjusted instruction, as important competencies. Second, Borich’s needs assessment and the Locus for Focus analysis consistently identified verbal communication competency as the highest-priority educational need. This pattern was found in the total group as well as in the novice and experienced instructor groups. These results suggest that verbal communication competency is a key area requiring priority educational intervention. Third, significant differences were found according to teaching experience. Experienced instructors showed higher performance levels than novice instructors across the three competency areas, with the largest difference found in verbal communication competency. This finding suggests that verbal explanation, cueing, corrective feedback, and class-related verbal guidance may be closely related to accumulated teaching experience. Based on these findings, this study suggests that class communication competencies should be considered important professional competencies for Pilates instructors. In particular, education programs for novice instructors should focus on basic explanation, cueing, corrective feedback, safety guidance, and level-adjusted instruction. For experienced instructors, advanced programs should include individualized feedback, advanced cueing strategies, and communication strategies for complex instructional situations. The findings of this study provide practical implications for developing Pilates instructor education programs by identifying priority areas in class communication competencies. Furthermore, this study may serve as a foundation for future research on competency-based Pilates instructor education and professional development. Keywords: Pilates instructor, class communication competencies, educational needs analysis, teaching experience, teaching type, Borich needs assessment, Locus for Focus