The Effect of Vocational Technical Module F-WBL4C on Trainers in Malaysia

Abstract

The study evaluated the Football Work-Based Learning for the Community (F-WBL4C) module for enhancing community football coaches’ technical competencies. The module comprises five progressive levels (ball mastery; passing/receiving; 1v1 and running with the ball; speed/agility; finishing) and was delivered in a blended format (Google Classroom/Meet plus face-to-face workshop). Using a pilot, single-group repeated-measures design, 20 coaches from Penang (academies and secondary schools) completed three assessments: pre-test, post-test, and extended post-test, each requiring 17 video artefacts scored on a five-point rubric. Repeated-Measures ANOVA indicated significant improvements across time, with mean scores increasing from pre- to post- and further at the extended post-test, suggesting that structured, blended WBL may support measurable gains in coaching technique. However, findings are preliminary: the small convenience sample (N = 20), single-site Penang context, non-randomised single-group design, short (three-week) follow-up, and absence of formal inter-rater reliability and content-validation procedures limit generalisability and causal inference. Within these constraints, the results indicate the feasibility and promise of artefact-based, blended work-based learning for grassroots coach development, and motivate larger, multi-site-controlled trials with longer follow-up, expert content validation, assessor reliability checks, and fidelity monitoring to establish effectiveness and scalability within TVET-aligned sports education.