The Edge Foundation is committed to evidence-based practices. The Edge Foundation is therefore engaged in a two year, $1M study to research the effects of personal coaching on the lives and academic success of college students with ADHD. This is the largest and longest such study ever conducted, and will be the first to provide quantitative data on the effects of ADD/ADHD Coaching in this population.
Two-Year Research Project
A select Wayne State University research team from the College of Education’s Center for Self-Determination and Transition has undertaken a three-phased, two-year project. The goal is to develop, pilot, and implement a research process to quantify the effectiveness of the Edge Foundation’s personal coaching strategies on the academic, professional, and social achievements of students with ADHD in college and university settings. The 24-month project has three key phases:
- Phase One: Preparation (June-December 2008)
- Phase Two: Pilot Study (January-July 2009)
- Phase Three: Field Test (August 2009-June 2010)
An “observational” coaching study with 20 college-age students and five to ten coaches will help generate the experimental model for Phase Three. This stage consists of a controlled study with randomly selected experimental and control groups, specifically designed data collection instruments and protocols, and use of standard scientific statistical methodologies.
The Wayne State University Research Team
The Wayne State University Research Team consists of three key faculty associated with the Center for Self-Determination:
Sharon Field, Ed.D., is principal investigator and project director for the Edge research study. Dr. Field is Professor (Research) in the Department of Administrative and Organizational Studies in the College of Education and co-director of the Center for Self-Determination and Transition. The author of three books, 10 book chapters, 24 journal articles and 11 instructional-materials packages, Dr. Field has procured and directed research grants totaling more than $3.1 million.
Shlomo Sawilowsky, Ph.D., is the research and statistical specialist for the Edge research study. He is Professor of Educational Evaluation and Research, Wayne State University Distinguished Faculty Fellow, and Assistant Dean of the College of Education. He is the past president of the American Educational Research Association SIG/Educational Statisticians, who published his most recent book (Real Data Analysis, 2007). Dr. Sawilowsky has published more than 100 articles in social- and behavioral-science research methodology, statistics, psychometrics, and evaluation journals (including Russell A. Barkley’s prestigious The ADHD Report), and has served as principal investigator or evaluation specialist on numerous research grants.
Alan Hoffman, Ed.D., serves as a consultant on all phases of the project. Dr. Hoffman is Professor of Theoretical and Behavioral Foundations, the co-director of the Center for Self-Determination and Transition, and chair of the Marriage and Family Psychology program in the WSU College of Education. As a psychologist and former director of student affairs on college campuses, he provides important expertise to the project.
Deerbrook Charitable Trust granted the Edge Foundation a two-year $805,000 grant and the Foundation of Coaching granted the Edge Foundation a $40,000 grant to study the impact of coaching on the academic success rates of college students. Additional funds are provided by Edge Foundation CEO and Founder, Neil Peterson. The grants provides a controlled study of coaching for 250 students with ADHD at seven universities across the country. The grants also provide the research team to evaluate the impact of coaching on these students. Universities selected represent small and large, public and private, 2-year and 4-year institutions.
