Beliefs About Coaching Administrators Questionnaire

McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY   | July 21, 2026

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood.

Our beliefs influence the decisions we make and the courses of action we follow. The purpose of this assessment is to provide an opportunity for you to reflect about the beliefs that guide your practice of coaching administrators of early care and education programs.


PART I. Write a simile:


A coach of early childhood administrators is like a ___________________________________________ because ____________________________________________________________________________


PART II. Complete the following:


As a coach, …


  1. My main goal is to __________________________________________________________________
  2. I feel the most important thing I can do to build rapport is __________________________________
  3. I get frustrated when a coaching partner does/doesn’t _____________________________________
  4. I feel empowered when _____________________________________________________________
  5. I should never _____________________________________________________________________
  6. I should always ____________________________________________________________________
  7. When I succeed in my role, my coaching partner __________________________________________


PART III. Check three traits you would most like administrators to have as a result of their coaching experience with you.

❑ Action-oriented

❑ Advocate

❑ Analytical

❑ Assertive

❑ Attentive

❑ Available

❑ Change agent

❑ Collaborative

❑ Competent

❑ Confident

❑ Creative

❑ Critical thinker

❑ Decisive

❑ Dependable

❑ Direct

❑ Empathetic

❑ Engaging

❑ Enthusiastic

❑ Ethical

❑ Fair

❑ Flexible

❑ Forward thinking

❑ Friendly

❑ Genuine

❑ Good listener

❑ Honest

❑ Independent thinker

❑ Inquisitive

❑ Inspiring

❑ Introspective

❑ Knowledgeable

❑ Motivated

❑ Objective

❑ Open-minded

❑ Organized

❑ Optimistic 

❑ Persistent

❑ Problem solver

❑ Reflective

❑ Resourceful

❑ Responsible

❑ Risk-taker

❑ Self-directed

❑ Strategic

❑ Supportive

❑ Tactful

❑ Trustworthy 

❑ Visionary

Revised: 7/13/2026 | Bella, J. & Bloom, P.J. (2017) Beliefs About Coaching. Wheeling, IL: McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. Adapted with permission from Bloom, P. J. (2015) Values Clarification. Blueprint for action: Leading your team in continuous quality improvement (3rd ed.). Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons.

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Jose Zavala is an IT Support Specialist II at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University (NLU), a computer science graduate from NLU, and an aspiring cybersecurity professional. Driven by a lifelong passion for technology, he combines hands-on technical troubleshooting experience with an academic foundation in computer science to keep critical digital systems running smoothly. Jose is actively pursuing advanced industry certifications to deepen his expertise in digital defense and data security.
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