IBIMA Publishing Journal of e-Learning and Higher Education https://ibimapublishing.com/articles/ JELHE/2021/606594/ Vol. 2021 (2021), Article ID 606594, 12 pages, ISSN: 2169-0359 DOI: 10.5171/2021.606594

Research Article

Referee and Coach Education in Sports: Case of Taekwondo with Focus on the Oceania Region

Rene LEVEAUX and Kyeong KANG

University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Correspondence should be addressed to: Rene LEVEAUX; [email protected]

Received date:3 October 2019; Accepted date:27 November 2019; Published date: 11 March 2021

Academic Editor: Nazia Keerio

Copyright © 2021. Rene LEVEAUX and Kyeong KANG. Distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International CC-BY 4.0

Abstract

Since becoming an Olympic medal sport, the sport of Taekwondo has been going through considerable transformation resulting in an almost continual series of changes to the sport’s rules and subsequently interpretations of those rules. This work’s focus is to examine the problems facing the sport’s stakeholders in the education of the coaches and referees specifically in relation to the Oceania Region, and to provide some guidelines to a more effective model for the delivery of the sport’s education. Through a qualitative case study using phenomenological interviews, current educational offerings at both the global and regional levels were examined. Factors impacting on providing a consistent education platform were identified. Drawing on the results and on the literature, recommendations are made for further work to provide directions to future work to address the educational issues and problems in the Oceania region.

Keywords : Sports Education, Blended Learning, Culture, Oceania Region

Introduction Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA), was formed (Madis, 2003). Following, in 1966, Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that has the International Taekwondo Federation gone through many transformations. While (ITF) was formed, and primarily due to the origins of Taekwondo can be traced political reasons, a separate body, the World back to over 2000 years, Taekwondo was Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was developed formally into a martial art during established in 1973 (IOC, 2019; Kang and the late 1940s and 1950s, where in 1959 the Lee 1999; Southwick, 1998). The WTF first Taekwondo governing body, the

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Cite this Article as: Rene LEVEAUX and Kyeong KANG " Referee and Coach Education in Sports: Case of Taekwondo with Focus on the Oceania Region", Journal of e-Learning and Higher Education, Vol. 2021 (2021), Article ID 606594, DOI: 10.5171/2021.606594

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rebadged itself to World Taekwondo (WT) decision making through the applications of in 2017. technologies – both in the athlete’s competition equipment as well as decision The functions of both the ITF and WT making technologies for the referees include various competitions on differing (Leveaux, 2012). aspects of the martial art, education, The international competition rules were establishment and maintenance of first enacted in May 1973 and had been standards in the martial art and amended on twelve (12) occasions to collaborating with affiliated member February 2009 – a period of nearly 36 years. organizations and relevant sporting However, in the nine-year period from organizations, such as the International March 2010 to May 2019, the competition Olympic Committee, etc. rules have been amended no less than thirteen (13) times; and during this period While the martial art of Taekwondo with its on four occasions the rules have changed broad range of skills and techniques twice in the same year (WTF, 2019). This continues, sports Taekwondo has evolved excludes the continual variations to the into a multi-million-dollar global sport, interpretations and applications of the rules where practitioners hone on a limited, but as well as the processes surrounding specific set of Taekwondo skills for general competition, such as match competition. management by the referees and coaches.

The WT comprises of five continental union The sport is participated throughout the governing bodies. World Taekwondo Oceania region, with 19 member countries Oceania, World Taekwondo Asia, World participating in the Olympic Games, World Taekwondo Africa, World Taekwondo Championships, Pacific Games and Oceania Europe and World Taekwondo America. Championships. At the recent 2016 Rio The WT, in total, currently comprises of 206 Olympics, the region was represented with member countries and an excess of 70 a full quota of athletes made up of 4 athletes million practitioners in the sport. from Australia, 1 from New Zealand, 2 from World Taekwondo held its first World Papua New Guinea and 1 from Tonga. (WTF, Championships in Seoul, Korea in 1973, and 2016) As the sport of Taekwondo is the sport has been contested every two changing dynamically, with the years since. At the first World interpretations of competition rules varying Championships, the sport was contested by from one major event to another, it is 19 nations over three days. At the last World becoming increasingly difficult for Championships in 2017, the sport was stakeholders in the sport to keep abreast of contested by 183 nations plus 1 refugee these changes, and in the applications of team with a total of 945 athletes these changes in competition and their participating in the world championships implication in competition preparation. conducted over a seven-day period (WTF, 2017). This paper reports on an examination of the existing educational offerings and Since being recognized by the International educationally related issues in the sport for Olympic Committee in 1980 followed by its both coaches and referees, with focus on the appearances at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 Oceania region. Through a series of and Barcelona Olympics in 1992, (IOC, 2019) interviews with relevant stakeholders in the the sport of Taekwondo continues to evolve, sport, this work looks at the current and such that the sport of today is quite different differing educational programs being to that of its first Olympic appearance. conducted nationally and internationally, and presents a pathway to progress in the The sport became a full medal sport in the enhancement of educational offerings Olympics in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic primarily within the Oceania region and Games, and has continually undergone subsequently improve the educational dramatic changes to ensure safety of the standards of the sports practitioners. athletes, and transparency and fairness in ______

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Literature Review high and improve their understanding of the content delivered. Engaging A key in enabling professionals to become participants in the learning process is highly effective is in the taking of particularly relevant when subject content professional learning opportunities is authentic and aligned to situations (Pittaway, 2012). While this is aimed at the participants may encounter in their workplace, it would equally apply to involvement and role(s) in the sport. coaches and referees in the sporting area, especially at the elite and professional levels. To effectively educate participants, The “provision of practice based (e.g., research suggests the educational style and workplace) experiences is now almost a content must be adapted to participants of universal requirement for students” to various ages, various levels of experience ensure the acquisition of the relevant skills and potentially in some cases to address on completion of a course (Higgs et al, 2012, differing cultures. As such, the learning p 101) The involvement in activities that requires to accommodate the varying maximize learning allows participants to participant cohort. In many educational grasp not only intended outcomes but also sectors, this has led to a more interactive, the underlying context on which the activity experiential learning approach across a was based. Learning then becomes an wide range of disciplines such as medicine, experience and provides participants with education, business and management. For the knowledge to perform effectively. By example, as improvements to higher having participants actively involved in the education continue and the effectiveness learning process increases what is experiential learning becomes more remembered, how well it is assimilated and evident so does the need for innovative how it is applied to the new situations ways to incorporate this ‘experience’ into (Maznevski, 1996). Active involvement in the classroom (Boggs et al 2007). learning increases what is remembered, how well it is assimilated by the student and Effective learning requires participants to how it is applied to new situations. This is, be actively involved with the learning in part, because the participants need to experience and then have time to reflect on think about what they are doing. that experience. Active or experiential learning is one approach to engage Context is important in learning, and the participants in the learning experience and concept of situated learning (Lave, 1996) is is gaining prominence through increased a key element in engaging course adoption in the classroom (Sojka & Fish, participants. To maximize the quality of 2008). Active or experiential learning participants’ learning outcomes, learning involves all participants and the learning environments should be constructed to activity corresponds in some way to the ensure participants are exposed to different world outside the classroom. As experience situations and / or contexts. Through suggests “not all problems have single, aligning learning outcomes and possible correct answers” (Eisner, 1992 p75-76 cited assessment tasks, it is possible to provide in Boggs et al, 2007) and as such the learner participants with the opportunity to has control over their own learning demonstrate a deeper engagement with experience. their learning in a variety of situations (Meyers & Nulty, 2009). Two well-known techniques – role play and simulation – are well suited to the active or ‘High quality’ learning outcomes result from experiential learning paradigm. A role play the interplay between the learning efforts of focuses on unstructured situations where the participants and the methods employed participants improvise their role within a in the delivery (Meyers & Nulty, 2009). given boundary. In contrast, simulations are When participants engage with the context defined more precisely than role plays and associated with the subject matter to be include guiding principles and specific rules. delivered, they are more likely to achieve However, both techniques require better outcomes, keep their attention levels extensive preparation and development to

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ensure suitable participant learning organization, and participants in the sport outcomes. Both role play and simulation within the Oceania region. enable participants to put themselves in Phenomenological interviews were used so situations they have never experienced as to capture privileged knowledge of those (Joyner & Young, 2006) and assist who are or were involved with this research participants to see multiple perspectives of issue in relation to their differing cultures, the same problem or the different issues history and experiences. The goal, by using confronting the same problem as both phenomenological interviews, was to techniques focus on learning by doing analyze, address experiential gaps, and (Doorn and Kroesen, 2013). Hence, these make precise meanings of those techniques are deemed very effective in experiences for the development of a promoting participant competencies as they suitable model or framework for the provide the opportunity for rapid and delivery of sports taekwondo education in timely feedback to reinforce understanding the Oceania region. for both role players and observers (Joyner & Young, 2006). A case study is an investigation of a contemporary phenomenon within its real- Effective role plays and simulations can life context providing rich contextual data stimulate participant interest in content obtained from an organizational setting. A areas and also enable the consolidation of single case study has the ability to increase previous learning through ‘practical our understanding of a particular situation application’ of knowledge gained (De Neve (Yin, 2003). It has been argued that a single & Heppner, 1997). As such, they can be case study, while not generalizable, has the thought of as ‘a continuous, interactive, ability to provide a valuable insight into a dynamic teaching approach [to engage] known context (Duhan et al, 2001) and that participants in meaningful learning’ (Joyner the findings may be appropriate for & Young, 2006 p 229). The collaboration someone in similar circumstances (Cousin, that takes place within an active or 2005). experiential learning environment is of benefit to all participants. For example, less Interviews experienced participants benefit from the expertise of fellow participants, while those Interviews were used to provide the participants who possess expertise in the opportunity to draw on both the past and area will strengthen their knowledge and the present so as to extract a deeper skills through sharing that expertise understanding of issues compared to a (Murphy & Gazi, 2001). simple survey type enquiry (McCracken, 1998). The use of interviews provides the A key element in the learning outcomes investigator with the avenue to ask from both role play and simulation is that of respondents for facts as well as gathering reflection; where ‘reflection-on-action’ or opinions (Earlandson, 1993). ‘retrospective thinking’ is seen as a means of consolidating learning outcomes (Nestel & All the participants were or had been Tierne, 2007). This reflection is twofold as involved in the sport in either a coaching learners reflect ‘in’ (those with parts in the and / or refereeing at a senior level – role play or simulation) and ‘on’ (those who national through World Championship level, are observers). and the majority had been involved with the sport for more than fifteen years. Research Methodology Chain sampling was used to solicit The research methodology followed an participants who are “information-rich” as interpretive case study approach using a Patton (1990) indicated are good examples phenomenological methodology to gain and good interview subjects. The 11 internal (organization) and external (course participants (See table 1) were chosen participants) perspectives of the based on the individual’s availability, and educational program needs of the experience in the sport. This technique of ______

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purposeful sampling was employed due to heterogeneous patterns occurring with the the concerns in the study to maximize framework of the study (Erlandson, 1993). discovery of the problem and the

Table 1: Interviewees and Region

Interviewee Region Role A Pan America International Referee B Pan America International Referee C Pan America Coach & International Referee D Oceania Coach E Europe International Referee F Oceania Coach & International Referee G Oceania Coach H Pan America Coach & International Referee I Pan America International Referee J Oceania International Referee K Oceania Coach & International Referee

The interviews were of a semi-structured phenomena, and were concerned with format using probing style questions. All 11 drawing out each person's subjective interviews were recorded using a voice interpretation of their experiences in the recorder and then transcribed. Additional sport and their recollections. The questions field notes were taken on the time of each were open, empathetic and not leading, interview. The majority of the interviews with the focus on encouraging the were of 30 to 45 minutes duration, with the participant to explore his or her one of approximately 20 minutes. experience(s) and interpretations of the many potentially differing aspects of the All participants in the study participated phenomenon. Questions implying any voluntarily and were informed, if they expectation or considered to be leading wished to do so, they were able to withdraw were avoided, as Goulding (2005) suggests from the study without the need to provide it is necessary that the subject's responses reason or justification. and reflections are not influenced, swayed or led by the interviewer’s style. The The project was assessed by the University interviews additionally explored cultural of Technology Sydney Ethics committee as and relationship issues to provide rich, not being high risk and UTS ethics approval significant experiential material. (UTS HREC ETH17-1287) was granted on 1 May 2017. As the participants came from differing countries and cultures, it was important to Each interview commenced with the conduct interviews in environments following open question: "In relation to suitable to the participant. All interviews your Taekwondo referee (or coach) were at relevant locations to suit the education, what is the most memorable interviewees at the time, e.g., attending a experience you have had?”; this was then World Championship or other international followed by further probing questions. The event, with as little intrusion and disruption questions focused on experienced to the participants as possible. All

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participants already had considerable their application. Athletes, coaches and exposure to and been accustomed to the referees were found to have differing environments where the research was understandings of the application of any being conducted and was not foreign to particular rule at a given time, and in some them. Due to the nature of the sport and the cases, this variation in the rule individual’s level of participation in the interpretation would be from one event to sport, they were very familiar with another, or even between referees and communicating with and talking to people coaches at the same event. from other countries and cultures; and through their involvement in the sport, they While coaches and referees generally had could be considered as "global citizens in sound, basic understandings of the actual the sport”. competition rules, the real problem area lays in the deeper understandings of the No individually identifiable data were competition rules, the interpretation and required for this work and as such all the application of that interpretation in a interviews were de-identified and the given competition. Problems were transcripts sanitized to remove trace(s) of identified to stem from variations in an personal or organizational elements interpretation for a particular event, and ensuring that there is no tracing back to this information not being disseminated to single contributions, or identification to any coaches and referees for subsequent events. of the participants. Only general themes In situations where a new interpretation were identified. The collected date were was being made of a rule, only those only used by the researcher and were not attending that particular event would be given to the organization(s). aware of the new interpretation and how it was being applied. The dissemination of a There exists a variety of qualitative data new interpretation to other stakeholders is analysis methods including content totally reliant on those who attend the event analysis, constant comparison and pattern to ideally distribute the changes or updates, matching. It is the intention to ensure the as no official correspondence comes from data collection and analysis of the data is the world body. explicit to “encourage theory development or progress current knowledge and Within the Oceania Region this is even more understanding” (Shaw, 1999), and through problematic due to the fact that not all the data analysis interpret the phenomena stakeholders have access to major events in the terms the interviewee places on them due to financial constraints (personal, (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Using an national and regional), various cultural interpretivist approach, data were analyzed issues (e.g., language, religious, educational, so as to provide a deep understanding of etc) and time commitment. In addition, issues relevant to the sport’s education in many of the national bodies within the the region. Emerging conclusions made region do not have suitably experienced from the study provided a sound educators in the sport and are reliant on the understanding of the research situation and regional governing body to fill in this provided a grounded basis for developing shortfall. theories and framework for the delivery of the education process. Global Education Avenues – Referee and Coach Seminars Findings and Results Education in the sport for coaches and There were considerable references to the referees generally falls under two differences in the educational materials categories. These being formal seminars provided and, in the medium(s), depth in conducted by the world governing body, the the explanation of rule interpretations, regional bodies and in some cases the duration and extent of education sessions. relevant national body, and pre-event event This subsequently creates levels training seminars for those referees who inconsistencies in rule interpretations and are officiating at that event and in separate ______

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coaching debriefs held immediately prior to There is no formal pre-event education a particular event. information relating toto rule interpretation for a specific competition, Currently there is no formal requirement or provided to either the coaches or referees syllabus provided by the world governing prior to the event. Information related to body to regional bodies or national rules and their interpretations are only associations for their referee and coach provided at the respective Head of Team or education. In general, each region, and in Referee meeting immediately prior to the some cases a national body, is providing its competition. own independently developed educational program.. As such, there exists multiple Global Referee and Coach Education – education programs with different Competition Onsite structures and different levels of content in relation to the interpretations and with the Educational seminars for coaches and competition rules. referees vary from event to event at the international level. It is not uncommon that at any one time there are differing interpretations ofthe Head of Team Meetings – Coaches same rule being delivered in educational programs across differing cohorts. Content The Head of Teams meetings are usually for the regional and national programs is attended by the Head of Team and one of the not provided by the world governing body. team’s coaches for each team at that Regional and national bodies develop their competition. The Head of Teams meetings own educational programs by sourcing at World Championship and regional level content through interested individuals are quite detailed and may run up to several within their organization who attend hours. At other international events, such as international events and/or international Open championships, they usually run for training programs run by the world body around an hour plus, with regional and then pass on this information onto their championship Head of Team meetings regional and/or national body. running for an hour or two. However, at all international events sanctioned by the Global Education Avenues – Pre- World Taekwondo, coaches are required to Competition hold a current regional coach license to have access to the competition area. This Prior to all competitions at the international accreditation is usually conducted as part of and regional levels, a referee meeting and a the region’s formal referee and coach coach/manager debrief are conducted. The education programs. At some open events latter are often referred to as the Head of the respective regional body may also run Teams Meeting. coaching license/accreditation courses which are run usually over a three-or-four- The referee meetings, while addressing hour period. These courses are an abridged logistical issues and event management version of the formal coaching course relating to the referees, also double up for specifically designed to enable coaches to pre-event education or refreshing of rules gain their coaching license accreditation for and interpretations to be applied at that the event. particular event. In general, all of these follow a similar The Head of Teams meetings address format where content is presented either as matters related to the competition draw, simply as a verbal presentation or verbally competition logistics from the coach and and supported with a PowerPoint athlete perspective; and provide a debrief of presentation, with both providing Q and A. the rules and interpretation for the event. This is normally conducted by the referee chairperson for that event.

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Referees A member country, state or province, or a club in a member country may request for a The structure of the pre-event referee seminar to be conducted. Once approved by meeting varies from an hour briefing for an the WTO, a presenter will be appointed to open event up to a compulsory 3-day deliver the standard package for coaches training program prior to a major event and referees to ensure consistency of such as World Championships or Grand education across the region. However, Prix, etc. issues arise due to the availability of local funding to hold seminars, availability of At these major events and at some, but few, presenters; and there is no obligation by a Open events the referee education program country to use the regional body’s consists of verbal presentation supported educational program. Additionally, some of with PowerPoint presentation, the member countries in WTO have been familiarization with the competition elected to deliver their own educational equipment, and match practice, where the program. The only commitment to using the referee practices hand signals and match regional program is when a coach is seeking management with simulated matches. the necessary accreditation to officiate at an event sanctioned by the world and / or Generally, at Open events the Referee regional body. meetings are quite brief and consist of addressing logistical matters and a debrief Oceania Education – Pre-Competition over the rules and interpretations. On some occasions this is presented via PowerPoint At most, if not all domestic, national or and followed by some discussion. regional events in the region, there is no pre-event dissemination of updated rule Oceania Region Referee and Coach interpretations. Within the 19 member Seminars Structure countries, only Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia have international qualified The Oceania region differs somewhat from referees (IR) which further limits the the other regions and the world body likelihood of stakeholders being up to date. offerings in so much that the education The access to current rule interpretations is program for coaches and referees is further impacted by the region’s IRs only conducted in one seminar to both cohorts, coming from three countries and and offers regional accreditation for appointments to international competition coaches and referees at the same seminar. are usually made by the world body without input from either the regional body or the Coaches and Referee Seminars national body, thus there is no guarantee that each of the three countries is The Oceania region governing body for the represented at each international event. sport provides a standard education With any event, sanctioned by the world package for all member countries in the body, only international referees licensed region. This package is designed such that by the world body may be appointed to coaches and referees attend the same officiate, and national referees cannot program to ensure both groups of officiate. This limits the opportunity for stakeholders are receiving the same national referees to gain match-time content, whereas with some of the other experience and attend the pre-competition regions’ coach and referee, education is referee training. conducted separately. The program is delivered by presenters certified by the Oceania Education – Competition Onsite World Taekwondo Oceania (WTO - regional governing body). Currently there are five The referee training and coach debrief for presenters in the region – three in Australia, an event at the regional level usually one in New Zealand and one in New consists of a joint meeting, held for Caledonia. approximately one hour, where at the Head of Team meeting, both referees and team ______

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officials meet for a debrief of the regulations. This irregularity impacts not competition logistics and application of rule only on the competition(s), but also has interpretations for the event. This meeting considerable bearing on the game is chaired by the Competition Manager, for management and training of the athlete in the matters related to the running of the competition and those officiating in competition, and the Referee Chairperson competition. for the event, who would cover matters related to rules and their application. Due to Educational courses for referees and the nature of the region, certain concessions coaches, in general, are run infrequently. In need to be made to accommodate coaches some countries, courses may only be offered and players while still maintaining once a year, and even less with the smaller compliance to the world body’s competition countries in the region. Due to the earlier rules and regulations. mentioned rate of changes in competition rules and interpretations, this infrequency The referee would follow on from the Head and lack of ability to gain up-to-date of Teams meeting with a more specific information critically disadvantages the session with a more in-depth discussion on greater majority of countries in the Oceania rule interpretations and their applications region. and, at some events, a familiarisation with the competition’s electronic scoring and Currently, educational programs for video review systems. These sessions are referees and coaches, conducted by the usually run over a one-to-two-hour period. world and regional bodies, are delivered in a traditional classroom format employing Discussion everyday educational tools, e.g., PowerPoint presentations. The hosting by a regional or Changes are not being disseminated to national body of an international referee either regional or national bodies by the course, delivered by the world body, will world governing body (WT). To acquire incur costs of upwards of twenty to thirty current information necessitates a country thousand dollars with little or no financial to either have its international referees return to the host organization. attend a five-day education seminar, usually requiring international travel or in the hope In addition to the delivery of course content, they be appointed by the world body to the coach and referee accreditation officiate at a major world event and attend assessment processes in the regional and the event and the pre-event training. The global offerings take little advantage, if any, travel and course costs, which are usually in of modern technologies and, with the the vicinity of three to four thousand dollars, exception of pass or fail result, do not are often borne by the individual. There is provide any formative feedback for the no funding from the world body and the individual participants. In addition to the regional and many of the national lack of feedback, the processing of the federations do not have the financial results may take upwards of several months resources to support the travel. It is then for the candidate to receive results. In some necessary for this information to be cases, the results are not distributed to the disseminated to the local referee and candidates but rather to the respective coaching corps via some domestic process, national body. which in most cases does not occur. This work examines the gap in the current This form of unstructured information provision of educational offerings for dissemination, due to the lack of processes Taekwondo coaches and referees in the and time, often leads to the relevant Oceania Region. The findings highlighted stakeholders at the domestic, national and three key focal areas which were found in some cases regional levels having wanting in the region: Availability of skilled differing levels of currency with educators; interpretations, understandings and applications of competition rules and

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• Access to suitable educational imperative that a suitable and current programs; and educational program be available to all • Access to current interpretations participants in the sport. and application of the sport’s rules and regulations. An understanding of the issues related to the delivery of the sports education in the In addition to the above, three additional Oceania region is a key to enable the factors impact on the current environment: development of a framework for the management and delivery of an educational • Differing cultural issues within the program using the principles of blended region; learning within a region of differing cultures • Lack of available financial and socio-economic environments. resources; and • Organizational and infrastructure This work lays the platform for the issues within the region. development of an educational model based on the principles of eLearning and Blended The Oceania region differs considerably Learning to address the needs of the sport from the other four global regions in the in the Oceania Region. Such a model would sport (Pan-American, European, African be a component of a more complete and Asian regions), which, due to differing educational framework which would also but unique factors, significantly impacts the be expected to not only provide an area of referee and coach education in the educational program and structure, but also region. These factors include differing address the management of the sport’s socio-economic environments in and educational program taking into between the region’s countries, accessibility consideration the various cultural issues to technologies, cultures including religious and challenges the region provides. beliefs and differing languages and dialects, educational standards, and available While the benefits of an educational disposable income costs. This work will program designed using the concepts of assist in the development of the sport's eLearning and blended learning are educational programs to provide a more apparent, the challenge is to ensure all innovative program delivery, subsequently stakeholders within the region see and leading to an increase in the standards of accept the value and benefits of the officiating and coaching, and increased program, and subsequently adopt the participation in officiating and coaching in program. It appears, through the author’s the sport in Oceania. earlier work, that this may be possible with the improvement of educational methods Conclusion and Future Research and training for end users. Such an educational program needs to be accessible The role of education in the sport of across the regions. Taekwondo in the Oceania Region is a complex problem. The Oceania region The significance of this work is in the consists of 19 member countries with examination of the educational needs for differing languages, educational taekwondo coaches, referees and other backgrounds and standards, available competition stakeholders within the technologies, financial access – Oceania region. Depending upon the organizationally (both with the regional success and uptake of the model, the model body and individual country’s associations) could then be applied to other sports within and individually with participants. the region and used in other regional Additionally, the sport is continuing to Taekwondo sports education programs for undergo considerable changes, such that, referees and coaches, and potentially for rule modifications, interpretations and adoption by the world governing body - applications are being made on a frequent World Taekwondo. basis. To ensure that the sport continues to be contested at the highest levels, it is ______

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Rene LEVEAUX and Kyeong KANG, Journal of e-Learning and Higher Education, DOI: 10.5171/2021.606594 Journal of e-Learning and Higher Education 12 ______

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Rene LEVEAUX and Kyeong KANG, Journal of e-Learning and Higher Education, DOI: 10.5171/2021.606594