Dr Justine Allen

Associate Professor

School: Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation

Justine is an experienced higher education academic who is passionate about facilitating the development of people whether in higher education working with students and colleagues or working in sport with coaches, coach developers, volunteers, and sport organisations. Originally from New Zealand, she joined Northumbria University in 2023 after working at the University of Stirling, University of Otago, and University of Waikato.

Justine's research also focuses on the development of people, with a focus on the psychosocial environment that can support or thwart individuals’ motivation, well-being, psychological needs, and performance. Her work developing people continues in the wider community as a coach developer and sport coach.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Justine's research focuses on understanding the processes and practices of coaches, teachers, and organisational leaders in their facilitation (or thwarting) of optimal human functioning within sport and education contexts. Specifically, she examines how (and why) these key influencers impact performers’, participants’, and volunteers’ motivation, performance, psychological needs satisfaction, well-being and life skill development. Justine's research adopts a social psychological perspective to understand the social contextual and individual factors that influence coaches’ and athletes’ experiences in sport and includes the psychosocial development of young people.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
The “Face” of Coach Development: A Systematic Review of the Role of the Coach Developer, Jones, T., Allen, J., Macdonald, S. 1 Jan 2024, In: International Sport Coaching Journal
Coaching high performance athletes, Allen, J., Muir, B. 19 Mar 2021, Coaching for Human Development and Performance in Sports, Cham, Switzerland, Springer
'Zooming in' on the antecedents of youth sport coaches' autonomy-supportive and controlling interpersonal behaviours: a multimethod study, Carroll, M., Allen, J. 1 Apr 2021, In: International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
A self-determination theory based investigation of life skills development in youth sport, Cronin, L., Ellison, P., Allen, J., Huntley, E., Johnson, L., Kosteli, M., Hollis, A., Marchant, D. 18 Apr 2022, In: Journal of Sports Sciences
Development and initial validation of the life skills ability scale for higher education students, Cronin, L., Allen, J., Ellison, P., Marchant, D., Levy, A., Harwood, C. 3 Jun 2021, In: Studies in Higher Education

PGR Supervision

Ben King ‘The Coaches’ Role in Facilitating Thriving in the Junior to Senior Transition in Professional Football’ Start Date: 01/10/2023
Stephen Foley Incident Reporting Mechanisms and Cultures in Sea Kayaking Start Date: 01/10/2023
Alexandra Mollin Coaching women golfers: An exploration of coaches’ practices and players’ experiences Start Date: 01/10/2024
Sally Anderson Are parents of youth athletes burning out? The experiences of parents whose children play individual and team sports at regional or national level Doctor of Philosophy Sport Coaching Research Start Date: 01/10/2023
Timothy Jones The Role of the Coach Developer: A Critical Realist Exploration of 1:1 Support and Situated Practice Start Date: 01/10/2023
Sam Jensen From surviving to thriving: what role does psychological safety play in promoting well-being amongst high performance coaches? Start Date: 01/10/2025