One of the problems with flight training is that it tends to be oriented towards passing the flight test, not necessarily teaching the the pilot decision making skills new pilots need. The short/soft field exercises are a particularly good example of this. The training is all about the aircraft handling skills, with little emphasis on pilot decision making.
My short and soft field ground briefing is 80% pilot decision making and only 20% on the hands and feet part. One exercise I really like is a demonstration high DA. I set power for what the engine will deliver at a 7000 ft DA. The students are invariably shocked at how poorly the aircraft performs on the take off roll and climb out. This experience carries over to the short and soft field exercises as they will at least have experienced the aircraft with marginal performance and see how important accurate and coordinated control inputs are essential
With respect to this accident, I would suggest that no amount of instruction would have saved him given the pilots attitude. I would suggest at the end of the day schools and instructors have to refuse to instruct people who have a fundamental and innate unsafe attitude.
As a bit of thread drift I did have PPL ME IR student who had driven 3 previous instructors literally to tears. He was the first person I had where the FISR method instruction was entirely appropriate. When he realized he couldn’t intimidate or BS me he got serious and did quite well. 2 years later I got a call from him. While cruising above a solid layer he lost 6 inches off a prop blade in his Twin Comanche. The vibration was so bad the AI and DG toppled and all the knobs on the radios fell off. . He identified and secured the failed engine and then did a partial panel cloud break by DR to a nearby airport and landed safely. He attributed my training as a significant reason for a successful outcome
The guy could be a bit of an asshat, but he listened when I talked and genuinely tried to be a good pilot. I would suggest that would have never been the case with the accident pilot.