Ties That Bond: Youth Sport as a Vehicle for Social Identity and Positive Youth Development

An emerging area of research has focused on understanding how the group dynamics of a sport team influence positive youth development (PYD). The identities that youth form through their membership in sport teams (i.e., social identities) have been found to influence teammate behavior and team performance. Yet, minimal work exists on social identity and PYD in youth sport. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social identity and PYD in sport. Method: Youth engaged in recreational sport (N = 219; M_age = 11.61 years, SD = 1.39 years) completed measures of social identity and PYD in sport. The social identity measure assessed 3 dimensions including ingroup ties (IGT; perceptions of similarity, bonding, belongingness), cognitive centrality (importance of being a team member), and ingroup affect (IGA; feelings associated with group membership). A regression analysis was performed separately for 4 PYD outcomes (personal and social skills, goal setting, initiative, negative experiences) with the 3 dimensions of social identity entered as predictors. Results: Regression analyses revealed that IGT and IGA were positively associated with personal and social skills (R² Adj. = .29). Further, IGT predicted initiative (R² Adj. = .16), whereas IGA was positively associated with goal setting (R² Adj. = .17) and negatively associated with negative experiences (R² Adj. = .08). Conclusion: The findings extend previous research highlighting the benefits of social identity on teammate behavior and team performance and demonstrate how social identity may contribute to PYD through sport.     

Striving to Be in the Profession and of It

Abstract

This study analyzes the experiences of African Americans in the physical education and kinesiology profession since the late 1850s. Using a variety of primary and secondary source material, we place special emphasis on the experiences of African American physical educators in higher education and in the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and its southern, regional, and state chapters. Apparent from this examination is that African Americans have experienced various forms of racially discriminatory practices in physical education and kinesiology and have found it extraordinarily difficult to assume leadership positions in the profession and be acknowledged for their scholarly and academic accomplishments.     

Lifelong Participation,Physical Education and the Work of Ken Roberts

A broad consensus has emerged in recent years in relation to the desirability of one particular purpose for physical education (PE); namely, the promotion of lifelong participation in sport and physical activity. This paper represents an attempt to rectify what is taken to be the relative failure of those investigating (whilst typically advocating) lifelong participation through PE to make use of a sociological perspective on leisure, youth cultures and sport. More specifically, it brings the seminal work of someone often referred to as a 'founding father' of the field, Ken Roberts, to bear on the topic, on the premise that any study of young people's propensity towards ongoing involvement in sport and physical activity needs to be viewed as an aspect of their lives 'in the round' and that, in this regard, Roberts' contribution is especially important. The paper argues that among a number of lessons to be learned from Roberts' work over the last decade or so is that sports participation--contrary to the common-sense views of teachers, government and other interested parties--has become part of present-day youth cultures and that this is, in no small measure, a consequence of a trend over the last 25 or so years towards a broadening of PE curricula in a manner that mutually reinforces broader trends in young people's leisure styles. The paper concludes that if lifelong participation is to be a primary aim of PE, then there needs to be a shift in policy towards the development of wide sporting repertoires, during the crucial secondary school years by, amongst other things, incorporating a significant element of choice on the part of pupils from a broad range of curricula and extracurricular activities, including so-called 'lifestyle' activities.     

The relationship between sport commitment and physical self-concept: Evidence for the self-enhancement hypothesis among adolescent females

ABSTRACT

Perceptions of physical self-concept are critical to physical activity participation. In line with the reciprocal effects model of causal ordering (REM), higher perceptions of physical self-concept can function as a facilitator to physical activity, and can arise as a result of engaging in physical activity. While this relationship has been predominantly tested in physical activity contexts, directional tests between physical self-concept and sport specific outcomes are limited. The current study aimed to evaluate the generalizability of the REM to sport commitment and physical self-concept in youth athletes. Over 24 months, adolescent females (N = 215) completed self-report questionnaires at Time 1 (T1) and two years later (Time 2; T2). Using structural equation modeling, the reciprocal effects model demonstrated that the path leading from T1 physical self-concept to T2 sport commitment was significant (p = .02), whereas the path leading from T1 sport commitment to T2 physical self-concept was not significant (p = .23). The results suggest a unidirectional relationship and may underscore the importance of focusing on the physical self-concept in the development of strategies geared towards improving adolescent female’s sport participation.     

Sense of belonging: is inclusion the answer?

Abstract

The Americans with Disabilities Act mandated the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of social and civil life in the United States including sports. As a result, sport and recreation programmes designed for typically developing youth began to include children with disabilities. One popular recreation context providing sport activities for youth with disabilities is summer camp. Research on inclusive camps has shown mixed results, with some studies suggesting that children with disabilities continue to experience exclusion from physical activity and leadership opportunities, social isolation, and stigma. This conceptual and argumentative essay will review current research on inclusive camps and will argue that, until the mechanisms of inclusive camps are better understood and applied in practice, camps for children with disabilities may be the best delivery system to promote inclusion and a sense of belonging, arguably one of the most important outcomes of camp.     

Correlates of Physical Activity Behavior in Rural Youth

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of physical activity behavior in a sample of rural, predominantly African American youth. Three hundred sixty-one fifth-grade students from two rural counties in South Carolina (69% African American, median age = 11 years) completed a questionnaire designed to measure beliefs and social influences regarding physical activity, physical activity self-efficacy, perceived physical activity habits of family members and friends, and access to exercise and fitness equipment at home. After school physical activity and television watching were assessed using the Previous Day Physical Activity Recall (PDPAR). Students were classified as physically active according to a moderate physical activity standard: two or more 30-min blocks at an intensity of 3 METs (metabolic equivalents) or greater, and a vigorous physical activity standard: one or more 30-min blocks at an intensity of 6 METs or greater. According to the moderate physical activity standard, 34.9% of students were classified as low-active. Multivariate analysis revealed age, gender, television watching, and exercise equipment at home to be significant correlates of low activity status. According to the vigorous physical activity standard, 32.1% of the students were classified as low-active. Multivariate analysis revealed age, gender, television watching, and self-efficacy with respect to seeking support for physical activity to be significant correlates of low activity status. In summary, gender and the amount of television watching were found to be the most important correlates of physical activity in rural, predominantly African American youth.     

Boys,Masculinities and PE

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study which aimed to explore boys' perceptions and experiences of school-based physical education (PE) and involvement in extra-curricular and out-of-school physical activities. Drawing on group and individual interviews with 22 15-year-old boys in four inner-city comprehensive schools, it explores the nature, purposes and experiences of their physical education involvement both in and out of school. The data collected highlighted the need both to explore and to deconstruct the concept of a dominant hegemonic masculinity. Boys are generally 'censorious' of others who resist and spoil PE lessons. Games, sport and physical activity are shaped by masculine identities and are mediated by diverse processes that involve staff competence, pupil friendship networks, class membership and ethnic identity.     

Gender and ethnic changes in physical work capacity from childhood through adolescence

This study determined gender and ethnic differences in physical work capacity (PWC170) of 8-16-year-old American youth as they progress from elementary to high school. A multicohort group of 2,540 youth participated 50.4% girls (21.4% African Americans, and 78.6% Caucasians). PWC170 was predicted from cycle ergometer testing six times over a 7-year period. The absolute PWC170 of girls stabilized in early adolescence, while boys increased with each trial. The PWC170 relative to body weight of girls decreased steadily, whereas the boys remained stable. African Americans had greater absolute PWC170 values than Caucasians (p = .0001). The relative PWC170 was lower for African American girls than Caucasian girls (p = .0001), but there were no ethnic differences for boys (p > .05). Although correlations and grouping suggested moderate tracking; girls with high relative PWC170 tended to migrate to lower levels as they aged, where as high-peforming boys maintained their PWC170 as they aged.     

Sport and the Italian American Quest for Whiteness

More than 4,000,000 Italians migrated to the United States in search of better opportunities; but their poverty, lack of education, Catholic religion and ethnic lifestyles denied them full inclusion in the mainstream American society dominated by middle class, white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants. This study examines the Italians' development of an Italian national identity in the United States, the transition to an American identity and the Italians' quest for inclusion within the mainstream society. Disdainful of education as contrary to the peasant familial value system, the Italian reliance on physicality marked a particular working-class habitus that transferred well to the labour gangs that built the American infrastructure, but their physical prowess allowed for greater recognition as Italian youth adopted American sport forms. Physical prominence led to university athletic scholarships and participation on US Olympic teams; while others pursued fame and fortune as professional boxers and in the American national game of baseball. In the inter-war years sport provided a primary vehicle for assimilation, acceptance and recognition as athletes such as Joe DiMaggio and Rocky Marciano became American icons of popular culture and fostered a golden age for Italian assimilation in the 1950s. A third generation, however, experienced a resurgence of ethnicity that resulted in a segmented assimilation in which Italians selectively adopted to the mainstream culture while retaining particular ancestral values and practices. Stereotypical depictions of Italians as gangsters and an adherence to past lifestyles suggest that full assimilation is not yet complete.     

Interactions between the Mississippi Choctaw and European Americans through the sport of Toli

Toli or stickball is a Native American sport with pre-Columbian roots that remains an important sport for many Native American groups, especially the Mississippi Choctaw. In 1989 a toli team was created at the University of Georgia, which subsequently established regular matches with a Choctaw team. This paper offers an analysis of matches staged in the late 1990s. Despite the ritualized violence, this study finds that the shared experience of playing toli acts as a catalyst for integration. It is suggested, moreover, that the sport serves an integrative function on several levels: cross-gender, intra-group and cross-cultural. Exploring the nature of toli and ethnic identity, it makes suggestions for increased interaction between Native Americans and non-Native Americans through sport.     

Disentangling Race: Re-Narrating Apartheid Sport?

Abstract

This paper involves a search for interracial entanglements in South African sport and considers how these experiences may be narrated. The paper comprises three sections. The first provides an overview of traditional narratives of apartheid and apartheid sport that focus on race as a perpetual marker of social division. The second section shifts attention to the gaps, blind spots, mistakes, paradoxes, ironies, anomalies, ambiguities and invisibilities in the structures of apartheid that allowed for racial encounters and entanglements. The paper concludes with a discussion about the methodological and political implications of incorporating racial entanglements into narratives of apartheid sport.     

The School Sport Co-ordinator Programme: Changing the Role of the Physical Education Teacher?

Over the last decade or so, young people have increasingly become a focus of UK sport policy. Fuelled in part by concerns such as the increasing levels of childhood inactivity and obesity, and the lack of international success in sport, a plethora of policy initiatives aimed at young people have been developed. In April 2000, the government published its sport strategy document, A Sporting Future for All, pulling together all the threads of recent policies, and in it, restating its commitment to youth sport, sport in education, excellence and sport in the community. One such policy initiative, the School Sport Co-ordinator programme, is the focus of this paper. The School Sport Co-ordinator programme, currently being introduced into schools in England, is an initiative that involves two government departments (sport and education) and a number of other agencies, reflecting the government's current agenda to ensure 'joined up policy' thinking. It aims to develop opportunities for youth sport through co-ordinated links between PE and sport in schools, both within and outside of the formal curriculum, with those in local community sports settings. The essence of the School Sport Co-ordinator programme is to free up nominated teachers in schools from teaching to allow them time for development activities, specifically to encourage schools and community sports providers to work in partnership. This paper draws on data from an ongoing research project examining the implementation of one School Sport Co-ordinator partnership, 'Northbridge'. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it explores the perceptions of the newly established School Sport Co-ordinators of their changing role. The paper highlights some of the initial tensions and challenges for them in their task of working across different educational and sporting contexts.     

Optimising physical activity engagement during youth sport: a self-determination theory approach

Research suggests participation in youth sport does not guarantee physical activity (PA) guidelines are met. Studies indicate few children achieve recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during their youth sport involvement, and habitual levels of MVPA are below the recommended 60 min per day. Informed by self-determination theory, this study examined whether the coach-created social environment and related player motivation predict variability in objectively measured MVPA within the youth sport setting. Seventy three male youth sport footballers (Mean age = 11.66 ± 1.62) completed a multisection questionnaire assessing their perceptions of the social environment created in youth sport (autonomy supportive and controlling) and motivation towards their football participation (autonomous and controlled). Intensity of PA during youth sport was measured using accelerometers (GT3X, ActiGraph). Results supported a model in which perceptions of autonomy support significantly and positively predicted autonomous motivation towards football, which in turn significantly and positively predicted youth sport MVPA (% time). A significant indirect effect was observed for perceptions of autonomy support on youth sport %MVPA via autonomous motivation. Results have implications for optimising MVPA engagement during youth sport and increasing daily MVPA towards recommended and health-enhancing levels on youth sport days.     

Getting beyond imagery: The challenges of reading narratives about American Indian athletes

Since the late 1800s, members of mainstream sport media have constructed narratives about American Indian athletes. Consistent with that history, American Indian athletes were featured in stories on sports television and in sports publications between November 1999 and July 2001, a time period that straddled the ending of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries. This paper examines several of those stories, including an ESPN special on Native Americans in sport; the representation of Jim Thorpe in Athlete of the Century polls; the depiction of Ed ‘Wahoo’ McDaniel in Sports Illustrated; and the book A Season on the Reservation: My Sojourn With the White Mountain Apache by former Los Angeles Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The analysis reveals that racial dynamics and stereotypes about American Indians that exist broadly in US society are replicated and perpetuated in contemporary sport media narratives about American Indian athletes.     

An Examination of Sport Participation Tracking and Adult Physical Activity for Participants of the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study

ABSTRACT

Research tracking sport participation from youth to adulthood is relatively rare, as is research that tracks youth sport participation with regard to adult physical activity (PA) levels, especially in the United States. Aims of this study were: 1) To investigate the degree to which sport participation tracked across youth, adolescence, and early adulthood in a sample of participants from the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study (MPS), and 2) Determine if differences existed in their levels of adult PA relative to prior sport participation. In total, 256 (60.8%) former participants from the MPS completed follow-up surveys regarding routine sport participation and PA across the previous year. Sport participation tracked consistently from youth to college. Further, regardless of the level of youth sport participation, adult leisure time PA was relatively consistent among groups. Although the study did not directly test the influence of the MPS on subsequent adult outcomes, our findings suggest that participants’ past sport participation was not a good predictor of adult PA for those who were involved in a program that emphasized fundamental motor skills in youth. Further investigation of such programs can help to better inform their influence on adult PA.     

美国青少年体育赞助与体育后备人才培养机制的启示

美国青少年体育赞助已经形成一整套成熟的机制，它促进了美国青少年体育的普及和发展，激励了体育后备人才的成长。学校体育与体育赞助的有机结合，是美国体育后备人才保持长盛不衰的一个重要因素。这种独具特色的青少年体育人才培养机制，对于我国青少年体育人才的培养具有重要的借鉴价值。     

Intellectuals and Warriors: The Ideological and Political Basis of Francoist University Sport, 1933–1946

Abstract

Examining the use of sport by totalitarian regimes during the interbellum period reveals that politicians saw the potential of sport not only for patriotic expression and international exhibition but also as a means to exert control over youth. Francoism participated in such uses of sport, imitating German and Italian organizations’ development of a youth sport structure. The Franco regime emphasized sport in universities to the extent that it made physical education a required subject to obtain a degree. This study’s primary objective is to reconstruct the doctrinal genesis of Francoist university sport, tracing it to the years before the Spanish Civil War, specifically noting the international influences that sustained it and the draft regulations that gave it legal standing despite resistance from both university youth and from sport. To this end, documentary sources are analyzed, including archival material, printed sources (legal decrees written during the period examined in this study and historical accounts of the subject), publications of Falange and related organizations, and speeches and proclamations from Falange and the Sindicato Español Universitario (SEU).