Andrew M. Guest

The diffusion of development-through-sport: analysing the history and practice of the Olympic Movement's grassroots outreach to Africa

The idea of sport as a tool for development has a long and ambitious history, up to and including a recent proliferation of international sport programmemes targeting grassroots development. The popularity of these programmes, however, raises interesting questions about the influence of sport across diverse contexts: how do ambitious claims about the universal value of sport diffuse into actual practices in distinct cultural communities? This essay uses the case of the Olympic Movements grassroots outreach to Africa to document a historical pattern of grand and problematic ambitions for the role of sport in development consistently diffusing into modest, diverse and generally neutral practices. To analyse this pattern, the essay begins by drawing on concepts from existing scholarship related to the cultural diffusion of sport, and then considers examples in two parts: first, analysing the historical record of Olympic Movement outreach to Africa and second, analysing ethnographic examples from fieldwork in Angola with a contemporary development-through-sport programmes descended from the Olympic Movement. The essay concludes with a brief discussion of how analysing empirical examples from the history and practice of grassroots sport outreach might inform understandings of the development-through-sport endeavour.

A school-level analysis of adolescent extracurricular activity, delinquency, and depression: the importance of situational context

In this article we investigate the extent to which the relationship between extracurricular activities and youth development depends on situational contexts. Using a national sample including 13,466 youths in grades 7–12 across 120 schools, we conduct school-level analyses of the association between extracurricular activities, delinquency, and depression. Three main findings are reported. First, we observe near-normal distributions across schools in the proportions of delinquent or depressed youths involved in extracurricular activities, illustrating that extracurricular activities can be positive, neutral, or negative settings for youth development. Second, within individual schools we fail to uncover consistent associations in the propensity of delinquent or depressed youth to be involved with different types of extracurricular activities. Third, standard macro-level context variables do not explain the observed variations within or between schools. The results suggest that the relationships between extracurricular activities, delinquent conduct and depressive symptoms among youth ultimately depend more upon micro-level contextual factors than the type or content of the activities themselves.

Reconsidering Teamwork Popular and Local Meanings for a Common Ideal Associated With Positive Youth Development

Although developing “teamwork” is commonly discussed as a goal for youth work, the meaning of teamwork is rarely articulated. Drawing from field research with programs for children and youth in a Chicago public housing community and with a community of Angolan refugee camps, this article demonstrates that teamwork has multiple potential meanings. The popular meaning, regularly invoked in the media, sports, and business settings and often assumed in youth development settings, focuses on efficient productivity. In the two local communities considered here, however, teamwork often meant prioritizing loyal affiliations or hierarchical social order above and beyond efficient productivity. The author concludes that reflective considerations of developmental competencies, such as teamwork, are important for respecting diverse models of positive youth development.

Sport Psychology for Development and Peace? Critical Reflections and Constructive Suggestions

In the fast growing field of “Sport for Development and Peace” (SDP), often coordinated by Western organizations working in non-Western communities, many programs have a psychological orientation. Programs talk, for example, about using sport to develop life skills, to build self-esteem, to improve motivation, or to change prejudicial attitudes. This article draws on the evolving body of research addressing SDP, along with experiences with SDP in sub-Saharan Africa, to discuss both the problems and the potential for applying a psychological lens to sports and development. While I suggest caution in assuming psychological skills are central to international development—particularly as emphasizing individual level change risks obscuring the more serious structural realities facing many target communities—I will suggest that sport psychology can offer useful listening skills, research skills, and collaboration skills towards a genuine contribution to meaningful SDP.

Cultures of Play during Middle Childhood: Interpretive Perspectives from Two Distinct Marginalized Communities.

This article offers interpretive perspectives on play as a cultural activity during middle childhood by contrasting two communities targeted for aid by external sport and play programs: a Chicago public housing community and a community of Angolan refugee camps. Ethnographic anecdotes, along with some survey results, demonstrate that aside from any organized programs, informal sport and play activities in each community were popular and culturally adaptive. In the Chicago community, where childhood was conceptualized as part of linear development toward adulthood, play was characterized by seriousness, competitiveness and individualism. In the Angolan community, where childhood was conceptualized as a discrete segment of the life course, play was characterized by an emphasis on inclusion and social roles. Contrasting observations from these two contexts serve to illustrate how sport and play can be a culturally valued part of childhood in distinctly local ways.

Using athletes as role models? Conceptual and empirical perspectives from a sample of elite women soccer players.

Although popular discourse claims that elite female athletes serve as effective role models for a broad set of characteristics, theoretical and empirical perspectives on athletes as role models are sparse and somewhat inconsistent. In exploratory research designed to clarify conceptualizations of athletes as role models by asking for the athletes own perspectives, we surveyed 39 elite women soccer players in the USA. Drawing primarily on open-ended responses, we found that the players did articulate a consistent cultural script for the characteristics of a role model and felt comfortable with their role-model status. Interestingly, however, that script was not as focused on the athletic prowess that made the players public figures. Instead, the players focused on role models as characterized by meritocratic personality traits (such as being disciplined and hard working) and interpersonal abilities (such as being caring and generous). We discuss implications for those interested in promoting, working with, and studying athletes as role models.

The Social Organization of Extracurricular Activities: Interpreting Developmental Meanings in Contrasting High Schools.

While participation in structured activities has generally positive effects during adolescence, the context and the quality of participation often shape those effects as much as the specific activity type. Qualitative methods offer useful tools for better understanding those activity contexts and qualities. This analysis thus draws on comparative ethnographic case studies using mixed methods to contrast activity participation at 2 high schools serving differing socioeconomic status (SES) communities. Quantitative survey results from adolescents in both the schools and across sports, arts, and service/leadership activities show similar, and consistently positive, developmental experiences. Yet, qualitative analysis demonstrates evident differences in the social organization of activities at each school related to resources, opportunities, and cultural logics. Examples from basketball, theater, and community service programs suggest that this social organization differentially associated with more asset- or deficit-oriented discourses. These discourses in turn differentially associated with the meanings of developmental characteristics such as initiative, teamwork, and identity exploration. Adolescents in the higher SES context, for example, had opportunities to cultivate talents and interests through consistent support, while the discourse in the lower SES context led adolescents to focus on overcoming challenges and obstacles. Such contrasting experiences, though each potentially valuable for adolescent development, suggest the possibility that overall positive psychological experiences with extracurricular activities may sometimes obscure meaningful developmental differences. Such qualitatively observed differences deserve more attention, particularly for understanding relationships between activities, developmental characteristics, and inequality.

Concepts of Social Justice as a Cultural Consensus: Starting Points for College Students of Different Political Persuasions

Promoting social justice is popular in American colleges, though the specific concepts and values associated with social justice tend to be inconsistently articulated. Noting that diverse possible definitions for social justice seem to underlie some controversies surrounding the concept, the authors conducted a study that employs a version of cultural consensus analysis to investigate actual college student definitions of conditions and actions they associate with social justice. Comparing students who identify as liberal politically with students who identify as conservative politically demonstrates more similarities than differences, with most students putting particular emphasis on equal rights, basic needs, education, and community service. At the same time, students who identify as liberal politically tended to put more emphasis on environmental issues while students who identify as conservative tended to put more emphasis on charity and just policy. Recognizing these commonalities and differences has implications for promoting values associated with social justice as part of a college education.

Fan culture and motivation in the context of successful women’s professional team sports: a mixed-methods case study of Portland Thorns fandom

Abstract By the metric of average home attendance, the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League are the most popular women’s professional sports team in the world. This paper investigates that distinct sports context through a mixed-methods case study of Thorns fandom, asking what fans themselves perceive to be salient elements of a successful fan culture for women’s professional soccer and what motivates their fandom. Drawing on survey data that are contextualized by ethnographic observations and interviews, we offer an interpretive analysis of ways Thorns fandom hybridizes elements of traditional and alternative sports fandom. Our findings highlight the emphasis Thorns fans put on quality soccer in a professional atmosphere where fans themselves create the supporters culture, along with the symbolic importance to fans of identifying with values such as gender empowerment, diversity and inclusion. We discuss ways these themes might offer and inform alternative models of sports fandom.

Cultures of Diversity: Considering Scientific and Humanistic Understandings in Introductory Psychology.

Teachers of psychology tend to agree that learning about diversity is an important goal for undergraduate psychology courses. There is significantly less agreement about what aspects of diversity psychology students should understand. The current research proposes and investigates two potentially distinct ways students might understand diversity: more scientific understandings of topical knowledge related to nature and nurture and more humanistic understandings related to multicultural awareness and sensitivity. Drawing on standardized surveys and open-ended responses to diversity questions from the beginning and end of introductory psychology courses, results indicate that students’ topical knowledge of diversity is not strongly associated with multicultural sensitivity. These results emphasize the importance of clarifying the meanings of addressing diversity as a course goal and are discussed in relation to the multiple challenges of teaching about diversity in psychology courses.