Sport is viewed as a setting with potential to offer social benefits to youth participants and alleviate broader social problems. Such promise requires intentionality of sport program philosophy, design, and execution. When designed with intentionality, youth sport can bring about positive change for individual youth and societies. This paper overviews the broad literature base, exploring 2 approaches to the promotion of social development through youth sport. One explores social- and/or life-skill development through sport for individual participants, whereas the other examines the role of sport in addressing broader social problems. Evidence-based strategies for fostering social development through youth sport are synthesized, providing guidance to coaches, administrators, youth workers, and others engaged in youth sport design, and exemplar programs that use youth sport as a vehicle for social development are presented. Limitations in youth sport research are summarized, and a call is made for more intentionally designed youth sport to promote social development.
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Youth Sport as a Vehicle for Social Development
Dawn Anderson-Butcher
Youth Sport Motivation and Participation: Paradigms, Perspectives, and Practicalities
Maureen R. Weiss
The purpose of this review is to characterize major advancements in the past 40 years of research on youth sport motivation. The author focuses on this period, during which the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, affiliated researchers, and other scholars contributed to the current state of the field. First, she traces paradigm shifts that represent changes in the philosophy and practice of science in youth sport motivation research. Second, she discusses emergent theoretical perspectives that guided empirical research and produced robust findings on predictors, mediators, and outcomes of motivation. Third, she translates these theories and associated studies to inform evidence-based best practices for youth sport programs. Finally, the author recommends that future research highlight developmental approaches, examine sport as a means of promoting physical activity, and consider multidisciplinary perspectives on conducive topics. By reflecting on paradigm shifts and research trends over time, scholars can meaningfully contribute to an increased understanding of youth sport motivation in the decades to come.
Ki-Yong Nam: A Korean Marathon Runner Under Japanese Colonial Rule
Benjamin H. Nam, Sangback Nam, Adam Love, Takuya Hayakawa, Rachael C. Marshall, and Kyung Su Jung
This article presents a biographical investigation of Ki-Yong Nam, revealing a little-known story of a Korean marathon runner who lost the opportunity to compete in the canceled 1940 Olympics under Japanese colonial rule. During the Japanese colonial and postcolonial eras, Korean marathoners produced world-class performances in elite events including the Olympic Games and Boston Marathon. Their achievements served as an inspiration to ethnic Koreans during Japanese colonial rule. Today, many Koreans remember these athletes as sport activists and heroes. However, athletes who endeavored to express Korean ethnic identity received scant attention during the war period. This article explores a significant individual whose experiences and ethnic identity were largely erased from history due to the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, while also illuminating his life after athletics as a coach and physical education teacher in postcolonial South Korea.
Volume 8 (2019): Issue 2 (May 2019)
Volume 8 (2019): Issue 1 (Feb 2019): The Academy Papers Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Independent or Interrelated Public Health Issues? Guest Editor: Debra J. Rose
Administrative Strategies for Delivering High-Quality Instruction in a University-Based Physical Activity and Wellness Program
Sheri J. Brock, Jared A. Russell, Brenna Cosgrove, and Jessica Richards
The School of Kinesiology at Auburn University has a large Physical Activity and Wellness Program (PAWP) that services approximately 8,000 students each academic year. The roughly 470 courses offered annually include aquatics, leisure, martial arts, fitness, and individual- and team-sport offerings taught predominantly by graduate teaching assistants. Overall, Auburn University has experienced a great deal of success in providing a PAWP program that students enjoy and often wish to repeat although these courses are not required as compulsory credit. Delivering high-quality undergraduate educational experiences is paramount to the overall instructional mission of the School of Kinesiology. This paper outlines administrative strategies to ensure that PAWP instructors are prepared and supported in their instructional responsibilities.
The American Kinesiology Association Core Content for Kinesiology Programs: From Concept to Curriculum
Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, Erica M. Taylor, and T. Gilmour Reeve
The American Kinesiology Association identified the essential core content for undergraduate kinesiology-based academic programs. The core includes 4 content elements: physical activity in health, wellness, and quality of life; scientific foundations of physical activity; cultural, historical, and philosophical dimensions of physical activity; and the practice of physical activity. This article, expanding on the development of the core, describes the 4 elements in more detail, suggests methods for assessing student learning outcomes for the core content, and provides examples of the inclusion of the core in undergraduate curricula. Finally, a case study is presented that addresses how a department revised its kinesiology curriculum using the core elements to refocus its undergraduate degree program.
The Benefits and Challenges of Kinesiology as a Pre-Allied Health Degree
Timothy A. Brusseau
This paper discusses some of the benefits and challenges of Kinesiology as a pre-allied health degree. Specifically, it highlights the impact of large enrollment growth on resources, course offerings, student experiences, student quality, and research. It is the author’s intent that this paper will stimulate discussion among Kinesiology programs and faculty to ensure that we are staying true to the recommended Kinesiology core and preparing our students to be future physical activity leaders while also providing the flexibility for students who are interested in pursuing graduate training in an allied health field.
Commentary on Kinesiology Undergraduate Preparation: 1968–2018
James R. Morrow Jr.
“Core Stability”: Should There Be a Bigger Focus on Foundational Skills in the Kinesiology Curriculum?
Barry Braun, Nancy I. Williams, Carol Ewing Garber, and Matthew Hickey
As the discipline of kinesiology ponders what should compose a kinesiology curriculum, it is worth considering the broad context. What is our responsibility to imbue students with values, viewpoint, and a vocabulary that facilitates their success in a context greater than our discipline? How do we decide what those things are (e.g., professional integrity, analytical thinking, cultural understanding, social responsibility, problem solving, leadership and engaged citizenship, effective communication, working collaboratively, preparation for lifelong learning)? How do we create a curriculum that provides sufficient understanding of disciplinary knowledge and critically important foundational skills? The purpose of this paper is to provide a jumping-off point for deeper discussion of what our students need most and how we can deliver it.