Health and Education through Sport for development and peace in extreme development contexts: cases studies from various developing countries (original) (raw)
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Peace education through sport: Examining the significance of sport in Development
Sports is increasingly being adopted as one of the strategies in international development with an aim to promote peace building iniative in many post conflict zones and developing countries. Given its potential to develop individual life skills and the community at large development organizations are increasingly integrating sports in their project work in order to improve their programme delivery. This is a result of an agreed understanding today that organized displines or activities are a potential source or platform for youth positive development (Larson, 2000). Among popular organized activity today, sports provides an opportunity for youth engagement (Larson & Verma, 1999). Internationally, the United Nations General Assembly in 2003 adopted a resolution affirming its commitment to sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace. It was also generally agreed and recognized that sport and physical education are tools that can contribute towards achieving the internationally agreed development goals. The year 2005 was also declared a year of Sport and Physical Education by the United Nations while encouraging development stake holders to seek ways of using sport to promote peace as well as in the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Sport was recognized as a vehicle for “addressing global issues related to violence, inequality, disease, hunger, primary education, environmental sustainability and global partnerships (Mandigo, Corlett & Anderson, 2008: 110). Available evidence suggests that sport integrated with in the development component can be a medium to promote education, development of life skills among participating young people, promoting peace building and conflict prevention, disaster response, disability inclusion, health sensitization, economic growth, and gender mainstreaming. However whereas sports has these development aspects, there is an ongoing debate on whether participation in sport activity promotes peace or violence?; Does it bring about desired social change?. Whereas there is limited data on sport in development and its actual role in peace building, there is growing recognition of the role it can play in the development and this necessitated the need to mainstream sports in peace education. Sports is a low cost, high impact and transferable medium of engagement1, it‟s a tool that can be used in peace education since it brings people together in a joint endeavor. Through sport participation, self generated change and dialogue is promoted among participants through their engagement. Individuals learn and adopt skills necessary to engage in dialogue in any conflict situation. Sports as a pedagogy can be significant in peace education. This module paper intends to examine the pedagogical benefits of sports as a tool for peace education particularly its significance in development today, citing Right To Play project in Uganda as the case study. The paper will also examine peace pedagogy and pedagogical theories, the learning process theory and the theory of change to explain why and how sport as pedagogy. can play a significant role in fostering behavioral change and development of life skills key to peace and development in society. The paper also highlights some counter arguments to the growing notion in favor of use of sport in development. However for clarity to avoid ambiguity between the terms sport and physical education and the lack of a systematic or international agreement on a preferred term, in this paper I will mainly refer to the term sport in examining its significance in development.
In recent years, sport has been used as an instrument through which wider development objectives are pursued. This includes sport as a means to create awareness about the risks of HIV; sport as a vehicle to counter inter-group hostility; and sport as an environment where children can find respite in the wake of military conflict. The use of sport for development purposes is neither simple nor inherently successful. It is therefore regrettable that some of the agents and organisations involved in development programs provide evangelistic accounts of their activities, thus suggesting that field work is unproblematic. By contrast, this book provides a critical approach to sport-for-development, acknowledging the potential of this growing field but emphasising challenges, problems and limitations – particularly if programs are not adequately planned, delivered or monitored. The book features both critical theory and reflective praxis, and will thus be useful to both academics and practitioners.
Sport and Development: An Overview, Critique, and Reconstruction
Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 2011
Development" has become both a watchword and a fascination in sporting circles worldwide. Yet sport officials, policy makers, and advocates often have relatively unsophisticated understandings of development and the role of sport therein. This can result in programs and initiatives that are unfocused, ineffective, or even counterproductive. Drawing on critical theory and informed by our own research on sport-based social programs, the authors attempt to impart clarity by distinguishing two different approaches to sport and development: a dominant vision, in which sport essentially reproduces established social relations, and an interventionist approach, in which sport is intended to contribute to more fundamental change and transformation. The authors develop a critique of the former and elaborate on the latter, focusing on normative visions of the social status quo and the role of sport as an educational tool for otherwise disempowered, marginalized young people. The overarching objective is to show that practitioners interested in using sport for development however defined must recognize these theoretical issues and create appropriate programming if their intended outcomes are to be achieved.
Sports for development and peace
International journal of yogic, human movement and sports sciences, 2017
The use of sport as a pedagogic tool has motivated the international sports movement into tangible action. In parallel, our success in the field has made political leaders and governments aware of how sport can be a genuine and effective mechanism for peace. Furthermore, we are increasingly working with international companies, to encourage them to integrate sport into their social responsibility and local policies. Sport plays a significant role as a promoter of social integration and economic development in different geographical, cultural and political contexts. Sport is a powerful tool to strengthen social ties and networks, and to promote ideals of peace, fraternity, solidarity, non-violence, tolerance and justice.
2017
In many settings, people with disabilities are marginalised from the socio-economic activities of their communities and are often excluded from development activities, including sport for development programmes. Sport is recognised as having unique attributes, which can contribute to the development process and play a role in promoting the health of individuals and populations. Yet there is little evidence, which demonstrates whether and how sport for development can be disability-inclusive. The aim of this qualitative research was to address this knowledge gap by documenting the enablers and barriers to disability inclusion within sport for development programmes in the Pacific, and to determine the perceived impact of these programmes on the lives of people with disability. Qualitative interviews and one FGD were conducted with implementers, participants with and without disability, and families that have a child with disability participating in sport. Participation in sport was r...
Sports’ Role in Education for Sustainable Development: Prospective
2020
It is necessary and urgent that sport, physical education, and physical activity seriously play its role in international development and peace. As international development and cooperation is an interdisciplinary area of actions, sport needs to get more actively involved and be part of various activities for genuine development in local, national, and international level. More involvement particularly in education development through sport, physical education, and physical activity in developing countries can be advocated for each government to employ. Sport for international development cannot stay as a rhetoric but maintain its power to put every social sectors and factors together for more right-based development, which we believe is an authentic education itself.
Sport for Development and Peace: Surveying Actors in the Field
2019
Human resources are critical to the success of SDP as a field, and yet little is known about the experience and expertise of the growing number of SDP actors (e.g., practitioners, scholars, students). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a questionnaire designed to enhance our understanding of the SDP field through the eyes (and experiences) of SDP actors. The current state of the field is assessed, from the definition of SDP to information about the field that is actively sought (e.g., measurement and evaluation, program design and curriculum, funding) to concerns about limited support, ineffective and inequitable practices, and unclear impact. By understanding actors’ experiences in and expectations of the SDP field, we are able to identify a set of strengths and weaknesses that must be addressed in order to facilitate the field’s growth and development. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations about ways the field can be improved, including enhanced acc...
2013
The dissertation thesis aims to provide a basic overview of the new and emerging field of "sport and development". It describes the use of sport as a tool to solve various development problems. The research focuses on the role of football in the personal development of the children. It was carried out with the NGO called The Kids League that organizes sporting activities for young people in Uganda, which falls in the group of so-called developing countries. The qualitative research used observation, interviews and focus group as methods of data collection. Data were analysed by the use of thematic analysis. Positive as well as negative effects were found. Football and the international tournaments play a very important role in the lives of the youths. It can provide access to education and help them gain new knowledge and skills. On the other hand, due to football the youths miss classes and when abroad they can learn bad behaviour and become disrespectful.
2021
This chapter examines sport's evolution, from a modern, hyper-specialized, and high-performance social institution, towards the institutionalization of a Sport for All approach. The intersection between sport, development, and global non-sports agendas, especially within the United Nations System has attracted a plethora of sport and non-sport, government, private, and social actors to Sport for Development and Peace initiatives, also known as Sportland. The refocusing of sport, as a mean for achieving broader social goals makes necessary to differentiate between sport plus and plus sport approaches. The former has traditionally focused on growing sports per se, whereas the latter has used sport to reach at-risk populations that arguably could tackle diverse economic and social problems through sport-based initiatives. The undeniable growth and the changing nature of SDP initiatives and programs shall be analyzed critically, as sport is far from representing a magic wand or a universal remedy to social, political, and/or economic ills. This chapter lays down some basic guidelines to analyze SDP evolution, trying to identify evidence of progress, relapses, and/or stalemates taking place within Sportland. The proposed analysis is based on two binaries: inclusion-exclusion and continuity-change. The discussion then focuses on the persistence of both multiple exclusions and a great deal of continuity. It is