Implementing an activist prototype pedagogical model of sport for working with youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds: Testing the strength of the critical elements

Background and purpose: Over the last four years, we have developed a prototype pedagogical model (PPM) that was designed as a means of listening and responding to youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds. We used sport as a... [ view full abstract ]

Background and purpose: Over the last four years, we have developed a prototype pedagogical model (PPM) that was designed as a means of listening and responding to youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds. We used sport as a vehicle for assisting them in becoming critical analysts of their communities and developing strategies to manage the risks they face (Authors 2015, 2016, 2017). The PPM combines 5 critical elements: student centered pedagogy, inquiry-based learning centered in action, an ethic of care, attentiveness to the community, and a community of sport. This study aims to test the strength of these 5 critical elements.

Method: Participatory action research framed this 6-months study. Participants included 2 researchers, 6 pre-service physical education teachers (PST), and 16 youth ages 9-15 (9 boys and 7 girls) at a sport project in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Guarujá, Brazil. Data included: (a) field journal/observations (25), (b) youth generated artefacts (25), (c) weekly collaborative PST group meetings (25), (d) researcher debriefings (5). Data analysis involved inductive and constant comparison.

Results: The critical elements student-centered pedagogy and inquiry-based education centered in action were identified as essential in this PPM because they allowed us to identify the youths’ needs as well as barriers to sport engagement, recognizing realistic places where these barriers could be challenged and/or transformed. Ethic of care, attentiveness to the community, and a community of sport were presented in a richer and broader way giving us more insight into the needs of youth by highlighting the issues of equity and justice more clearly when the girls were included.

Conclusions and implications: By implementing our PPM for working with youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds we learned that the five critical elements not only held up for boys and girls, but we gained a much richer understanding of their importance.