Research Project for school sport development from a fair play, social justice and gender-based approach

In this conference paper a research project about school sport development from a fair play, social justice and gender-based approach is presented. The project takes place in the Comunidad Valenciana (Spain) and focuses on the... [ view full abstract ]

In this conference paper a research project about school sport development from a fair play, social justice and gender-based approach is presented. The project takes place in the Comunidad Valenciana (Spain) and focuses on the competition system used, as competition is a key feature in sport and central to the process of values transmission. When attention is paid to guarantee that the result is a consequence of a fair competition based on equal opportunities for all the participants, competition become grounded on values and principles that reject winning at any price. Thus, competition allows sportsmen self-overcoming and self-knowledge, discovering not only theirs motor skills and physical condition limits but also the moral limits of their acts. However, there is a problem in sports competition that ought to be addressed, that is, although sport competition starts out from equal opportunities, it finally generates differences. Fair play is useful for a fair competition development, palliating its consequences and rebalancing the system. Against this backdrop, the project draws on the difference principle of John Rawls. According to this principle, the most disadvantaged members are those who must obtain greater benefits. With that, it is sought that the competition does not generate great inequalities and, even if it generates them, the competition system activates mechanisms for readjustment. The project also incorporates a gender perspective in order to achieve equality in the participation of girls in competitive sport and tackle the problem of the categories distinction based on the sex of the athletes.