Sport for development programs are becoming increasingly popular to address a variety of social issues such as poverty, lack of education, gender equality, and conflict within marginalized communities. Within Canada, many sport for development programs are created for Aboriginal peoples, as they are considered marginalized communities. However, there is a dearth of research on what the actual impacts of sport for development programs are on the recipients of the program, as well as on those who provide the program. My thesis, which is written in the publishable paper format, is comprised of two papers. Using a case study approach in paper one, I explore the impacts that Alberta’s Future Leaders Program’s (AFL) youth leadership retreat has had on its participants (Aboriginal youth). Similarly, using a case study approach in paper two, I explore if/how working for AFL had lasting impacts on the former employees, known as youth workers and arts mentors. Together, the two papers in this thesis show the need for a deeper look into the actual impacts sport for development programs yield, provide insights into some of the lasting impacts AFL has had on its participants, and address the importance of long-term evaluation for sport for development programs.

Research indicates children's exposure to family violence results in long-term negative consequences, hindering social skill development and impacting on the ability to function as healthy, productive adults. Also, there exists a widely accepted theory, called the 'cycle of violence', which hypothesises that children who have experienced violence at the hands of their parents tend to grow up to become violent parents themselves. Some evidence for this theory has been found following research with groups of abusive parents and people who have committed crimes, This study explores the specific impacts of childhood exposure to family violence on the subsequent mothering of a group of women drawn from the general population. A qualitative approach using a methodology that combined feminist and narrative approaches was used. Nine women who have been exposed to family violence in childhood including physical, emotional/psychological, sexual abuse and witness to violence between parents participated in interviews which explored their experiences of mothering Each woman was interviewed twice to collect stories of childhood and of mothering experiences. These were analysed revealing that the women's mothering was affected by their childhood exposure to family violence in several ways, ranging from direct emotional impacts to indirect impacts of conceptualisations formed in the light of childhood experiences. This study adds to the existing knowledge of the long-term impacts of childhood exposure to family violence by focussing specifically on subsequent mothering. The findings encourage social work and health care personnel to appreciate that women exposed to family violence in childhood have specific issues with their mothering and there is a need to address these issues. It also challenges the weight given to the cycle of violence theory in intervention and prevention strategies in child abuse and family violence sectors