Fifty adolescent ice-hockey players, ranging from 13 to 15 years of age, were studied in order to determine whether high performance players differed from non-high performance players on measures of social cognition in the sport context. Two Divisions of Bantam hockey players were studied: (1) Division A or high performance players, and (2) Division B or non-high performance players. Participants were examined for differences on a measure which assessed level of Case's neo-Piagetian Central Social Conceptual Structure (CCS; Case, 1992) and for differences on three measures of elaborations on the basic structure. No differences were found between groups in a Multivariate Analysis of Variance, with participant's weight and Division of play as independent variables, on the four dependent variables. A Hotellings T2 analysis revealed no differences between high and non-high performance players of the same chronological age on Case's CCS. Univariate ANOVAs following the main analysis revealed no differences between the two groups of players in Concentration which is the ability to detect advance cues which would predict opponent's actions. High performance players demonstrated higher levels than non-high performance players in Flexibility, which is the ability to provide adequate solutions to social game problems. High performance players also demonstrated a greater orientation toward Intensity which is an orientation toward achieving Mastery goals (Dweck, 1992) than non-high performance players. Seven factors were obtained in an oblique Principal Components analysis of the Concentration scale. An ANOVA of Division of play on the first principal component revealed no significant differences between high and non-high performers. Number of words used in responding to the problem set assessing CCS were correlated with Structural Level (.56, p <.01) and Flexibility (.47, p <.01). The findings have the following implications for theory and practice in the area of high performance: (1) structural level, which is largely maturational, does not account for differences between high and non-high performers, (2) encapsulated abilities, which appear to have a high learning component, explain differences between high and non-high performers, (3) significant increases in performance will most likely occur as a result of efforts to develop the encapsulated component of development rather than the structural component.

There was a time in South Africa’s history when the majority of its citizens was deprived of their basic human rights and experienced extreme racial divisiveness. Today the South African society has transformed from a highly stratified society to one that is united in its diversity. It is against this context that this study explores how learners who come from diverse racial, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds are achieving sporting excellence in this transforming society. This study reviewed data generated from three sets of participants: learners, provincial coaches and significant others. In-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen learners from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial sports teams, who were from differing and diverse backgrounds and represented the most common codes of sport, played in KwaZulu-Natal schools. Their stories were told in the form of narratives as they journeyed towards sporting excellence, providing detailed background of their life circumstances and experiences. Analysis of these narratives yielded five themes: self and identity; social context; schooling and the curriculum; team spirit and talent search; and race, class and culture, which emphasised the psychological and sociological perspectives of sporting excellence. Further, using the data generated from the provincial coaches and the significant others, the notions of the resolute self, reliance on people, the white school magnets and migration, unwavering nation building and social and racial diversity emerged from the themes. In tracking sporting excellence the focus is shifted to the learners’ journey within a transforming society, to theorise the social spaces which have been navigated by them to ensure sporting prowess. From the analysis of the data I put forward a thesis predicted on three concepts; the spatial movements, the spatial displacements and the spatial upheavals which the learners had to manage and navigate by travelling long distances, overcoming obstacles and making connections respectively. I argue that in a transforming society it is the filtration process of sporting excellence that has only benefitted a select few learners and has uniquely contributed to the achievement of sporting excellence. Achieving sporting excellence in a transforming society

Fifty adolescent ice-hockey players, ranging from 13 to 15 years of age, were studied in order to determine whether high performance players differed from non-high performance players on measures of social cognition in the sport context. Two Divisions of Bantam hockey players were studied: (1) Division A or high performance players, and (2) Division B or non-high performance players. Participants were examined for differences on a measure which assessed level of Case's neo-Piagetian Central Social Conceptual Structure (CCS; Case, 1992) and for differences on three measures of elaborations on the basic structure. No differences were found between groups in a Multivariate Analysis of Variance, with participant's weight and Division of play as independent variables, on the four dependent variables. A Hotellings T2 analysis revealed no differences between high and non-high performance players of the same chronological age on Case's CCS. Univariate ANOVAs following the main analysis revealed no differences between the two groups of players in Concentration which is the ability to detect advance cues which would predict opponent's actions. High performance players demonstrated higher levels than non-high performance players in Flexibility, which is the ability to provide adequate solutions to social game problems. High performance players also demonstrated a greater orientation toward Intensity which is an orientation toward achieving Mastery goals (Dweck, 1992) than non-high performance players. Seven factors were obtained in an oblique Principal Components analysis of the Concentration scale. An ANOVA of Division of play on the first principal component revealed no significant differences between high and non-high performers. Number of words used in responding to the problem set assessing CCS were correlated with Structural Level (.56, p <.01) and Flexibility (.47, p <.01). The findings have the following implications for theory and practice in the area of high performance: (1) structural level, which is largely maturational, does not account for differences between high and non-high performers, (2) encapsulated abilities, which appear to have a high learning component, explain differences between high and non-high performers, (3) significant increases in performance will most likely occur as a result of efforts to develop the encapsulated component of development rather than the structural component. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

There is a growing body of knowledge in the field of sociology of sports and education which speaks to the positive relationship between youth engagement in organised sports and school performance. These sources of knowledge are largely confined to the developed countries in Europe and North America addressing the impact of organised sports on Positive Youth Development (PYD). In a developing context such as South Africa, which is undergoing rapid transformation from the previous legacy of apartheid, youth are defined as being at risk especially in light of the vast levels of social and economic inequalities which threatens its newly found democracy. It is in this context, the study located in a historically disadvantaged high school in the township of Chesterville in the Metropolitan Area of Durban, examines the role of school sports engagement as an element of PYD in enhancing school performance. The study seeks to assess the applicability of PYD principles in a developing and historically disadvantaged context within a school setting with the purpose of making contribution towards intervention programmes for the vast majority of South African youth who are considered to be at risk. Using a sample of 100 male and female learners in Grades 11 and 12 with an equal distribution of sports engaged and non-engaged, the study tests the principles of two PYD elements in respect of school Competence and Contribution to community. The study is of an exploratory nature on the applicability of PYD programmes in a context such as South Africa and does not purport to be conclusive, but instead the merit of a study of this nature is to set the foundation for future research studies in the fields of sociology of sports and education in order to intervene on the different social, political and economic volatility that South African youth are challenged within a democratic era. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The debate over the display of the Confederate battle flag in public places throughout the South focus on the flag's display by state governments such South Carolina and Mississippi. The state of Texas is rarely placed in this debate, and neither has the debate adequately explore the role of high schools' use of Confederate symbols. Schools represent the community and serve as a symbol of its values. A school represented by Confederate symbols can communicate a message of intolerance to a rival community or opposing school during sports contests. Within the community, conflict arose when an opposition group to the symbols formed and asked for the symbols' removal in favor of symbols that were seen more acceptable by outside observers. Many times, an outside party needed to step in to resolve the conflict. In Texas, the conflict between those in favor and those oppose centered on the Confederate battle flag, and the memory each side associated with the flag. Anglos saw the flag as their school spirit. African Americans saw hatred.