published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Prior to the beginning of the Second World War discussions of air force training between Britain and Canada, were ongoing, but never agreed upon. The declarations of war on Germany from Britain and Canada forced these discussions to a resolution as the air force was a crucial component of military operations. On December 17, 1939 the agreement known as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) was signed. The agreement intended that Canada would train all of the Allied air force throughout the war. The repercussions of the agreement meant that communities across the country became home to training schools and air force personnel. This study employs geographic and relational aspects of community theory in the investigation of the role of sport in the relationship building process between military and civilian communities in Southern Alberta. Sport provided common ties and opportunities for social interaction in the relationship-building process between BCATP schools and Southern Alberta communities. Towns were losing many of the men and women who were playing sport as they joined the services and air force personnel were replacing them; thereby keeping sport at all levels from completely shutting down during the war. This study highlights the changes in the sporting landscape as military sport transitioned from a spectacle to becoming indispensable to local communities. Specific case studies of basketball and lacrosse in Macleod, hockey in Claresholm and Lethbridge, soccer in Medicine Hat and sporting charity events indicate the depth to which schools integrated into towns through sport. Situated within pertinent secondary sources from history, sociology and sport studies this study draws on six Southern Alberta newspapers, town council meeting minutes and archival data from the Nanton Bomber Museum, The Claresholm Museum, The Galt Museum and Archives and the Esplanade Heritage Centre. / ix, 184 leaves ; 29 cm

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.

Youth sport is acknowledged as an ideal setting for promoting positive youth development. In particular, youth sport participation has been linked to life skills development and psychological well-being. The coaching climate has been proposed to play a role in facilitating such positive outcomes. Nonetheless, few measures exist to examine life skills development through sport and it is unclear how positive youth development may be facilitated by the coach. Using existing and newly developed measures, this thesis examined how the coaching climate is related to life skills development and psychological well-being in youth sport participants. Phase 1 of this programme of research investigated Benson and Saito’s (2001) conceptual framework for youth development theory and research within sport. Study 1 examined a model whereby the coaching climate is related to life skills development (personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative); which, in turn, is related to participants’ psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Data from 202 youth sport participants suggested that an autonomy supportive coaching climate was positively related to all four life skills. Further analysis revealed that the development of personal and social skills mediated the relationships between coach autonomy support and all three indices of psychological well-being. However, the validity of the scale used to measure life skills was brought into question during this study. Therefore, the studies which follow developed and validated a new scale which could accurately assess eight key life skills young people learn through sport. Phase 2 of this programme of research involved developing and validating a scale which measures life skills development through sport. Study 2 outlines the initial development of a scale which would assess whether young people learn the following life skills through sport: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. This study involved defining each of the eight life skills, deciding what components made up each life skill and developing items which could assess each life skill. The initial item pool was reviewed by 39 academics, with between two and seven experts assessing the items for each of the eight life skills. Using the ratings and comments provided by experts, the first version of the Life Skills Scale for Sport (LSSS) was developed. Study 3 reduced the number of items contained within the LSSS from 144 to 47 items using both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and descriptive statistics. For this task, 338 youth sport participants completed the LSSS. EFA results supported the unidimensional factor structure of each of the eight subscales. Each subscale also displayed adequate internal consistency reliability. Study 4 examined the factor structure of the LSSS using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with an independent sample of 223 youth sport participants. After the removal of four emotional skills items, seven of the eight subscales and the revised 43-item scale displayed adequate model fit. Results supported both the convergent and discriminant validity of the LSSS and each of the eight subscales displayed adequate internal consistency reliability. Study 5 assessed the test-retest reliability of the LSSS with an independent sample of 37 youth sport participants. Each participant completed the scale on two occasions which were two weeks apart. Results revealed that time 1 and time 2 scores were relatively unchanged over this two-week period, providing evidence of test-retest reliability. Phase 3 of this programme of research involved re-testing Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework. Study 6 retested the coaching climate – life skills development – psychological well-being model from Study 1 using the LSSS. Data from 326 youth sport participants suggested that an autonomy supportive coaching climate was positively related to young people learning teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. The total amount of life skills a young person developed through sport was positively related to their self-esteem, positive affect and satisfaction with life. Again, the factor structure and reliability of the scale was supported. The findings from this PhD research suggest that the coaching climate plays an important role in young peoples’ development through sport. Specifically, an autonomy supportive coaching climate was positively related to life skills development and psychological well-being in youth sport participants. This thesis also provides researchers with a valid and reliable measure of life skills development through sport. Future research using the LSSS should examine other factors (e.g., peer relationships) which may promote positive youth development through sport. Additionally, future studies can use the LSSS to examine the efficacy of existing programmes (e.g., the SUPER programme) which teach life skills through sport. Such research will help guide coaches and sports programmes efforts to promote positive youth development through sport.

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.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Ideology of Stadium Construction seeks to define the application of community power in the process of building sports stadiums. Using data culled from a literature review, this project examines the recent construction of sports venues and the political, economic, and social ideas driving their proliferation. A three dimensional approach to applied power provides a theoretical tool to illustrate and analyze the blueprint of stadium construction. Taking a more broad view of the culture of business in the United States suggests the public funding of stadium construction arching towards Antonio Gramsci’s sense of hegemony. Beyond attempting to merely define the political process driving stadium construction as a significant social problem, this project introduces potential alternatives to the organizational method currently in place.