Abstract
Rationale/purpose: Although there have been studies on the impact of families and sport for development (SFD) in regard to youth participants, less is known about parent experiences of SFD. The purpose of this study is to explore parent experiences of SFD and how SFD affects family life outside of the program setting. Research methods: In this study, an interpretive qualitative approach was adopted to explore parent experiences of SFD. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were utilized for the purposes of generating grounded knowledge in a practical research setting. Findings: Data analysis revealed three themes of SFD and parents: (1) social benefits directly related to parent’s day-to-day lives; (2) the (usually) safe and family-oriented space of SFD; and (3) parent expectations of SFD as well as opportunities for family bonding outside the SFD space. Practical implications: The implications of this study call attention to the ways sport managers, SFD scholars and practitioners may seek to further involve parents and families in SFD initiatives. Research contributions: This research builds and extends on SFD research that examines parent perspectives by highlighting the ways SFD affects parents in ways that may not be immediately noticeable when examining programs.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 524-540 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Managing Sport and Leisure |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:MLSE LP is a “place where youth facing barriers use sport to recognize and reach their potential” (MLSE LP, ). Supported by MLSE Ltd., the company which owns and operates professional sport teams such as the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Toronto Football Club, as well as by the MLSE Foundation (the philanthropic arm of MLSE Ltd.), MLSE LP opened in 2015 and is located in Moss Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The MLSE LP facility is on the ground floor of a subsidized housing building, and the surrounding neighborhood has high proportions of homeless shelters and subsidized housing in Toronto, in addition to high rates of low-income families and poverty (James, ; Kumbi, ). MLSE LP was built purposely to offer youth, such as low income, racialized, Indigenous, new to Canada, LGBTQ2S+, homeless or underhoused youth as well as those facing conflict with the law, greater supports and services (Warner et al., ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
- children
- family
- Parents
- sport for development