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Service learning has been recognized as a high-impact educational practice that promotes students' development of civic engagement and social justice outcomes. However, service-learning courses are not guaranteed to foster social justice outcomes and may perpetuate the very biases and stereotypes that social justice education is designed to counter. In addition, there is a lack of research assessing service-learning courses in sport management that are being used to promote a more critical form of social justice education rather than the mere awareness of social disparities. This article explores the ways in which an intentionally designed social justice service-learning course can potentially lead sport management students toward more equitable perceptions of service relationships. The research team analyzed reflection papers (N = 40) from students who each participated in one semester of the service-learning course across nine consecutive semesters. The following themes emerged from the data: charity-oriented relationship, social justice-oriented relationship, reciprocity, and a critique of paternalism. The findings in this study extend current sport management service-learning research by revealing how a social justice service-learning course can foster a more critical understanding of service through critical discussions, specific readings, critical reflection, and service activities.

A positive school climate is strongly associated with enhanced student outcomes. With the disengagement of Black and Latinx youth living in poverty being at an all-time high, participation in sport-based youth development (SBYD) programs may enhance school climate, while capitalizing on existing interests. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a SBYD intervention on male students of color and school climate. Method: Using a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design, 32 male students of color (11 Black, 13 Latinx, 8 two or more races) participated in an SBYD intervention, twice a week for a total of 20 weeks (Ages 10-14, M = 11.46). School climate data were gathered at the beginning and the end of the school year. Student, teacher, and administrator focus groups and interviews were also conducted at the end of the year. Results: A statistically significant interaction was found between students who participated in the intervention and those who did not participate in the intervention, on school climate measures F(1,74) = 15.00, p < 0.01, partial [eta][superscript 2] = 0.17. Overall school climate scores were statistically significantly greater in the intervention group (F(1,74) = 19.22, p < 0.01, partial [eta][superscript 2] = 0.20) at the end of the year. Focus group data also revealed themes of improved school connectedness, peer support, the acquisition of social/civic skills, and school engagement. Conclusions: A SBYD intervention may be a viable strategy to engage disconnected students and increase school climate perceptions, particularly among male students of color living in poverty. [This study was presented at the 2017 American Educational Research Association conference in San Antonio, Texas.]

Campus-community partnerships utilizing sport and focused on youth participants are increasingly prevalent and have demonstrated effectiveness in promoting healthy behaviors. However, the majority of research has not analyzed the nature of collaboration, and the inherent benefits and challenges, utilizing theory and focused on management implications. The two-part study examined the development of sport-based authentic adolescent leadership program utilizing the Campus Community Partnerships for Health (CCPH) authentic partnership model in a school engaged in a turnaround process. Data included field notes from a four-month period during which participant observations of school leadership meetings, school governance council meetings, parent teacher organization (PTO) meetings, individual teacher interactions, and university program meetings occurred. Study 1 called for the researchers to ask how community partners (school) examine programming and identify gaps. Results included two themes: the need to develop positive relationships between students and school staff and the need for consistency. Study 2 results focused on the development and implementation of a program intended to address the gaps identified in Study 1. Results included the following themes: the priority of clear and open communication, being relationship focused, building upon strengths and assets, and identifying meaningful outcomes and transformative experiences. Findings from the two studies can inform other campus-community partnerships about strategies to successfully develop and implement new programs in the midst of a demanding situation like a school turnaround. By adhering to the principles of an authentic partnership (CCPH, 2013), the school and university partners were able to identify, develop and implement a program that met the needs of both partners.

In this article, we examine the process of conducting anti-racist research in Sport for Development, specifically Sport-Based Youth Development programs in the United States. We acknowledge that participatory methods have been both identified and problematized as approaches to challenge the racialized experiences of youth. We share examples of attempts at Youth Participatory Action Research utilized across six previously unpublished projects. Through sharing our efforts to co-create environments with youth to produce changes impacting their development, we provide insight on our experiences and shortcomings. Finally, we conclude with implications for the field of Sport for Development, and youth-focused scholars, on deconstructing contexts that preserve and privilege whiteness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine if physical activity is related to greater executive functions among youth in poverty. Executive functions (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and physical activity were measured in participants (N = 149) in the fifth to eighth grade from three schools located in high-poverty districts. Pearson correlations revealed a statistically significant correlation between physical activity and cognitive flexibility (r = .18, p < .05). Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that physical activity significantly improved prediction for cognitive flexibility, R2 = .09, F(6, 142) = 2.26, p = .041, adjusted R2 = .05, above sex, maturity, and school district. A two-way multivariate analysis of covariance revealed statistically significant differences in working memory in more active youth compared with less active but no statistically significant differences in cognitive flexibility or inhibition (p < .05). Greater physical activity is associated with greater working memory among youth in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]