The transformative potential of using participatory community sport initiatives to promote social cohesion in divided community contexts

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2378469
AutoresDavid Meir (0000-0002-6911-0086, Blackburn College, UK, autor de correspondencia), Thomas Fletcher (0000-0002-0090-6262)
Año2019
Volumen54
Número2
Páginas218-238
Fecha de publicación2019-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1012-6902 • E-ISSN: 1461-7218
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1012690217715297
OpenAlexW2696250233
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas26
Referencias citadas38

Sports are popularly believed to have positive integrative functions and are thought, therefore, to be able to galvanise different, and sometimes divided communities through a shared sporting interest. UK government and policy rhetoric over the last two decades has consistently emphasised the positive role sport can play in building more cohesive, empowered and active communities. These positive impacts are particularly important for communities with high numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the challenges associated with co-producing a participatory community sport initiative with 28 young people, the aim of which was to work towards greater social cohesion in an ethnically segregated borough in north-west England. Although a great deal was learned from working towards this, the initiative was ultimately unsuccessful because, for a variety of reasons, the young people removed themselves from the process. A major contribution of this article is its consideration of how we reflect on the realities of project failure and how future community sport initiatives might have greater success. In particular, we argue that for sport to make a difference, participants must be enabled to develop a sense of civic engagement and critical awareness which go beyond either sport or community development, emphasising wider sociopolitical development instead

Borough · Citizen journalism · Community cohesion · Community development · Community engagement · Disadvantaged · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Rhetoric · Sociology · Transformative learning · Psychology · Public Administration · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management · Social Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society