Nicholas L Holt
Biographic Data
| ID | 76975 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nicholas L Holt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nicholas L |
| FAMILY NAME | Holt |
| SIGNATURE | HOLT N L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Alberta |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9856-3802 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 202 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Defining contribution: A scoping review
INTRODUCTION: The term contribution is a key feature of approaches to positive youth development but has yet to be adequately defined. The purposes of this study were to identify properties that underlie contribution and to establish a theoretical definition of the construct. METHODS: A two-phase scoping review was conducted. The first phase involved the systematic search, selection, and analysis of studies from which six properties of contributi…
Peeling back the layers: Examining the trauma-informed programming experiences of staff in a sport for development and peace organization
Forced migration, resettlement, and sport: Lessons from the Kabul-Edmonton soccer team
Forced migration is one of the most pressing crises of our lifetime. Of the millions forced to migrate, many come to know the brutality of state-managed migration that habitually denies asylum seekers and places substantive restrictions on refugees who have been resettled. Sociologists of sport and leisure have examined the sporting experiences of refugees through an intersectional lens, foregrounding how displacement and resettlement are differe…
A process map of flourishing between the coach and athlete in Canadian university sport
Flourishing is a conceptualisation of mental health that considers an individual’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Research has indicated that coaches and student-athletes may impact each other’s flourishing, but the process through which this may happen is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate how coaches and athletes can flourish together in the sport domain. Ten student-athletes, six coaches, three former stude…
Parental perceptions of a national program that funds sport participation for low-income children and youth in Canada
Purpose The financial costs associated with organized sport and recreation programs can act as salient barriers to child and youth participation. Programs that provide financial assistance to parents to support engagement may help alleviate these barriers, however little is known about how these programs actually impact families. This study examined the perceptions of parents who received funds from one such program (KidSport) in Eastern Canada.M…
Supporting Indigenous youth activity programmes: A community-based participatory research approach
The purpose of this three-year, multi-phase community-based participatory research (CBPR) programme was to explore how to support Indigenous youth activity programmes and programme planners in Alberta, Canada. This CBPR programme was comprised of five phases: (1) Identifying mutual interests and learning how to partner, (2) Building culturally-relevant activity programmes with and for youth, (3) Defining CBPR programme goals and understanding our…
Examining correlates of outdoor play in childcare centres
A Meta-Study of Qualitative Research Examining Sport and Recreation Experiences of Indigenous Youth
Participation in sport and recreation may contribute to various holistic benefits among Indigenous youth in Canada. However, there is a need for a consolidated evidence base to support the development of sport and recreation opportunities that could facilitate such holistic benefits. The purpose of this research was to produce a meta-study of qualitative research examining sport and recreation experiences of Indigenous youth in Canada. Following …
An intergenerational qualitative study of the good parenting ideal and active free play during middle childhood
This study addressed the question: How and why has the good parenting ideal changed in relation to active free play (AFP) during middle childhood? Twenty-eight middle class and predominantly white adults (14 grandparent-parent dyads) completed individual semi-structured interviews. Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Two themes (changing expectations for parental involvement in children's lives and increasing expectations to involve child…
Slap Shot! Sport, Masculinities, and Homelessness in the Downtown Core of a Divided Western Canadian Inner City
This urban ethnography explores how a group of low-income (often homeless) men performed a range of masculinities through a sport-for-development program in the Western Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta. For more than two decades, weekly floor hockey games have been organized by local health workers as part of a broader sport-based intervention/corrective aimed, in part, at reforming Edmonton's urban 'underclass,' one that is decidedly Indigenou…
A grounded theory of positive youth development through sport based on results from a qualitative meta-study
The overall purpose of this study was to create a model of positive youth development (PYD) through sport grounded in the extant qualitative literature. More specifically, the first objective was to review and evaluate qualitative studies of PYD in sport. The second objective was to analyze and synthesize findings from these studies. Following record identification and screening, 63 articles were retained for analysis. Meta-method analysis reveal…
Positive Youth Development Through Sport
An intergenerational study of perceptions of changes in active free play among families from rural areas of Western Canada
These results reinforce the need to consider multiple levels of social ecology in the study of active free play, and highlight the importance of community-based initiatives to revive active free play in ways that are consistent with contemporary notions of good parenting
Extreme Sport/Adventure Activity Correlates in Gynecologic Cancer Survivors
Medical, demographic, and behavioral variables correlate with participation and interest in ESAA in gynecologic cancer survivors. The pattern of correlates suggests that gynecologic cancer survivors are more likely to participate in ESSA if they have the physical capability and financial resources. Interventions to promote ESAA in gynecologic cancer survivors need to address these 2 key barriers
The Uses of an Inner-City Sport-for-Development Program: Dispatches From the (Real) Creative Class
As a result of a rapidly changing global political economy, deindustrialization, and neoliberalism, a new form of racialized urban poverty has become concentrated in the inner cities of innumerable North American urban centers. In response to these material conditions, various nonprofit organizations, corporate-sponsored initiatives,and underfunded municipal recreation departments continue to provide a range of sport-for-development programs for …
Urban Outcasts, Disposable Bodies, and Embodied Research in a Western Canadian 'Arriviste' City
In this article, we follow the recent calls of 'sport and physical cultural studies' scholars to revisit the significance of the embodied research process and, in particular, the lived social body of the qualitative researcher. Between 2011 and 2013, we conducted a critical ethnography of the experiences of less affluent (and often homeless) young men at publicly subsidized weekly floor hockey games in the basement of a psychiatric hospital in Ed…
Developing sport-based after-school programmes using a participatory action research approach
This paper is based on a three-year research programme, the overall purpose of which was to develop, implement and evaluate sport-based after-school programmes for students in low-income areas of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In addition to presenting the results of this study, the other purpose of this paper was to provide an empirical example of participatory action research, depicting when and how community partners were engaged in the research p…
Eyes on where children play’: A retrospective study of active free play
The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influenced childhood active free play. Participants were 13 young adults who resided in one western Canadian city. They took part in semi-structured and walk-along interviews during which they were asked about their memories and experiences of play. Analysis showed that, whereas parental restrictions and safety concerns were limiting factors, a sense of community and safety in numbers facilita…
Meanings of play among children
The purpose of this study was to examine meanings of play among children. Thirty-eight students aged 7-9 years from a suburban public school in Western Canada participated in focus groups. Data analysis revealed participants saw almost anything as an opportunity for play and would play almost anywhere with anyone. However, they perceived parents to have somewhat different views regarding play. The children frequently described adults as restricti…
Non-refundable Tax Credits Are an Inequitable Policy Instrument for Promoting Physical Activity Among Canadian Children
Using First Nations Children's Perceptions of Food and Activity to Inform an Obesity Prevention Strategy
Obesity and associated health risks disproportionately affect Aboriginal (First Nations) children in Canada. The purpose of this research study was to elicit First Nations children's perceptions of food, activity, and health to inform a community-based obesity prevention strategy. Fifteen 4th- and 5th-Grade students participated in one of three focus group interviews that utilized drawing and pile-sorting activities. We used an ecological lens to…
Benefits and challenges associated with sport participation by children and parents from low-income families
In the shoes of young adolescent girls: Understanding physical activity experiences through interpretive description
The purpose of this study was to understand how adolescent girls experience and make meaning of the ways in which they are active within their daily lives. Using an interpretive description methodology, we conducted two rounds of interviews with eight 6th grade girls and asked them to share their stories, thoughts and feelings about times when they were active. Two themes best captured their stories: physical activity lets girl’s shine and taking…
Uptake and effectiveness of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit in Canada: The rich get richer
More than half of Canadian parents with children have claimed the CFTC. However, the tax credit appears to benefit the wealthier families in Canada
Neighborhood physical activity opportunities for inner-city children and youth
Representation, Legitimation, and Autoethnography: An Autoethnographic Writing Story
The purpose of this article is to critique representation and legitimation as they relate to the peer review process for an autoethnographic manuscript. Using a conversation derived from seven reviewers' comments pertaining to one autoethnographic manuscript, issues relating to (a) the use of verification strategies in autoethnographic studies; and, (b) the use of self as the only data source are discussed. As such, this paper can be considered a…
Neighborhood physical activity opportunities for inner-city children and youth
Neighborhood and developmental differences in children's perceptions of opportunities for play and physical activity
Eyes on where children play’: A retrospective study of active free play
The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influenced childhood active free play. Participants were 13 young adults who resided in one western Canadian city. They took part in semi-structured and walk-along interviews during which they were asked about their memories and experiences of play. Analysis showed that, whereas parental restrictions and safety concerns were limiting factors, a sense of community and safety in numbers facilita…
The Uses of an Inner-City Sport-for-Development Program: Dispatches From the (Real) Creative Class
As a result of a rapidly changing global political economy, deindustrialization, and neoliberalism, a new form of racialized urban poverty has become concentrated in the inner cities of innumerable North American urban centers. In response to these material conditions, various nonprofit organizations, corporate-sponsored initiatives,and underfunded municipal recreation departments continue to provide a range of sport-for-development programs for …
Meanings of play among children
The purpose of this study was to examine meanings of play among children. Thirty-eight students aged 7-9 years from a suburban public school in Western Canada participated in focus groups. Data analysis revealed participants saw almost anything as an opportunity for play and would play almost anywhere with anyone. However, they perceived parents to have somewhat different views regarding play. The children frequently described adults as restricti…
Treatment Preferences of Overweight Youth and Their Parents in Western Canada
The purpose of this study was to examine the family environment and assess treatment preferences among overweight youth and their parents. Data were collected via 41 interviews with parents and children from the wait-list of a weight management clinic and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Framed around an ecological framework, findings ranged from proximal family issues to more distal policy issues. At the family level, parents attempte…
Children's motivational experiences following autonomy-supportive games lessons
The objectives of this study were (a) to examine students' motivational experiences arising from their participation in games lessons based on autonomy-supportive strategies; and (b) to examine the interaction between boys' and girls' motivational experiences across different categories of games. A total of 759 students (380 F, 379 M) from 37 classes (grades four to seven) were taught a lesson from one of four game categories (i.e. target, net/wa…
An intergenerational qualitative study of the good parenting ideal and active free play during middle childhood
This study addressed the question: How and why has the good parenting ideal changed in relation to active free play (AFP) during middle childhood? Twenty-eight middle class and predominantly white adults (14 grandparent-parent dyads) completed individual semi-structured interviews. Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Two themes (changing expectations for parental involvement in children's lives and increasing expectations to involve child…
Urban Outcasts, Disposable Bodies, and Embodied Research in a Western Canadian 'Arriviste' City
In this article, we follow the recent calls of 'sport and physical cultural studies' scholars to revisit the significance of the embodied research process and, in particular, the lived social body of the qualitative researcher. Between 2011 and 2013, we conducted a critical ethnography of the experiences of less affluent (and often homeless) young men at publicly subsidized weekly floor hockey games in the basement of a psychiatric hospital in Ed…
Non-refundable Tax Credits Are an Inequitable Policy Instrument for Promoting Physical Activity Among Canadian Children
Slap Shot! Sport, Masculinities, and Homelessness in the Downtown Core of a Divided Western Canadian Inner City
This urban ethnography explores how a group of low-income (often homeless) men performed a range of masculinities through a sport-for-development program in the Western Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta. For more than two decades, weekly floor hockey games have been organized by local health workers as part of a broader sport-based intervention/corrective aimed, in part, at reforming Edmonton's urban 'underclass,' one that is decidedly Indigenou…
Forced migration, resettlement, and sport: Lessons from the Kabul-Edmonton soccer team
Forced migration is one of the most pressing crises of our lifetime. Of the millions forced to migrate, many come to know the brutality of state-managed migration that habitually denies asylum seekers and places substantive restrictions on refugees who have been resettled. Sociologists of sport and leisure have examined the sporting experiences of refugees through an intersectional lens, foregrounding how displacement and resettlement are differe…
Parental perceptions of a national program that funds sport participation for low-income children and youth in Canada
Purpose The financial costs associated with organized sport and recreation programs can act as salient barriers to child and youth participation. Programs that provide financial assistance to parents to support engagement may help alleviate these barriers, however little is known about how these programs actually impact families. This study examined the perceptions of parents who received funds from one such program (KidSport) in Eastern Canada.M…
A Meta-Study of Qualitative Research Examining Sport and Recreation Experiences of Indigenous Youth
Participation in sport and recreation may contribute to various holistic benefits among Indigenous youth in Canada. However, there is a need for a consolidated evidence base to support the development of sport and recreation opportunities that could facilitate such holistic benefits. The purpose of this research was to produce a meta-study of qualitative research examining sport and recreation experiences of Indigenous youth in Canada. Following …
Using First Nations Children's Perceptions of Food and Activity to Inform an Obesity Prevention Strategy
Obesity and associated health risks disproportionately affect Aboriginal (First Nations) children in Canada. The purpose of this research study was to elicit First Nations children's perceptions of food, activity, and health to inform a community-based obesity prevention strategy. Fifteen 4th- and 5th-Grade students participated in one of three focus group interviews that utilized drawing and pile-sorting activities. We used an ecological lens to…
A Comparison of the Soccer Talent Development Systems in England and Canada
The purpose of this study was to compare provision for the development of elite soccer players in England and Canada. Data were collected via documentary analysis, fieldwork and formal and informal interviews with Canadian and English youth coaches ( N= 12). The respective soccer talent development systems were compared in terms of their normative, institutional, mental states and environmental patterns (Holmes, 1991). Comparative findings showed…
Representation, Legitimation, and Autoethnography: An Autoethnographic Writing Story
The purpose of this article is to critique representation and legitimation as they relate to the peer review process for an autoethnographic manuscript. Using a conversation derived from seven reviewers' comments pertaining to one autoethnographic manuscript, issues relating to (a) the use of verification strategies in autoethnographic studies; and, (b) the use of self as the only data source are discussed. As such, this paper can be considered a…
Neighborhood and developmental differences in children's perceptions of opportunities for play and physical activity
Children's motivational experiences following autonomy-supportive games lessons
The objectives of this study were (a) to examine students' motivational experiences arising from their participation in games lessons based on autonomy-supportive strategies; and (b) to examine the interaction between boys' and girls' motivational experiences across different categories of games. A total of 759 students (380 F, 379 M) from 37 classes (grades four to seven) were taught a lesson from one of four game categories (i.e. target, net/wa…
Treatment Preferences of Overweight Youth and Their Parents in Western Canada
The purpose of this study was to examine the family environment and assess treatment preferences among overweight youth and their parents. Data were collected via 41 interviews with parents and children from the wait-list of a weight management clinic and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Framed around an ecological framework, findings ranged from proximal family issues to more distal policy issues. At the family level, parents attempte…
Neighborhood physical activity opportunities for inner-city children and youth
Uptake and effectiveness of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit in Canada: The rich get richer
More than half of Canadian parents with children have claimed the CFTC. However, the tax credit appears to benefit the wealthier families in Canada
Benefits and challenges associated with sport participation by children and parents from low-income families
In the shoes of young adolescent girls: Understanding physical activity experiences through interpretive description
The purpose of this study was to understand how adolescent girls experience and make meaning of the ways in which they are active within their daily lives. Using an interpretive description methodology, we conducted two rounds of interviews with eight 6th grade girls and asked them to share their stories, thoughts and feelings about times when they were active. Two themes best captured their stories: physical activity lets girl’s shine and taking…
Non-refundable Tax Credits Are an Inequitable Policy Instrument for Promoting Physical Activity Among Canadian Children
Using First Nations Children's Perceptions of Food and Activity to Inform an Obesity Prevention Strategy
Obesity and associated health risks disproportionately affect Aboriginal (First Nations) children in Canada. The purpose of this research study was to elicit First Nations children's perceptions of food, activity, and health to inform a community-based obesity prevention strategy. Fifteen 4th- and 5th-Grade students participated in one of three focus group interviews that utilized drawing and pile-sorting activities. We used an ecological lens to…
Developing sport-based after-school programmes using a participatory action research approach
This paper is based on a three-year research programme, the overall purpose of which was to develop, implement and evaluate sport-based after-school programmes for students in low-income areas of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In addition to presenting the results of this study, the other purpose of this paper was to provide an empirical example of participatory action research, depicting when and how community partners were engaged in the research p…
Eyes on where children play’: A retrospective study of active free play
The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influenced childhood active free play. Participants were 13 young adults who resided in one western Canadian city. They took part in semi-structured and walk-along interviews during which they were asked about their memories and experiences of play. Analysis showed that, whereas parental restrictions and safety concerns were limiting factors, a sense of community and safety in numbers facilita…
Meanings of play among children
The purpose of this study was to examine meanings of play among children. Thirty-eight students aged 7-9 years from a suburban public school in Western Canada participated in focus groups. Data analysis revealed participants saw almost anything as an opportunity for play and would play almost anywhere with anyone. However, they perceived parents to have somewhat different views regarding play. The children frequently described adults as restricti…
Urban Outcasts, Disposable Bodies, and Embodied Research in a Western Canadian 'Arriviste' City
In this article, we follow the recent calls of 'sport and physical cultural studies' scholars to revisit the significance of the embodied research process and, in particular, the lived social body of the qualitative researcher. Between 2011 and 2013, we conducted a critical ethnography of the experiences of less affluent (and often homeless) young men at publicly subsidized weekly floor hockey games in the basement of a psychiatric hospital in Ed…
Positive Youth Development Through Sport
An intergenerational study of perceptions of changes in active free play among families from rural areas of Western Canada
These results reinforce the need to consider multiple levels of social ecology in the study of active free play, and highlight the importance of community-based initiatives to revive active free play in ways that are consistent with contemporary notions of good parenting
Extreme Sport/Adventure Activity Correlates in Gynecologic Cancer Survivors
Medical, demographic, and behavioral variables correlate with participation and interest in ESAA in gynecologic cancer survivors. The pattern of correlates suggests that gynecologic cancer survivors are more likely to participate in ESSA if they have the physical capability and financial resources. Interventions to promote ESAA in gynecologic cancer survivors need to address these 2 key barriers
The Uses of an Inner-City Sport-for-Development Program: Dispatches From the (Real) Creative Class
As a result of a rapidly changing global political economy, deindustrialization, and neoliberalism, a new form of racialized urban poverty has become concentrated in the inner cities of innumerable North American urban centers. In response to these material conditions, various nonprofit organizations, corporate-sponsored initiatives,and underfunded municipal recreation departments continue to provide a range of sport-for-development programs for …
A grounded theory of positive youth development through sport based on results from a qualitative meta-study
The overall purpose of this study was to create a model of positive youth development (PYD) through sport grounded in the extant qualitative literature. More specifically, the first objective was to review and evaluate qualitative studies of PYD in sport. The second objective was to analyze and synthesize findings from these studies. Following record identification and screening, 63 articles were retained for analysis. Meta-method analysis reveal…
An intergenerational qualitative study of the good parenting ideal and active free play during middle childhood
This study addressed the question: How and why has the good parenting ideal changed in relation to active free play (AFP) during middle childhood? Twenty-eight middle class and predominantly white adults (14 grandparent-parent dyads) completed individual semi-structured interviews. Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Two themes (changing expectations for parental involvement in children's lives and increasing expectations to involve child…
Slap Shot! Sport, Masculinities, and Homelessness in the Downtown Core of a Divided Western Canadian Inner City
This urban ethnography explores how a group of low-income (often homeless) men performed a range of masculinities through a sport-for-development program in the Western Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta. For more than two decades, weekly floor hockey games have been organized by local health workers as part of a broader sport-based intervention/corrective aimed, in part, at reforming Edmonton's urban 'underclass,' one that is decidedly Indigenou…
A Meta-Study of Qualitative Research Examining Sport and Recreation Experiences of Indigenous Youth
Participation in sport and recreation may contribute to various holistic benefits among Indigenous youth in Canada. However, there is a need for a consolidated evidence base to support the development of sport and recreation opportunities that could facilitate such holistic benefits. The purpose of this research was to produce a meta-study of qualitative research examining sport and recreation experiences of Indigenous youth in Canada. Following …
Supporting Indigenous youth activity programmes: A community-based participatory research approach
The purpose of this three-year, multi-phase community-based participatory research (CBPR) programme was to explore how to support Indigenous youth activity programmes and programme planners in Alberta, Canada. This CBPR programme was comprised of five phases: (1) Identifying mutual interests and learning how to partner, (2) Building culturally-relevant activity programmes with and for youth, (3) Defining CBPR programme goals and understanding our…
Examining correlates of outdoor play in childcare centres
Psychology (22 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Developmental psychology (13 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Political science (12 works) · Youth Development and Social Support (11 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Physical Education and Pedagogy (8 works) · Qualitative research (8 works) · Social science (8 works)