Fair Play for Kids: Effects on the Moral Development of Children in Physical Education

Abstract

Commitment to the principles of sportspersonship is an acknowledged goal for school physical education. However, few programs have been implemented to investigate moral development changes in physical activity settings. A field experiment was designed to examine the effect of participation in educational activities selected from Fair Play for Kids (1990) on the moral judgment, reason, intention, and prosocial behavior of children (N = 452) in the 4th through 6th grades. Six intact classrooms at each grade level (N = 18) were randomly assigned to the following groups: (a) control, (b) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during physical education only, or (c) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during all school subjects. Experimental protocol extended for 7 months of an academic year, and moral development indicators were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Using class as the unit of analysis, 3 x 2 (Group x Time) repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that both treatment groups were significantly higher than the control group at posttest for moral judgment, reason, and intention scores. For students within classes, repeated measures analyses showed that treatment group participants had significantly higher posttest scores on all 4 measures as compared to students in the control group. Results provide initial validation of the Fair Play For Kids curriculum for effecting change in the moral development of elementary school students.

The Development of a Typology of Abusive Coaching Behaviours within Youth Sport

“…Youth sport, therefore, holds great potential to positively affect youth 11,12,13 , as well as, produce outcomes that are potentially negative 14,15,16 . As a result, it is incumbent upon those with a vested interest in youth sports to investigate and develop best practices that ensure positive outcomes and protect the rights of children.…”

Participation in Sport and Moral Functioning: Does Ego Orientation Mediate Their Relationship?

“…However, because of the interactive nature of the four processes, factors seen as acting primarily on one process also indirectly influence the others. A number of studies have used Rest's model in sport (e.g., Gibbons, Ebbeck, & Weiss, 1995;Kavussanu & Roberts, 2001;Stuart & Ebbeck, 1995), and it has received support in other life domains (e.g., Rest, 1994).…”

Physical activity among Berlin school children — Results of the Berlin study «Health of children» (GIK II) 1994/95

“…Er steigert das Selbstbewutgtsein und Wohlbefinden und soll negativ mit Rauchen und Alkohol korrelieren [8,9]. Sport f6rdert auch die moralische Entwicklung des Kindes und erzieht zu Fairnef~ und sozialem Verhalten [10]. Zu m6glichen • chungen insbesondere durch Leistungssport siehe Huber [11].…”