Sport for development with ‘at risk’ girls in St. Lucia

Abstract

While sport for development programming has flourished, the complex social and economic environment in the postcolonial Eastern Caribbean is often overlooked by researchers. This case study examines sport for development with 'at risk' adolescent girls in St. Lucia (n = 16). These young women, who have been removed from mainstream public schools due to behavioural issues, participated in focus group discussions regarding their experiences and perspectives on sport. Their sport participation included single-sex, organised programming at the Upton Gardens Girls Centre and mixed-sex, unsupervised football play. Results of the study indicate that these sporting activities contributed towards the capability development of the participants, with limitations toward challenging gender stereotypes and encouraging kinetically focused body image. While the female-only sport participation encouraged a positive sense of self-efficacy and fostered peer/mentor relationships, engagement in co-educational football supported girls' empowerment and the challenging of gender stereotypes. However, outcome towards progressive perspectives on sport and body image gleaned mixed results. As a whole, these results point to larger concerns within the sport for development field and the need for more in-depth and comprehensive critical research to better understand how sport impacts development initiatives.

Understanding the Characteristics of Community Youth Sports Programs Interventions: A Systematic Review and Recommendations

“…The design of strategic spaces permits participants to improve their mental health, family relationships (Scivoletto et al, 2014) and encourage empowerment and behavior change through health education in at-risk youth (Jeanes, 2013). Other behavior improvements are the result of providing participants with life skills to promote their personal development and personal empowerment (Wheaton et al, 2017), this empowerment is evident in programs that aim to challenge gender stereotypes by increasing girls' participation through sport (Zipp, 2017). The results of the behavioral changes in the participants facilitated the development of public policies in countries aimed at reducing antisocial behavior (L. Kelly, 2013), establishing employment environments for participants (Spaaij, 2013) and using sport as a response to humanitarian crises such as war allowing young people to rejoin their communities (Dyck, 2011).…”

“…Slight female participation was reported to challenge gender stereotypes (Zipp, 2017) that relied on third-party influence within the program (Ac xıkgo¨z et al, 2022;Brake & Misener, 2020). The resistance of the participants together with the economic and reduced sustainability of the program is another limitation of this type of sport-based intervention (Crisp, 2020a).…”

Development, Gender and Sport: Theorizing a Feminist Practice of the Capabilities Approach in Sport for Development

“…Sport is so deeply entrenched in binary modes of gender and is constructed in a way that privileges males and traditional aspects of masculinity (heteronormativity). Participants in an all girls SFD program in St. Lucia summed up this binary nicely when they explained that: "Getting muscles is good for men, but not for girls," (Zipp, 2017(Zipp, , p.1927. By examining how preferences are formed and adapted according to gender, SFD scholars and practitioners can use the CA to consider the processes and practices of how sport is experienced in development programming.…”

How sport changed my life? Description of the perceived effects of the experiences of young Colombians throughout a sport for development and peace program

“…However, there are still physical and psychosocial barriers to women's participation that need to be investigated. On the same gender theme, Zipp et al ( 18 – 20 ) explored the experiences of boys and girls in the Levelling the playing field program in the Eastern Caribbean to better understand attitudes related to the role of gender in SDP (human capabilities and lived realities of gender in Caribbean sport). The authors documented how girls and women access and experience sport.…”