Sport for Vulnerable Youth: The Role of Multi-Professional Groups in Sustaining Intersectoral Collaboration

Abstract

Intersectoral actions in the sport-for-development field constitute a pre-condition for the implementation of sport-based interventions. At an operational level, the multi-professional group is the tool through which intersectoral collaboration may successfully achieve its aims. Despite the prominent role of the group, this topic is under-researched in terms of understanding intersectoral actions in the sport-for-development field. By applying a psycho-sociological perspective, our research explores the role of the multi-professional group as a limit/resource for sport-for-development workers that operate with vulnerable youth. Following a phenomenological interpretive approach, 12 practitioners (six sport workers and six social workers) participated in semi-structured interviews to explore the role of multi-professional groups as a resource/limit in working with socially vulnerable youth through sport. The results indicate that, in the participants’ experience, belonging to a multi-professional group is a meaningful resource to trigger reflexivity, promote collaboration and integrate their different professions. The interviews highlighted the positive potential of this tool to address the challenges that emerge when working with socially vulnerable youth, including the management of negative emotions, unexpected events and the relationship with young people. Some interviews also suggested that the presence of multiple professions, under certain circumstances, may be a risk when working with youth. These findings have significant value for programme design, strategy and management as they show the value of trans-disciplinary practices as an agenda for social inclusion through sport.

The Challenges of Promoting Social Inclusion through Sport: The Experience of a Sport-Based Initiative in Italy

“…If, on the one hand, there is substantial agreement on the positive impact of sport at a societal level, academics argue that more research is needed in order to understand the conditions in which sport may act on social inclusion [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. The investigation of such conditions is still in its infancy [12][13][14][15] and would provide a strategic and agency-focused approach for further planning of sport-based interventions [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…In line with what has been previously exposed, literature on sport and socially vulnerable youth largely confirmed the fact that sport may develop positive social outcomes that can be associated with social inclusion, such as life skills, positive psychological capital, active citizenship, pro-social behaviors, and employment. Furthermore, in line with the main indications provided by international academics, the majority of studies have focused on understanding the conditions of sport that promote the achievement of social inclusion outcomes [17,18,22,23,26,29,30].…”

“…Other authors suggested that, in order to promote positive social outcomes through sport, it is important to work through a multi-agency approach [4,23,34].…”

Home-Care Workers’ Representations of Their Role and Competences: A Diaphanous Profession

“…Despite the current absence of obligatory training programs and the lack of a formal issued qualification, these types of skills cannot be taken for granted or automatically acquired on the job. Practice certainly helps in consolidating these skills, but a basic and “safe” level of training needs to be considered ( D’Angelo et al, 2020 ).…”

Boundary Spanning in Sport for Development: Opening Transdisciplinary and Intersectoral Perspectives

“…Chiara D'Angelo, Chiara Corvino, Eloisa Cianca, and Caterina Gozzoli apply a psycho-sociological perspective to explore the importance of multi-professional groups in sport for development projects working with vulnerable youth (D'Angelo et al, 2020). From the interviews with social workers and sport workers, their findings show that belonging to a multi-professional group is a meaningful resource for triggering workers' reflexivity and promoting intersectoral collaboration.…”