Playing the game: sports as a force for promoting improved academic performance for urban youth.
Using qualitative research methods involving observations and interviews with four students, their families and friends, this paper examines six ways that student involvement in sports promoted student success: structuring schedules, creating incentives, building confidence, developing positive adult and peer role models, and its role in getting students to develop future aspirations. It then turns to consider how students use their involvement with sports to negotiate the challenges they faced in adopting a successful student identity. Participation in school sports became a powerful justification for successful school performance for the participating students in this study. Finally, this paper ends with several policy implications for considering sports programming in urban schools.
Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban Education at Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610, USA. edemeulenaere@clarku.edu
Eric
E
DeMeulenaere
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012381:Role Playing; D012649:Self Concept; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population