New publication: Values in Youth Sport and Physical Education

Values in Youth Sport and Physical Education, published December 2013, was co-edited by Jean Whitehead (Honorary Research Fellow,  University of Brighton School of Sport and Service Management), John Lambert (Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education, School of Sport and Service Management and Hamish Telfer (ex-University of Cumbria).

As sport has become more intense, professional and commercialised so have the debates grown about what constitutes acceptable behaviour and fair play, and how to encourage and develop ‘good’ sporting behaviour, particularly in children and young people.

Values in Youth Sport and Physical Education explores the nature and function of values in youth sport and establishes a framework through which coaches, teachers and researchers can develop an understanding of the decision-making processes of young athletes and how they choose between playing fairly or cheating to win.

The traditional view of sport participation is that it has a beneficial effect on the social and moral development of children and young people and that it intrinsically promotes cultural values. The book argues that the research evidence is more subtle and nuanced. It examines the concept of values as central organising constructs of human behaviour that determine our priorities, guide our choices, and transfer across situations, and considers the value priorities and conflicts that are so useful in helping us to understand behaviour in sport. The book also debates that teachers and professionals working with children in sport are centrally important agents for value transmission and change and therefore need to develop a deeper understanding of how sport can be used to encourage pro-social values, and offers suggestions for developing a curriculum for teaching values through sport in differing social contexts.

Spanning some of the fundamental areas of sport practice and research, including sport psychology, sport pedagogy, practice ethics, and positive youth development through sport, and including useful values and attitudes questionnaires and guidance on their use and interpretation, this book is important reading for any student, researcher, coach or teacher with an interest in youth sport or physical education.

Find out more and order your copy.