No abstract

It is a cherished belief within physical education and sport communities that participation in sport/physical activity has the potential to offer young people a range of physical, psychological and social benefits. More recently in the UK, this belief has become prominent in government policies that, among other things, are seeking to re‐engage disaffected young people in order to increase their life chances and minimise the impact of anti‐social behaviours upon others. Yet, the link between physical activity interventions and developing pro‐social behaviours is not straightforward, and there is a lack of credible research evidence to support many of the claims made for physical activity to or to inform decisions about effective intervention design. This paper reviews key literature, focusing particularly on disaffected young people and physical activity interventions in the school context, and identifies six key issues that, we would argue, warrant consideration when planning physical activity programmes to re‐engage disaffected young people. In particular, it is argued that the unprecedented levels of public and private funding available for physical activity related programmes in the UK, and the high expectations placed upon them to deliver specific measurable outcomes, mean that the need for credible monitoring and evaluation is pressing.

The purpose of this paper is to consider new and existing evidence about the impact of sport/physical activity programmes on positive youth development in the context of education. The issue of youth disaffection is topical (Davies, 2005) and a number of authors and policy makers have acknowledged that physical activity/sport may be an effective way of helping to address the problem (e.g. Sandford, . As a result, a number of initiatives aimed at re-engaging disaffected or disadvantaged young people through physical activities have been developed and implemented in schools in the UK. Two such initiatives, the HSBC/Outward Bound project and Youth Sport Trust/BSkyB 'Living For Sport' programme, are discussed within this paper, and key findings from the monitoring and evaluation of each initiative are presented. Over a period of 3 years, more than 7000 pupils have been engaged in these programmes, and complete data sets have been collated for over 50% and 90% of Sky Living For Sport and HSBC/Outward Bound participants respectively. The findings suggest that both of these projects have had a positive impact on the behaviour and attendance of large numbers of pupils, and that engagement in lessons and relationships with both teachers and peers have improved and can be sustained. The findings also demonstrate, however, that impact is highly individualised and context-specific in many cases, and that positive impact is more likely to be sustained when some or all of the following project features are in place: effective matching of pupil needs with the specific project objectives; locating Review Vol. No. Month 200, Disaffection, Behaviour and the Governance of Children 2 project activities outside of the 'normal' school context; working closely with pupils to choose activities, set targets and review progress; establishing positive relationships between project leaders / supporters (mentors) and pupils; and giving pupils the opportunity to work with and for others. Educational

4Sport/physical activity interventions are sometimes viewed as a panacea for youth-related social 5 problems, and this may explain their proliferation. Yet, there is little robust evidence to support some 6 of the claims made for the efficacy of such programmes, particularly those relating to sustained benefits 7 for young people. The purpose of this paper is to report findings from longitudinal research on two 8 youth sport/physical activity interventions in the UK in order identify key features in their design that 9 were found to be central to sustained positive impact. The physical activity programmes sought to 10 address youth disaffection and disengagement and they were evaluated by one research team using a 11 common evaluation strategy. Both programme sponsors were committed to learning from the 12 evaluation findings and to wider dissemination. The programmes are explained, data on sustainability 13 of impact are reported from each project and the findings considered together to identify common 14 themes. Data suggest that six key features should be embedded in the design of physical 15 activity/positive youth development programmes and that, in combination and through complex 16 interaction, they can maximise the potential for sustained positive impact on youth participants. 17 18

No abstract