Walking in the shoes of others: Critical reflection in community sport management and physical activity

The term community sport management means different things to different people. Traditionally, to 'manage' community sport was to ensure the effective control of an organisation through a range of hierarchical systems, which would extend to the users of facilities, events and initiatives. However, in recent years this model has come under intense criticism for its failure to deliver meaningful outcomes for marginalised communities, spawning a range of alternatives that place greater emphasis on aspects of relationship-building, community empowerment and political change. In this chapter, we advocate a critical approach to community sport management that encourages students and practitioners to exercise their sociological imaginations, and to actively question the relationship between sport and society. In so doing, we shall deconstruct taken-for-granted assumptions about 'community', 'sport' and 'management', whilst assessing the use-value of this philosophy in tackling contemporary social problems such as discrimination, ill-health, crime and poverty, from the 'bottom up'. Each argument is animated via a series of case studies - often drawn from the author’s own experience, such as Football Unites, Racism Divides, and Positive Futures, that explore the benefits and challenges associated with this approach in practical, real-world contexts. As such, this chapter will not be intended to provide the reader with another set of managerial procedures, but rather a tool-kit of ideas that can be used, where necessary, to accomplish specific strategies of action

Contesting Respect: Mutual Respect, Positive Futures and the Cultural Intermediary

In recent years the terminology of respect has become somewhat ubiquitous and has virtually taken on the status of a commodity form. Gangsta rappers seek out the veneer of authenticity through demands for ‘it’, political parties embrace it as a title with electoral appeal, whilst social commentators and policy makers lament its absence amongst the constituencies of young people.....

‘More than just a game’: family and spectacle in marketing the England Women’s Super League

The Women’s Super League (WSL) is the first semi-professional women’s football league in England and the Football Association (FA) is central to reproducing its values and practices. This study employed observation at WSL matches and interviews with personnel involved in the League to identify how the FA conceptualised the WSL as a product in its first 3 years. The study found that the elite club game’s existing audience was alienated by the FA’s articulation of a heteronormative family target audience of young girls and their fathers. An overriding concern also appeared to be providing a commercialised matchday experience that goes beyond the game itself, situating the match at the periphery of broader entertainment. We argue that in positioning the WSL as a niche and new entertainment product, thereby eradicating the pre-WSL history of the elite club game, the FA has constructed women’s football as inherently distinct from, and inferior to, men’s football, negating any perceived threat to the wider gender order within the sport

Findings from an opt-in eye examination service in English special schools. Is vision screening effective for this population?

Our objective was to present the findings of an opt-in, school-based eye care service for children attending 11 special schools in England and use these findings to determine whether a vision screening programme would be appropriate for this population. Data from eye examinations provided to 949 pupils (mean age 10.7 years) was analysed to determine the prevalence and aetiology of visual deficiencies and reported eye care history. For 46.2% (n = 438) of pupils, a visual deficiency was recorded. 12.5% of all the children seen (n = 119) had a visual deficiency that was previously undiagnosed. Referral for a medical opinion was made for 3.1% (n = 29) of pupils seen by the service. Spectacle correction was needed for 31.5% (n = 299) of pupils; for 12.9% (122) these were prescribed for the first time. 3.7% (n = 11) of parents/carers of pupils needing spectacles chose not to use the spectacle dispensing service offered in school. Eye care history was available for 847 pupils (89.3%). Of the pupils for whom an eye care history was available, 44% (n = 373) reported no history of any previous eye care and10.7% (n = 91) reported a history of attending a community optical practice/opticians. Only one pupil from the school entry 4–5 age group (0.6% of age group n = 156) would have passed vision screening using current Public Health England screening guidelines. Children with a diagnosis of autism were significantly less likely to be able to provide a reliable measurement of visual acuity. This study supports previously published evidence of a very high prevalence of visual problems in children with the most complex needs and a significant unmet need in this group. It demonstrates routine school entry vision screening using current Public Health England guidelines is not appropriate for this group of children and very low uptake of community primary eye care services

Getting to know you: Engagement and relationship building: First interim national positive futures case study research report

This report represents the culmination of the first phase of the Positive Futures (PF) Case Studies Research Project rather than a definitive set of findings as such. Rather like the PF programme itself it is very much a work in progress which is evolving all the time in the context of the action research approach we have adopted. This approach involves a cycle of action and reflection, with both the projects and research adapting in relation to the themes that emerge from the study as it progresses. Nevertheless whilst this element of the research has been concerned as much with the establishment of relations with projects and participants as investigating the relationships between them, we have begun to identify a number of tentative themes and findings. These themes are presented in a fashion which is intended to guide the future direction of projects every bit as much as to gain abstract theoretical insight. Yet this recognition of the importance of practicality and direction should not distract from the importance of gaining a wider contextual feel for the programme. For whilst this summary is intended to highlight the key themes emerging from the research and the policy and practice issues associated with them, it is in the detail of the main report that a full appreciation of the PF approach emerges. It is from the more narrative accounts in these subsequent parts that we have drawn the conclusions and recommendations presented here and which will provide the baselines against which we assess future progress. Indeed these accounts are themselves drawn from three regional reports focused on the seven case studies that constitute the overall national research project

'In-ger-land, In-ger-land, In-ger-land! : exploring the impact of soccer on the sense of belonging of those seeking asylum in the UK

Utilising research conducted in Sheffield (UK) with people seeking asylum,this article explores the ways in which soccer might be used to create a sense of belonging in the host country. It explores participant feelings about soccer and its potential to alleviate the pressures that the status of being an ‘asylum seeker’ brings. The ways in which soccer may play a role in the identity formation of those seeking asylum is considered in relation to both self-identity and the perceptions of others. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that the various ways of interacting with soccer can provide participants with a sense of control, identity and belonging