Considering the youth voice: needs and asset assessment in sport for development using photovoice

Tiesha Martin,Carrie Lecrom

doi:10.14712/23366052.2021.9

Abstract

With the growth of sport for development (SFD), it is increasingly important to ensure that programmes are intentionally designed to meet the needs of the communities they serve, in a way that helps build community capacity. Still, many programmes have been criticised for not considering the voices of marginalised individuals, specifically youth programme recipients, in the planning and development of SFDprogrammes. Additionally, programmes are developed from a deficit approach where only the needs or negative aspects of the community are being considered in the planning and development of programming. With these issues in mind, the purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of photovoice as a strategic tool to give youth a voice in SFD needs and asset assessment. Additionally, it examined how practitioners can utilize the outcomes of a needs and asset assessment in planning and implementing SFD programming. The results highlight the assets and challenges that the youth participants identified and the practical use of the assessment from the perspective of programme administrators. The results suggest that photovoice can allow youth programme participants to have a genuine voice in programme development.

Highlights

Sport for development (SFD) programmes were created out of the understanding that sport can have an impact beyond physicality, in ways such as building character traits, creating unity, and overcoming bias
With these challenges in mind, the purpose of this study was to examine how photovoice can be used as a strategy to include the youth voice in sport for development (SFD) planning and programming
The current study offered a unique opportunity to explore some of these dynamics, in that SFD programme administrators appealed to the researchers to help guide them through a process fully focused on the youth voice and how it could guide future endeavors

Summary

Introduction

Sport for development (SFD) programmes were created out of the understanding that sport can have an impact beyond physicality, in ways such as building character traits, creating unity, and overcoming bias. SFD programmes have emerged across every continent, utilising a multitude of sports, and addressing numerous social issues including disability, education, gender, health, livelihoods, peace, social cohesion, and infrastructure, among others (Svensson & Woods, 2017). Within these programmes exist issues of power and equity, as many initiatives are led by those in high socioeconomic societies intending to assist lower socioeconomic communities, which has caused many issues (Darnell, 2012; Levermore & Beacom, 2012; Spaaij et al, 2018). In addition to a lack of participant involvement, many scholars have noted that SFD interventions tend to be designed from a deficit approach (Giles & Lynch, 2012) that focuses on only the negatives and none of the progress or positives (Wright & Lopez, 2002)

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