Examining the educator

Abstract

A consistent feature across sport for development and peace (SDP) programs is the use of education to facilitate and support individual transformation and wider social change. The content of education within SDP programs is broad ranging. It may focus on developing health literacy on issues such as HIV/AIDS or malaria, comprise rights-based education aimed at developing awareness of social issues such as gender inequality, or involve skills-focused education that supports participants to develop skills and competencies such as leadership and negotiation, which can help them navigate challenges they face in their communities more effectively (Nicholls, 2009). The types of educators working across programs are also highly diverse. Educators can range from international volunteers, paid teachers/coaches and NGO staff to peers and community elders. Inevitably, these individuals bring different forms of knowledge, educational and cultural experience to the programs. This brief description illustrates the diversity that exists within SDP programs seeking to ‘educate through sport’. Education is an integral part of SDP practice but is interpreted and delivered very differently across different programs and contexts. However, while other dimensions of SDP have attracted growing academic attention, critical analysis of education within the SDP sector has been largely absent (Spaaij and Jeanes, 2013). Recent research largely focuses on assessing program impacts and outcomes (e.g. Coalter, 2013); yet, the educational processes through which these impacts and outcomes may be achieved are still under-explored. Considering the centrality of education in achieving potential SDP outcomes, it is important to address this lacuna. Further, given the complexity of how education occurs, we would argue that there are numerous potential avenues of exploration. This chapter focuses on one specific aspect of education through sport, namely the role of the educator in SDP programs. Who educates is an important decision in any educational setting; where they come from, their beliefs and values, how they are positioned and position themselves and their relationship with students will greatly influence learning and the potential for social change. Building on theoretical work which advocates using the lens of critical pedagogy as developed by the late Brazilian educator Paulo Freire to analyse and enhance educational practice in SDP (Spaaij and Jeanes, 2013), this chapter specifically considers how the educator is positioned within critical pedagogy and how this translates to SDP practice. We not only analyse current practice but also highlight the tensions experienced by educators of turning Freire’s theoretical lens into praxis at a community level. These issues are examined with specific reference to two different SDP contexts where we have conducted intensive fieldwork: HIV/AIDS education in Zambia and employability education in Brazil (Spaaij 2011, 2012; Jeanes, 2013).