Exploring resistance to change in Chinese children's sports schools: An analysis of multiple external and internal perspectives

Abstract

The development of sports in children is crucial. Unlike European and American sports clubs, China uses children's sports schools as its main form of competitive sports training. However, with the changing economy and mindset in China, this approach is facing challenges and is in urgent need of changes allowing the school and its internal staff to be more sustainable as they can adapt and survive in the overall market. This change means that such schools can no longer simply rely on government assistance but rather must be more in tune with the market economy and gain competitiveness. Zhangjiakou, China, one of the host cities for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has a good overall sports atmosphere. Its municipal government attaches importance to sports development, including children's sports, with several children's sports schools that are typical of this study. Accordingly, seven Zhangjiakou sports schools were selected for investigation through field research and sampling. Moreover, the sources of resistance to change in Zhangjiakou children's sports schools were analyzed from multiple perspectives, including external politics and economy, internal group and individual perspectives, using data from questionnaires and in-depth interviews.