The Influence of Indigenous Culture on Sport Psychology Practice: Challenges and Prospects

Hagan Jnr John Elvis

doi:10.19080/pbsij.2017.07.555719

Abstract

Given that contemporary cultural sport psychology has advocated for more inclusiveness involving intersecting cultural identities for applied work (research and practice), it is still surprising that information on indigenous practices across many societies remain untapped. This opinion paper highlights a range of issues that have been addressed within differing cultural contexts and offer ways in which indigenous practices could be integrated into existing professional frameworks across diverse societies that maintain respect for new set of culture-specific behavioral norms, beliefs and practices.

Highlights

The past decade has seen a consistent upsurge in literature regarding cultural diversity in sport and a continual demand for more culturally underpinned sport psychology research and practice [1]
The foundation of this emerging paradigm is the idea of cultural praxis, “a critical discourse” and “an attempt to broaden the epistemological spectrum of theory and practice in the field” [2]
One criticism that has often been raised against mainstream psychology by some researchers is its lack of openness to different cultures and its cultural one-sidedness [3]

Summary

Introduction

The past decade has seen a consistent upsurge in literature regarding cultural diversity in sport and a continual demand for more culturally underpinned sport psychology research and practice [1]. This perspective contests deep-rooted cultural theories, research, and practice, and attempts a paradigm shift in the field of sport psychology from decontextualized knowledge to new approaches that consider athletes by their divergent backgrounds and identities [1]. One criticism that has often been raised against mainstream psychology by some researchers is its lack of openness to different cultures and its cultural one-sidedness [3].

Results

Conclusion