Background/Purpose: The United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport has deemed sport is a useful tool in programs fostering development and peace (UN, n.d.). These types of programs have been anecdotally shown to foster an improved sense of trust, a sense of community among diverse individuals, and/or prosocial behaviors (e.g., Wells et al., 2005), but they are rarely systematically studied (Spaaij, 2009); therefore, this study evaluated four areas (i.e., participant satisfaction, knowledge, mutual understanding, and application) of Phase I of a soccer for peace and understanding training program in Jordan.
Method: Three two-day workshops were conducted with 56 male and female Jordanian youth soccer coaches using a ”train the trainer” approach designed to educate coaches how to integrate soccer skills with techniques to build citizenship and peaceful living. Participants completed a knowledge and mutual understanding assessment prior to the workshop and again upon completion along with a satisfaction and application survey.
Analysis/Results: Results indicated: a) 100% of coaches were satisfied with the workshop; b) 54% showed increases in soccer-specific knowledge; c) 23% claimed improvement in knowledge about peaceful living skills; d) over 80% reported an increase in a mutual understanding of others; and e) over 90% acquired the ability to integrate citizenship and peaceful living skills through soccer.
Conclusions: Overall, Phase I appeared to be effective in achieving most of the stated goals. Future research is needed to further establish the effectiveness of the curriculum. Recommendations for such research and implementing similar programs with diverse populations will be offered.
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