Participation in organized sport programs can have a lasting effect on youth not only in their specific sport but in the larger society as well. Research shows that sport is an activity that commands a degree of primary or secondary involvement unsurpassed by other institutionalized settings (Frey & Eitzen, 1991). Participating in sports gives one the opportunity to learn valuable lessons that may not be able to be learned in other settings. Early research focused on youth as problems who needed to be fixed (Witt, 2002). Research has since moved from this approach and now studies youth as humans who need to be developed and taught. While much anecdotal evidence has pointed to the need for more study in Sport for Development programs, there is little empirical data on program outcomes on participants. This study will use inductive reasoning to analyze positive youth development (PYD) through the completion of Midnight Basketball Association’s (MBA program. Using Lerner’s 5 C’s of PYD, this study seeks to understand the role of a basketball intervention program on adolescents and the program
Method:
A pre-post survey research design will be used to assess participant perceptions of personal changes following the organizational objectives of the MBA: participant’s character, self-esteem and discipline. Lyras and Welty-Peachy’s (2011) Sport for Development Theory will frame the survey instrument and analysis. Data will be collected during Fall of 2014. The participants will be ages eleven through fourteen who are enrolled in the MBA in Spokane, Washington. The target populations of the program are youth in the central urban neighborhoods. Participants are assumed to be at-risk and of lower socioeconomic status.
Analysis/Results:
For this study a dependent samples t-test will be used to compare the means of participant’s pre and post-test questionnaire answers. The dependent t-test will identify if there are any statistically significant differences between means. Descriptive statistics will allow for the comparison of values of questionnaire answers as well as allow for comparison of gender.
Conclusions:
Positive youth development (PYD) seeks to enable individuals to lead a healthy, satisfying, and productive life as youth, and later as adults. Problems in promoting positive youth development emerge because sport programs can differ in design and quality, creating an environment that does not promote positive development. This study is significant because it aims to create better opportunities for our youth and add to the literature on outcomes of PYD programs.