Social and emotional learning for underserved children through a sports-based youth development program grounded in teaching personal and social responsibility

Background: It has been widely accepted that Sports-based Youth Development (SBYD) programs are potentially ideal contexts to develop children socially and emotionally. However, there is a limited empirical examination on how validated models-based practices could be harnessed in SBYD programs to promote children's social and emotional development. This study was conducted in an SBYD program collaborated by a local soccer foundation and a church within a city in the mid-south of the US. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the children's experiences of social and emotional learning (SEL) in an SBYD program grounded in the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model. Methods: The study adopted a case study design (Stake, R. E. 2006. Multiple case study analysis. New York, NY: Guilford.). Data were collected over 30 weeks, including individual interviews, focus group interviews, and field notes. Seventeen middle school boys (n = 17) from low-income families participated in this study. Inductive analysis and constant comparison were utilized for data analysis (Miles, M. B., A. M. Huberman, and J. Saldana. 2014. Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. London: Sage.). Findings: Four main themes were drawn from the interviews with the children regarding their experiences of SEL in the current program: love this program, support and teamwork, helps me understand, and when I go back to school. Conclusion: Findings from this study provided additional evidence that TPSR is an effective pedagogical practice that promotes children's SEL in SBYD programs. This study recommends more SBYD programs grounded in TPSR should be organized and provided for children during this uncertain and challenging time. This study calls for joint efforts between programs, schools, and families to create a consistent environment for children to practice and experience SEL.