Sport for Social Change: An Action-Oriented Peace Education Curriculum

Practitioners and researchers have implemented a host of programs to decrease youth conflict and violence, counter and prevent violent extremism and radicalintion, and increase youth's conflict prevention and resolution skills. This article overviews 1 such program, titled Sport for Social Change, that has been implemented with sports professionals and youth in India, Tajikistan, and Jordan to increase conflict prevention and resolution skills through sporting activities. The conceptual model of this sport for development "train-the-trainer" program is grounded in the contact hypothesis and theory, as well as systems, social-cognitive, self-determination, empowerment, transformative mediation, and intergroup contact theories and research. This model along with the curricula, educational strategies, challenges, limitations, and outcomes of this peace education program are articulated. Further, the article presents lessons learned, a couple of suggestions for future research, and strategies to expand the inclusion of conflict prevention and resolution skills in sport for development programs along with ideas about how to encourage the involvement of more peace psychologists in these programs.