|  | Feature: “Recreation Sport and Social Change in Sustainable Community Development” | No.55 January 2009 |
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A Model for Developing an Upper Division Undergraduate Course in Recreation, Sport and Social Change Darlene A. Kluka & Anneliese Goslin |
In the 21st Century, the international community faces increasingly serious and persistent social challenges. War, poverty, natural disasters and the lack of human rights are among many conditions that are literally destroying communities throughout the world. Grassroots members, led by community members, and facilitated by social service providers, volunteers and governmental and nongovernmental organisations are working together to address these issues. The long-term goal of these efforts is to bring about social transformation by strengthening the infrastructure, economic opportunities and social capacity of communities in order to increase and sustain functioning and healthy living environments. In order to provide a structure necessary for successful social transformation, change agents have used five different approaches, the choice of which depends upon the specific issues identified by the community. Bill (M. Louise Bill, personal interview, August 2, 2007) determined that in order to facilitate sustained social change, change agents consider five different mechanisms or approaches to sustainable community development, the choice of which depends upon the specific issue prevalent in the society: (1) social production; (2) community development; (3) community organizing; (4) community advocacy; and/or (5) activism. Mechanisms and processes focusing on social change through social production provide services to underserved and/or victimised members of a community. Improving the economic vitality of communities is the focus of the community development approach while community organising is an effective mechanism to increase the voice of underserved, under-heard and under-represented people. Advocacy is used to represent the interests of groups, generally those who have been marginalised from full participation in society. Activism entails mobilising the community and usually involves confrontation in order to provide community members access to social change. Despite differences, agents of social change often use a combination of the above approaches to direct social change. For example, increasing access for girls to sport by starting after school sport clubs may also involve a leadership component (social production). Community organising advocacy can be useful as parents speak to school leaders to provide the program. Sustaining the program, however, may demand organising citizens to pressure local councils to donate land for playing facilities and equipment to maintain programs. Social change does not happen accidentally. There are a variety of approaches, including the typical top-down and bottom-up approaches to social change. They can be used when groups of people combine their efforts in social movements. Orum, Johnstone and Riger (1999) defined a social movement as any assembly of people who are organised to defend or to transform social practices in society. Neubeck and Glasberg (2005) agree by concluding that social movements are persistent, organised, collective efforts to either resist or introduce changes in social structures and cultures. Social movements generally last over a fairly long period of time and can be the vehicles or mechanisms through which individuals work together and address social issues that otherwise seem too large and overwhelming. One of the key components to any social change approach involves the formal and informal education of those who are the next generation of professionals in any society. It is important that those in the fields of recreation and sport serve as change agents in communities. Faculty in higher education in recreation and sport throughout the world are responsible for the initiation and facilitation of discussion that leads to action through coursework designed to focus on recreation, sport and social change. The following model is shared with all those interested in the development of an upper division undergraduate course focusing on recreation, sport and social change. The upper division course or module involves three specific learning outcomes: (1) an understanding of the inter-relationship of recreation, sport and social transformation based upon global policies/position statements/declarations; (2) the use of contemporary vehicles for social transformation at global, regional, national, state/provincial and local levels; (3) the creation of strategic plans for positive social transformation linking global to local initiatives (Figure 1). Figure 1: Learning outcomes involving positive social change through recreation and sport The following topics can be included to achieve Outcome One (understand the inter-relationship of recreation, sport and social transformation based upon global policies/position statements/declarations): social change definition (e.g., positive social change is a dynamic process by and through which people's behaviour, practices or conditions become altered due to a paradigm shift involving ideas and perceptions in a society (University of Pretoria RKD 352 Module students, 2007) social transformation policies and supporting documents (e.g., United Nations Millennium Development Goals; Brighton Declaration on Women in Sport) social change models (e.g., Bill, 2007) social change theories and principles (e.g., Social change implies: triggering mechanisms, forces or catalysts initiating and advocating change; planned implementation of mechanisms to sustain change; ongoing process over time; measuring the directionality and impact of change; modification and transformation in social structures, behaviours, attitudes, policies; reciprocal influence of social units; and a paradigm shift in personal values, beliefs, attitudes, opinions that affects groups of people over time. These can include, but are not limited to: conflict theory, cyclical theory, evolutionary theory, equilibrium theory, modernisation theory and feminist theory (Figure 2). Figure 2: Selected Social Change Theories (Kluka, Goslin and Steyn, in press, 2009) managing social change (e.g., Figure 3) Figure 3. Change management continuum model (E S C Center, 2003) social responsibility framework for recreation and sport organizations (e.g., Figure 4) Figure 4. A meta-framework of social change (Adapted from Haferkamp and Smelser, 1992) social auditing (e.g., assessment and evaluation) recreation/sport manager as social change agent (e.g., Figure 5) Figure 5. Integration of stages and processes of change (Marshall and Biddle, 2001) Outcome Two (use of contemporary vehicles for social change) can be detailed by using the following as case studies or scenarios: United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through recreation and sport (www.un.org) Mathare (Kenya) Project as example of community development and social change with recreation and sport as a component (www.matharevalley.org) Disaster management through recreation/sport initiatives developed by the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) (www.icsspe.org) Social capital through equity and equality through the Brighton Declaration on Women in Sport and related documents on the issue; documents at the global level involving those with disabilities (www.iwg.org; www.iapesgw.org; www.wsi.org; www.icsspe.org; www.caaws.org; www.ews.org) Outcome Three (the creation of strategic plans for positive social transformation linking global to local initiatives) can be achieved by the development of strategic plans based upon United Nations MDGs or other seminal documents involving sport, recreation and social change presented in Outcomes One and Two content. Using a Logic Model (e.g., www.kelloggfoundation.org) along with strategic planning models used by NGOs (www.sportanddev.org) will facilitate the results. The following is a sample of how to begin the course. By using A Village of 100 (Meadows, 1990; 2005) as an opening to the course, an environment that begins to place the world in perspective for young recreation and sport science undergraduate students is created. The following concepts are presented in a table format (Table 1) and can easily be converted to powerpoint. Individual students are selected by the professor to read each slide aloud. After the initial reader, the student may select the next student to read, etc. Table 1. A Village of 100 (Meadows, 2005)
Slide 1: If the world were condensed into a village of 100 people, it would look like this: | Slide 2: 60 Asians; 12 Europeans; 8 Latin Americans; 5 from USA and Canada; 14 Africans; 1 South Pacific
Slide 3: 51 females; 49 males | Slide 4: 82 non-whites; 18 whites
Slide 5: 67 non-Christians; 33 Christians | Slide 6: 89 heterosexuals; 11 homosexuals
Slide 7: 5 people would possess 32 % of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be from the USA; 39 would lack adequate sanitation; 33 would be without access to safe water | Slide 8: 80 would live in substandard housing; 67 would be unable to read; 50 would suffer from malnutrition; 1 would be near death; 2 would be near birth; 1 would have a tertiary education; 7 would have access to the internet; 1 would have HIV
Slide 9: So…you are richer than 75 % of the world if you have food in a refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep | Slide 10: You are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy if you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish
Slide 11: If you can read this message, you are more blessed than 2,000,000,000 of the world’s people who cannot read at all | Slide 12: If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.
The evaluation process that can be used to assess performance is indicated in Table 2, below. Table 2. Assessment and evaluation plan totalling 100%
20% theory-based test – take home (any resources may be used and must be documented) | 20% vehicles used in social change related to recreation and sport at global to local levels test – take home (any resources may be used and must be documented)
10% written and oral analyses of global policies, declarations and other documents that are relevant to sport, recreation and social change | 30% strategic plan (How does the strategic plan devised directly link to at least three of the MDGs that have been studied?)
10% logic model | 10% oral presentation of strategic plan and logic model
This model has been piloted with the young professionals who were enrolled in RKD 352 (Recreation, Sport and Social Change Module) in July/August, 2007 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Twelve 3rd year young professionals in recreation science successfully completed the module. The mean scores for each category listed above are represented in Table 3. Mean scores in percentages by category
20 % theory-based take home test: 84 %
20 % vehicles used take home test: 88 %
10 % written and oral analyses: 92 %
30 % strategic plan: 89 %
10 % logic model describing the plan: 92 %
10 % oral presentation of strategic plan and logic model: 90 %
100 %
A qualitative evaluation form was completed by each young professional at the conclusion of the module. Comments were extremely favorable. For example, “…My formative education in recreation science now makes perfect sense. I better understand why I selected this field as my profession.” “…This module is one that has prepared me to be a change agent in South African communities…” Additionally, two of the young professionals implemented their strategic plans and logic models in jobs they secured after graduation at community-based recreational centres in Gauteng Province. This module will be adapted and piloted as a course for master’s degree sport management young professionals (SES 701 Advanced Studies in International Sport and Community Development) at Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida, USA during the Spring, 2009 semester. The authors of this article will serve as professors for the course. For additional information, feel free to contact the authors (dkluka@mail.barry.edu; goslin@sport.up.ac.za). Special acknowledgment to M. Louise Bill, Ph.D., Department of Human Services, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA for her contributions to the formation of the course content. References Enterprise Solutions Competency Center (2003). Change management continuum. U.S. Army PEO EIS & Software Engineering Center, Belvoir. Retrieved April 4, 2008 from http://www.army.mil/ESCC/cm/model2htm. Haferkamp, H. and Smelser, N.J. (Eds.). (1992). Social change and modernity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Kluka, D. A., Goslin, A. and Steyn B. (accepted, 2009). The Brighton Declaration on Women in Sport: A management model of process quality. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal. Marshall, S. and Biddle, S. (2001). The transtheoretical model of behavior change: A meta-analysis of applications to physical activity and exercise. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23(4), 229-246. Meadows, J. (1990; 2005). A village of 100: State of the Village Report. Contact Darlene A. Kluka, Ph. D., D Phil Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida – USA Extraordinary Professor, University of Pretoria, South Africa Email: dkluka@mail.barry.edu Anneliese Goslin, D Phil, MBA Department of Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences University of Pretoria, South Africa Visiting Professor, Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida – USA Email: goslin@sport.up.ac.za http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 A Model for Developing an Upper Division Undergraduate Course in Recreation, Sport and Social Change Darlene A. Kluka & Anneliese Goslin