Author Identifier

Eibhlish O'Hara

ORCID : 0000-0002-9093-2746

Craig Harms

ORCID: 0000-0001-7256-2326

Craig Speelman

ORCID: 0000-0001-8629-174X

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Frontiers in Psychology

Publisher

Frontiers Media S.A.

School

School of Arts and Humanities / School of Education

RAS ID

36165

Funders

Edith Cowan University - Open Access Support Scheme 2021

Comments

O'Hara, E., Harms, C., Ma'ayah, F., & Speelman, C. (2021). Educational outcomes of adolescents participating in specialist sport programs in low SES areas of Western Australia: A mixed methods study. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, article 667628. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667628

Abstract

Specialist Sport Programs (SSPs) are an underexamined activity that combines the best features of two different contexts for adolescent development: a sporting program and a secondary school. A mixed-methods study was conducted to determine the influence of participation in SSPs on the educational outcomes of lower secondary students in Western Australia. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in specialist students' mean grade for Mathematics over the course of a year, while their mean grade for all other subjects, and their level of engagement with school, remained stable over the same period of time. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key stakeholders (e.g., specialist students and their parents, as well as teachers and graduates of the SSPs). Overall, the participants felt that SSPs had a positive influence on students' engagement with school, and that this engagement had a positive impact on their academic achievement. Taken together, the results of this research suggest that there is a role for SSPs in promoting positive educational outcomes for lower secondary students attending public schools located in low SES areas.

DOI

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667628

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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