Sports and Society:

Promoting Values Through

Sports
Airnel T. Abarra
Palawan State University, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
03-April-2014

Questions

What is Sport for you?

What is Society for you?
What is Culture for you?

Sport and Culture

Everyone of us knows about sport,
culture, and education but we have
different interpretations about it.
(Laker, 2001)
Culture as a term can evoke different
interpretations.

Sport and Culture

Education and sport- Two major social institutions
and interact to both culture and society.
Education and sport have implicit values which are
incorporated for recognition in culture and society.
Societal components are constructed through
systems of meaning that are legitimated through
practice and adoption. (Laker, 2001)

Grassroots Sport Models

Pyramid Model
Church Model

Pyramid Model

Pyramid Model
Grassroots programs are at the bottom of sport
development and on the top is the elite level.
Not valid anymore as it doesnt reflect the reality
of sport .(Kirkeby,2009
Assumption is that having a huge base and
structures for the grassroots base automatically
will produce top performer. But when the goal is to
creating top performers, the traditional pyramid
structure with a huge base is not relevant.
Big mass is not very practical, it is far too costly
and very rarely needed.

Church Model

Church Model (Scheerder, 2007)

Church Model- competitive sport and recreational
sport activity coexist without hierarchical order
between them.
Both are responsible in the lion's share of sport
participation.
Only part of participation can be considered as
forming the basis of high level competitive sport
which may turn to elite sport.
Competition is not always the logic in participation;
many people participate in sport for social and
health reasons.

Education Through Sport (ETS)

ETS is a non-formal educational
approach that works with sport and
physical activities and which refers to
the development of key competences
of individuals and groups in order to
contribute to personal development
and sustainable social transformation.

Education Through Sport

Non-formal education focuses on the
learning needs of every learner, allowing
individuals to identify their own needs and
to propose solutions.
Non-formal educational approach sees
learners as a resource and respects their
values and contributions.
Sport is a global social factor which
carries and produces values.

Education FOR, BY and

THROUGH Sport

EducationFOR
Sport

EducationBY
Sport

Education
THROUGH
Sport

Why?
Specific
Objective

For the sport itself

Improve sport
competencies for
competition

For a good cause

Improve public
health and wellbeing

For life
Personal
development and
social learning

Approach

Technical skillbased
Success and
winning
Awards, better
technical skills
(some added
value)

Functional

Aim
Outcomes

Existential, sociocultural
Functioning better Citizenship
Social welfare

Empowerment

Education FOR, BY and

THROUGH Sport
Education FOR Sport -addresses the improvement
of skills related to the sport itself.
Education BY Sport -aims to reconcile the sporting
goals and the wellbeing of the society. It uses
sport, exercise and physical activity to work
towards social causes such as health, wellbeing,
public welfare or social inclusion.
Education THROUGH Sport- consists of the
integration and implementation of sport elements to
be used for an educational purpose to address a
social issue, develop social competences and
provoke a lasting social transformation.

What is not Education through

Sport?
Education for Sport addresses the improvement of
skills related to the sport itself.
Youth often feel excessive pressure to win,
perceive themselves as having poor abilities, feel
unattached to their teams, and feel vulnerable in
the presence of team mates. Experiences such as
these have led youth to experience low selfconfidence and low self-esteem. (Wankel &
Kreisel, 1985; Martens, 1993)

Summary
Sport is based on society, its culture and
values.
Sport should be seen as promoter of social
values and health and not just competition.
We can adopt process of Education
THROUGH Sport.
Sport should make a person and his/her
society empowered.

References
Laker, A. (2002) The Sociology of Sport and Physical
Education; An Introductory Reader. Routledge Falmer
International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA)
(2013) Move and Learn: Manual for Non-formal
education through sport and physical activities with
young people. Copenhagem Denmark
Jarvie, G. (2006) Sport, Culture, and Society an
Introduction Routledge, NY
Scheerder,. J. (2011) Understanding the game; Sport
Participation in Europe. Sport Policy, and
Management. Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

Join Philippine Association for

Sociology of Sport group on
Facebook
Visit http://www.isca-web.org

Maraming Salamat Po!

Thank you very much!
Danke!
Dkuji!
Mulumesc!
Dzikujemy!