Examining Portuguese National Sport Organizations’ Managerial Strategies Towards Human Development: What Counts as Effective Practice in Youth Sport?

Authors

  • Laura Burge Department of Applied Human Sciences, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6673-3925
  • Fernando Santos Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Escola Superior de Educação, inED, Centro de Investigação e Inovação em Educação, Portugal
  • Martin Camiré School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5978-9892
  • Marta Ferreira Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Escola Superior de Educação, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3399-7295
  • Dany J. MacDonald Department of Applied Human Sciences, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8439-9247

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.31384

Keywords:

youth development, policy, coaching, sport, pedagogy

Abstract

In Portugal, national sports organisations receive funding from the government to achieve three key objectives: organise competitions; train key stakeholders; and foster human development. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine Portuguese sports organisations’ strategic decisions towards fostering human development. A document analysis of sports organisations’ annual reports and activity plans was conducted. Such analysis helped to understand how sport policy and funding influence sports organisations’ practices, especially concerning youth sports. A total of 35 national sports organisations that deliver programming for youth were included in the present study. Findings indicate that the human development of youth does not appear to be at the forefront of priorities for Portuguese national sports organisations. Few managerial strategies were implemented by sports organisations to target human development deliberately. Moving forward, there is a need to devise concrete strategies to better situate psychosocial development within the Portuguese youth sports context by considering the developmental needs of youth in the 21st century. To help sports organisations foster psychosocial development, several recommendations concerning policy documents, guidelines for sports stakeholders and funding are provided.

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Published

2023-12-31

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 4 (2023): Motricidade

Section

Original Article

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