Claire Mulvenna

The global soccer market has seen a growth in the professionalization of women’s teams and as a result, spectatorship and fandom have augmented. Women’s soccer was historically perceived as a taboo; however, stakeholder support has generated visibility and enhanced commercialization opportunities. The Football Association in England instituted the Women’s Super League (hereafter WSL) during 2010, and the first season commenced in 2011 with eight teams. Subsequently, in 2021 there were 12 professional women’s teams in the top-tier of the league and 11 teams in the championship. A qualitative case study approach is utilized, via the use of semi-structured interviews to explore the demographics and motives of women who watch soccer at the elite level and their socialization into fan communities. The study concludes by acquiring an understanding of the consumption of female soccer fans within the WSL and focuses upon the relationship between supporter clubs and fan socialization.

This paper examines the experiences of participants (n = 12) on the England Netball, ‘Walking Netball’ (WN) programme. Previous research has sought to explore participant experiences on programmes similar to WN, suggesting greater social engagement and an increase in desire for life were positive consequences from participation. Semi structured interviews explored the motivations held for participation in the programme with regards to social identity and the affective consequence of participation. Four themes emerged from data analysis; (1) WN as a form of physical activity, (2) collaborative identity, (3) group inclusion, and (4) regulatory routine. Findings suggest that participants on England Netball’s WN programme, are primarily motivated to continue attending WN by the collective identity they experience through being involved in the programme. Further research however on the construction of collective group identity is required to further enable project funders and deliverers in ensuring projects can effectively meet the motivations of their participants. Keywords: Physical activity, identity, relatedness

The coach plays an important role in the type and quality of motivation exhibited by soccer players. However, limited research exists investigating if a coach is aware of the motivations held by their players. As such this study investigated the motivations of semi-elite soccer players taking part in club coaching sessions and identified if coaches were aware of these motivations. Using a qualitative approach with 21 adult soccer players and two soccer coaches, findings from this study highlight a dissonance is apparent between the coaches understanding of their player’s motivational climate and the soccer player’s motivation. Although the players express their motivation focused on the development of a collective social identity and the consequence experienced from playing soccer, coaches were unaware of these motivations.

Formal coach education programs have seen a significant increase in the number of coaches attending and completing recognized coaching awards and qualifications recently. However, research has demonstrated that such formal coach education has limited impact on the practice of the coach when they return to working with their players. To date coach education research has failed to analyze the way in which learning styles have been presented on such awards and qualifications and the impact such knowledge may have on the coaches’ practice. As such, research to investigate the promotion of learning styles within a coach education environment took place to establish if coach education promotes the use of specific teaching strategies for particular learners via the use of learning styles. The research process included semi-structured interviews with eight Football Association Level One Award Coaches, who identified that they were clearly and explicitly introduced to the concept of VARK learning styles during their coach education experiences. These findings demonstrate entry-level soccer coaches in the UK are encouraged to place the learning style of a player at the center of learning despite the suggestion from research that learning styles have a negligible impact on learning. The research also demonstrated that coach educators and the curriculum of coach education courses failed to utilize current research to reflect the latest teaching and learning strategies.

Background: Both education policies and curriculum documents identify the personal development of students as a key objective of modern education. Physical education in particular has been cited as a subject that can promote students’ life skills development and psychological well-being. However, little research has investigated the processes by which physical education may be related to students’ development of life skills and their psychological well-being. Purpose: Using Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework for youth development theory and research, this study explored the relationships between the teaching climate, students’ perceived life skills development within physical education, and their psychological well-being. Participants and setting: Participants were 294 British physical education students (Mage = 13.70, range = 11–18 years) attending six secondary schools in Scotland and England. On average, these male (n = 204) and female (n = 90) students took part in physical education classes for 2.35 hours per week. Data collection: The data were collected via a survey which assessed perceived teacher autonomy support, participants’ perceived life skills development within physical education (teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making), and their psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Data analyses: The preliminary analysis used descriptive statistics to assess how participants scored on each of the study variables and correlations to assess the relationships between all variables. The main analysis sought to test Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework using a series of mediation models which were tested via non-parametric bootstrapping analysis. Findings: This study demonstrated that students perceived they were developing the following life skills through physical education: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. Overall, the results supported Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework for youth development theory and research. In all analyses, perceived teacher autonomy support was positively related to participants’ perceived life skills development within physical education and their psychological well-being. Participants’ total life skills development was related to all three psychological well-being indicators – providing support for the ‘pile-up’ effect (Benson 2006). Total life skills development also mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and participants’ psychological well-being. Conclusion: The findings suggest that perceived teacher autonomy support, along with total life skills development, are related to participants’ psychological well-being. Interpretation of the results suggest that physical education teachers should integrate autonomy supportive behaviors into their teaching (e.g., provide choice in activities and encourage students to ask questions) as they are associated with young people’s development of multiple life skills and their psychological well-being.

Background: Both education policies and curriculum documents identify the personal development of students as a key objective of modern education. Physical education (PE) in particular has been cited as a subject that can promote students’ life skills development and psychological well-being. However, little research has investigated the processes by which PE may be related to students’ development of life skills and their psychological well-being.
Purpose: Using Benson and Saito’s (2001. ‘The Scientific Foundations of Youth Development.’ In Trends in Youth Development: Visions, Realities and Challenges, edited by P. L. Benson and K. J. Pittman, 135–154. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic) framework for youth development theory and research, this study explored the relationships between the teaching climate, students’ perceived life skills development within PE, and their psychological well-being.
Participants and setting: Participants were 294 British PE students (Mage = 13.70, range = 11–18 years) attending 6 secondary schools in Scotland and England. On average, these male (n = 204) and female (n = 90) students took part in PE classes for 2.35 hours per week.
Data collection: The data were collected via a survey which assessed perceived teacher autonomy support, participants’ perceived life skills development within PE (teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem-solving and decision-making), and their psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life).
Data analyses: The preliminary analysis used descriptive statistics to assess how participants scored on each of the study variables and correlations to assess the relationships between all variables. The main analysis sought to test Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework using a series of mediation models which were tested via non-parametric bootstrapping analysis.
Findings: This study demonstrated that students perceived they were developing the following life skills through PE: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem-solving and decision-making. Overall, the results supported Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework for youth development theory and research. In all analyses, perceived teacher autonomy support was positively related to participants’ perceived life skills development within PE and their psychological well-being. Participants’ total life skills development was related to all three psychological well-being indicators – providing support for the ‘pile-up’ effect (Benson 2006. All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must do to Raise Caring and Responsible Children and Adolescents. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass).
Total life skills development also mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and participants’ psychological well-being.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that perceived teacher autonomy support, along with total life skills development, is related to participants’ psychological well-being. Interpretation of the results suggests that PE teachers should integrate autonomy supportive behaviours into their teaching (e.g. provide choice in activities and encourage students to ask questions) as they are associated with young people’s development of multiple life skills and their psychological well-being.