Children’s perspectives on the effectiveness of the Playing for Life philosophy in an afterschool sports program

Introduction

Increasing evidence suggests that game play within the sporting context is instrumental for skill development and continued participation in youth sports, especially for children aged 6–12 years.^1–3 Contrasting with the traditional instructional approach where heavy emphasis is placed on skill improvement in highly structured practice (e.g., repetitious skill drilling), game play involves non-purposeful developmentally appropriate physical activities and is purely for the sake of participation, thus inherently more enjoyable and motivating. ⁴ In line with the concept of experiential learning (where knowledge is constructed through experiences and discovery process) ⁵ and non-linear pedagogy (which emphasizes working with the constraints faced by individuals in different situations), ⁶ game play allows children to experiment with their movements and tactics, within the realm of individual capability and development and without concern over exclusion for reasons such as competency or “losing,” which are common barriers to sports participation. ⁷ Research has shown that compared with drill training, game play is more effective in enhancing tactical creativity and in developing perceptual and decision-making skills.^8,9 Moreover, engagement in game play in early developmental years is potentially critical to competence development and long-term engagement in sports.^10,11

In addition to game play, for a pedagogy to effectively and continuously engage and motivate learning, it is imperative to foster a sustainable motivational orientation.^12,13 According to self-determination theory, the most sustainable form of motivation is when the learner can attain an inherent satisfaction (intrinsic motivation) from his/her learning experiences to fulfill his/her psychological needs, as opposed to extrinsic motivation when a learner obtains “rewards” that are relatively unrelated to the activity. ¹³ The three psychological needs proposed by the self-determination theory are the needs for autonomy in the learning experience, for being able to relate to others in the social environment and for achieving a sense of competence—all considered contributory to positive youth development whereby optimal developmental and affective experiences can be attained and positive identity is formed, which are likely to benefit development into adulthood.^14,15

For intrinsic motivation and engagement in learning to achieve optimal effects in the context of youth sport participation, the role of coaches is vital. In keeping with self-determination theory, autonomy-supportive coaching is associated with increased perceived autonomy and intrinsic motivation, as well as intention to continued participation. ¹⁶ In addition, the ability of a coach to facilitate a mastery motivational climate where emphasis is on self-referenced accomplishment, as opposed to others-referenced in a performance-centered environment, is more likely to raise enjoyment and self-determined motivation.^17,18

Therefore, based on the concept of game play as well as the theoretical synthesis of self-determined motivation and the abovementioned pedagogical stances behind youth sport participation, the “Playing for Life” (P4L) philosophy was developed by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) as a means to engage children of all abilities in junior sports and to provide positive sporting experiences in a secure and inclusive environment, which might lead to sustained sport participation.^19,20 The P4L philosophy follows six principles. It emphasizes the use of fun games primarily to introduce the skills and tactics of sports rather than a skill/drills approach (Principle 1—Game is the focus). Through game play, children are encouraged to resolve challenges under coaches’ facilitation mostly through questioning (Principle 2—Coach is a facilitator) and coaching is provided only as required (Principle 3—Discrete coaching) as a means to supplement experiential and discovery learning processes ²¹ and to foster a sense of competence/confidence. ¹³ Children are also involved as role models during games to demonstrate and emphasize skillful play where appropriate (Principle 4—Role models) as a closer fit between the learner and the model in terms of psychophysical constraints such as limb lengths, strength and hand sizes can provide a more appropriate movement solution than what a larger adult may provide. ²² In addition, viewing peer models who were more skilled could potentially elicit more effective learning as it motivated the observers to emulate the models through practice, which may be attributable to the enhanced sense of relatedness due to similar experiences.^13,23 Children are also given the autonomy to decide on the activities they find engaging and challenging (Principle 5—Ask the players) and depending on the skill level of individuals and their progress during each session, variations of the activities targeting at the focused skills are constantly provided by the coach (Principle 6—Change it) in order to optimize intrinsic motivation and hence participation. ¹³ From the social ecological perspective,^24,25 the inherently enjoyable nature of the game play promoted by the P4L philosophy can potentially provide a fertile ground for participants to learn the interrelatedness between themselves and their environment and how they can be an active agent to promote positive change within themselves (e.g., skills and confidence) and/or in their environment (e.g., choice of activities during the coaching sessions). ²⁶

However, the P4L philosophy has yet to be validated and its effectiveness tested within the context of a youth sports program. A potential avenue for the implementation of the P4L philosophy is through afterschool sports programs located at the school premises. This would provide a safe environment for children to engage in physical activities with their peers and be logistically viable, particularly for working parents. Moreover, afterschool sports programs can provide children with the opportunity to sample a variety of sports that might not be commonly offered or readily accessible in their environment. ²⁷ For these reasons, we examined the effectiveness of the ASC’s Active After-school Communities (AASC) program ²⁸ that adopted the P4L philosophy. Our main aim was to qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the P4L philosophy in contributing to primary-school children’s enjoyment and in encouraging potential long-term participation in sports through accounts of the children’s participation experiences. For any youth program to improve and achieve its goals, participants’ feedback on their experiences is essential. However, program evaluations have mostly been conducted using established questionnaires that include predetermined factors considered as important by adults, yet deprived of in-depth understanding of children’s perception of the elements pertaining to enjoyment and possible long-term engagement in sports within the context of their lived experiences. ²⁹ This may lead to perception bias and subsequent intervention futility. ³⁰ An alternative means to gather more meaningful and rich information is through interviews within the children’s natural environment. ³¹ Therefore, for our current evaluation, interviews were conducted with 5- to 12-year-old participants.

As the focus of the current study is on the effectiveness of an afterschool sport program that adopted the P4L philosophy, coaching quality would not be central to our discussion albeit our recognition of the importance of coaches’ role in the success of any sport programs. Nonetheless, results from this investigation can potentially inform coaching practice, coach education, and physical education curriculum development on developmentally appropriate strategies to cultivate an inclusive sporting environment through which children’s engagement in, and benefits from, sports participation can be optimized and sustained in the long term.

Method

Results

As the main aim of the current study is to investigate the effectiveness of the P4L philosophy in the context of an afterschool school program in promoting enjoyment of sport participation, we attempted to identify, from the children’s own accounts, aspects within the program that sustained and/or enhanced enjoyment, and aspects that might not work as well as they intended to. Four prominent themes were identified from the interviews and they were categorized into motor development and knowledge acquisition, psychological and cognitive benefits, social development, and active living awareness. The last theme can potentially address another aim of the study which examines the effectiveness of the P4L philosophy in encouraging continued sport participation.

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first study to qualitatively evaluate the P4L philosophy within the context of an afterschool sports program. Not only has this qualitative enquiry provided us with children’s first-hand accounts of their experience in the afterschool sports program that adopted the P4L philosophy, but the information obtained is possibly richer and more in-depth than a traditional survey could provide. This could be attributable to the personable interview setup, be it paired or individual, within the children’s familiar environment that might have helped build rapport between the interviewers and the interviewees and provided a secure base for children to reflect and discuss their experiences. Through participants’ accounts of their lived experiences, we have gained insights into factors that might have contributed to the effectiveness of the P4L philosophy, adopted in an afterschool sport program, in enhancing enjoyment and in encouraging future sport participation.

Our results have demonstrated that a major source of enjoyment was from the challenge presented to the participant in their acquisition of new knowledge and skills through sport participation. This challenge appears to be generated from a sporting environment where autonomy was emphasized (the “Ask the player” and “Discrete coaching” principles) and experiential learning through game play was encouraged (the “Game is the focus” principle). Engagement was also accentuated through regular variations in activities (the “Change it” principle). Previous research has consistently indicated that enjoyment is often derived from engagement where a child is immersed in an activity that presents learning opportunities and challenge to his/her skills/knowledge. ¹² This is more likely to be achieved in an environment where autonomy is valued to allow personal goals to be set and ambitions to be realized. ¹³ The autonomy-supportive environment in our study also seemed to have fostered teamwork when the participants were given room to resolve challenging situations with their counterparts during game play and to learn from each other. Additional social benefits from participation in the afterschool sports program included increased social interactions as well as awareness of socially (un)acceptable behaviors, both being somewhat inherent in sport participation.

Through the positive learning experiences, recognized competencies, and social development, all pivotal to the nurturing of self-confidence, ³⁷ intrinsic motivational orientation is further encouraged and the child’s sporting identity is fostered.^38,39 Our data appear to reflect this process of sport identity formation, in that the children acquired sporting skills/knowledge and resolved challenges from which confidence and perceived competency grew. The improvements experienced were also self-referenced which might reinforce the potential of an autonomy-supportive environment that the P4L philosophy advocates in strengthening mastery motivation in the participants.

Essentially, the P4L philosophy aims for children to explore their physical and cognitive capabilities within a secure and inclusive sporting environment through which enjoyment can be enhanced. As suggested from the interviews, following the P4L philosophy, coaches in the program took on a facilitating role and allowed participants to inject their creativity into the activities within the game-play framework. Albeit competitive in nature, game play emphasizes cooperation rather than winning or losing, and losing is considered as an opportunity to improve. ⁴⁰ Game play is also more effective in developing a “game sense” and tactical creativity compared with repetitious drills especially in formative years as it simulates a real game environment where decision-making ability is required. ⁴¹ Previous research has shown that elite athletes spent significantly more time in game play than structured practice at an early age, suggesting that engagement in game play in early developmental years, and the benefits associated with it, are potentially critical to competence development and long-term engagement in sports.^42,43 This nonlinear learning process could indeed complement well with the P4L philosophy’s emphasis on autonomy-supportive coaching whereby children were encouraged to resolve challenges through self-discovery and through teamwork. While game play was favored by most of our participants, skill drilling also appeared to have a place in sports programs, though to a lesser extent, as expressed by one participant.

From the interviews, the enhanced physical and psychological well-being from participating in the sport program was articulated explicitly. The physicality of sport participation was also enjoyed by many, and it appeared that some children recognized that the experience of physicality could be transferred across sports too. Together with the increased sporting confidence, it is perhaps not surprising that most interviewees expressed their enthusiasm in continued participation in sports—an inherent goal that the P4L philosophy attempts to accomplish. As such, many were keen to sample a variety of sports, for which early childhood was considered to be an ideal period. ⁴ The implications of these findings are twofold. With the positive sporting experiences, children are more likely to stay in their sporting pursuits which could lead to greater specialization and elite athlete development in later years.^1,4 Crucially, the enjoyment gained through sports and the increased active living awareness can potentially prompt a sustainable active lifestyle and reduce time spent sedentary.^24,26,44 With a third of Australian children not meeting the recommended moderate to vigorous physical activity level (at least 60 minutes/day) and only a third meeting the daily screen time recommendation (less than two hours/day), ⁴⁵ the development and implementation of P4L philosophy in afterschool sports programs would seem to be a viable means to promote positive physical activity behaviors in children. To accomplish this objective, education on the P4L philosophy and the associated pedagogy, such as experiential learning and nonlinear pedagogy, is likely to be beneficial to coaches and physical activity educators alike.

Several limitations of this study are worth mentioning. The varying cognitive ability and experiences of children at different developmental stages and for each gender may have constrained the ability to articulate ideas at the interviews, thus making direct comparisons between age groups and genders unfeasible. Nonetheless, as our findings were derived from a relatively large sample, we trust that results of this study are largely generalizable across age and gender in early childhood. Moreover, although our sample might not be representative across cultures, it is likely to have provided some insight into factors that could attract school-aged children to sports participation in the Australian population.

Conclusion

Our qualitative results highlight the effectiveness of the P4L philosophy in engaging children in sports and in promoting long-term participation. Specifically, our data indicated that sources of enjoyment were derived from motor skill development, knowledge acquisition, psychological and cognitive benefits, physical and psychological benefits including a heightened sense of well-being, and the physicality of sport participation. Some of these positive experiences appear to be largely attributable to the emphasis of fostering an experiential learning environment where autonomy was encouraged within the realm of game play as advocated by the P4L philosophy. Not only were confidence and mastery motivation enhanced through self-discovery of sport-specific skills and knowledge, but also children’s sporting identity was fostered when improvements were observed and physical and psychological well-being was noted during and after participation.

Through these positive experiences, the participants were keen to continue sport participation, be it in the same sport or other sports, at the end of the afterschool sport program that adopted the P4L philosophy. Although follow-up studies would be necessary to ascertain if future participation is indeed substantiated, the current study has provided some indication on the intention to do so and the reasons that might have contributed to it, not least the enjoyment of the program founded on the P4L philosophy.

Last, our study has highlighted the value of qualitative inquiries in advancing our understanding of factors affecting sports participation and physical activity behavior in children. Not only do the findings have vital significance to youth sports development and coach education, but they can also be transferred to physical activity research in promoting sustainable positive physical activity behavior to be carried into adulthood.