The impact of organized youth sport on youth development depends on various conditions in the pedagogical climate, such as how sport is delivered by youth sport coaches. While this is broadly acknowledged and provides a basis to improve youth sport and its developmental outcomes, little is known about the pedagogical perspectives of youth coaches on their practice. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 32 youth sport coaches in diverse youth sport contexts in the Netherlands. Reflexive data analysis is employed to garner insights into coaches’ role perceptions, coaching goals, and underlying values. The findings show that while youth coaches focus on sport-centered activities, many foreground non-sport dimensions such as life mentoring and working towards social inclusion as critical elements of their work, reflected in five pedagogically-oriented goals: discipline, autonomy, resilience, social abilities, and aspirations. Underlying these goals are pedagogical values such as building and maintaining caring relationships with participants. These goals and values echo scientific literature on pedagogical sport climate conditions (e.g. positive youth development), and challenge notions of youth sport as a performance-oriented and uncaring setting. The results contribute to existing knowledge about youth coaches’ pedagogical orientations, and inform the development of strategies to stimulate positive sport practices and developmental outcomes for participants.
Within the context of the information society, access to computers and the internet has been considered to be a new fault line in social exclusion. This has resulted in numerous initiatives on e-inclusion. There is however a second development, that of evidence-based practice, the approach that wants results of effectiveness studies to be an important inspiration for practice. Where these developments intersect, we find the issue of whether e-inclusion interventions are effective, of whether they reach their aim. It is common to label projects as "good practice", but do we have an assessment framework to justify using labels such as "good" or "best"? Does providing excluded citizens with access to computers and internet indeed help them to become socially included? And can we distinguish different types of initiatives and assess them according to their effectiveness?
This book describes the principles and methodology of the CARe Model. This eclectic approach offers professionals working with people with a mental health or addiction problem, or persons with other social disadvantages, effective ways of support. The CARe model is meant to support people in their personal development. It is based on principles of psychosocial rehabilitation, recovery and empowerment. The book contains a lot of practical examples. It can be used by professionals in the field, and for the education of present and future professionals. The CARe model is an evidence based approach used by thousands of professionals world-wide
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