RESULTS AND SPECIFIC DISCUSSION

Overall, the coding analysis generated sub-categories, which were then grouped into conceptual categories, and then into three larger dimensions (i.e., Changes in Everyday Lived Realities, Practical Strategies for Fostering Nonviolence, and Beginning, Building, and Broadening Connections and Relationships; see Table 2). Due to the authors’ focus on presenting new knowledge, detailed findings are only provided for the first two dimensions, as the third dimension has been well-documented in previous literature (Gilbert & Bennet, 2012; Hemphill et al., 2018; Stidder & Haasner, 2007).

Table 2 – Youth sport coaches and teachers lived experiences with fostering a culture for positive peace

* not discussed in current article

Dimension 1: Changes in Everyday Lived Realities

This dimension incorporates some of the change processes, perceptions, and experiences documented by the coaches and teachers (Levitt, 2014) and consists of two categories of coded data: (a) changes in coaches and teachers’ attitudes and behaviors; and (b) changes in youth athletes’ attitudes and behaviors (as reported by the coaches and teachers).

Changes in Coaches’ and Teachers’ Attitudes and Behaviors

Findings for this first dimension reflect the ways coaches and teachers reported dealing with the conflicts in their own lives through peaceful means, the impact of SDP training on their coaching/teaching, and their intentionality in their efforts to transform how others respond to conflict. Sub-categories identified in this general category include (a) sports as a vehicle for fostering peace and social change in
youth; (b) social responsibility, leadership, and citizenship; and (c) teaching styles and disciplinary approaches.

Sports as a Vehicle for Fostering Peace and Social Change in Youth.

This sub-theme complements the classic perceptions regarding sports programs, as a unique mechanism to shape positive developmental experiences and peaceful relational outcomes in youth from all social and cultural backgrounds. It particularly relates to those programs which use football as the main sport (Rookwood & Palmer, 2011; Rookwood, 2008). One coach from Jordan expressed that “football is the only language between the whole world. You can connect the world through football” (P17).

These findings are consistent with the discussion on positive youth development found in previous research regarding youth involvement in organized or recreational, adult-supervised programs using sport and physical activities (Coakley, 2015; Holt et al., 2017). SDP programs work most commonly by targeting vulnerable young people, with the purpose of cultivating development and social inclusion through adult modeling, reinforcement, and life skills training (Danish, 2002; Holt et al., 2017; Koh & Camiré, 2015).

Social Responsibility, Leadership, and Citizenship.

Coaches and teachers play a crucial role in fostering positive social change in their youth. Usually their impact
starts from how they view their role within the classroom or on the football field. In this study, coaches and teachers found themselves assuming leadership responsibilities, which extended into their personal lives. One coach shared that he felt moved to take some responsibility to support the future of youth coming up in the villages where he was born and currently works:

They know that they [youth] are the future. So, I assume that I am making (investing) my investments into (making the) country development through working with these kids, because these kids one day will become some maybe important people in the country. Some become important decision makers…and if they are healthy, and active, the country, the life will get better. (P2)

In this study, female and male coaches and teachers expressed having an increased awareness of and capacity to approach gender disparities observed in their own community. Moreover, several female coaches in the study pointed to their involvement in SDP programs as playing a role in their motivation to begin recognizing and using their leadership position to address complex social systemic challenges. These challenges have been historically, symbolically, politically, and moralistically imposed upon the identity and power of the female athletes or students they worked with. They have manifested as the lack of institutional support, equitable resource distribution, and fair opportunities in sport participation. A female Jordanian coach illustrated that challenging the status quo by directly engaging parents was one possible way for change:

I try to face parents that don’t want their daughters to play. So, I try to convince, to let their girls play, because I talk to them about my own experience and how it affected me and when I played how I became more independent, self-confident. (P17)

Consistent with a positive peace and social change agenda, these findings demonstrate how SDP training has helped transform teachers and coaches’ role and responsibility to begin acting with and on behalf of female youths’ future voice and human rights. Within this context, coaches and teachers use of communications and actions appears aimed at (a) promoting equal sport opportunities for girls and women, (b) confronting stereotypical gendered roles and norms, and (c) engaging with important stakeholders (e.g., parents) in their respective local communities. Findings suggest that female youth motivations to take up sport and physical activity may depend on the coaches and teachers’ personal experiences with gender discrimination (or empowerment), as well as parents’ belief in sports health, identity, and occupational benefits. This motivation may be impacted by having role models who are willing to advocate for sport or educational initiatives that aim to break down social barriers (Malnati et al., 2016; Meier, 2015; Moghadam, 2004).

Teaching Styles and Disciplinary Approaches.

In this study, participants reported changes to disciplining and limit-setting with youth who were experiencing conflicts, the adoption of growth-oriented teaching philosophies and a shift away from power-oriented or coercive techniques. For example, fewer coaches and teachers use physical punishment as their main disciplinary method following their involvement in an SDP education training program (Khateeb, 2015; Peter, 2010). To illustrate, one Tajik female coach revealed changes in herself, stating she had grown more patient with youths’ misbehavior:

I have even beaten my students before. I could not stand the bad behavior and so I practiced the violence. But now after this program and new educational rules (Ministry of Education strictly prohibited any violence towards kids) I do not use physical violence. …Now I try to explain them. (P1)

Male coaches and teachers also noted using less physical punishment as a method of disciplining young boys who were oftentimes stereotypically the main recipients of this form of discipline. For one Jordanian male teacher, this meant undertaking a personal and professional transformation:

In my first experience as a schoolteacher, if any student talks back at me shouting at me, maybe I use physical force. But after that I changed. After I did your [SDP] course, I changed myself. And my life. I know that in the past I wasn’t so good. (P19)

As a result of their involvement with the SDP program, participants in this study reported decreasing their use of physical punishment approaches to discipline and applying more positive and nonviolent coaching techniques. This supports existing research on training coaches and teachers guided by a philosophy of nonviolence (Rookwood & Palmer, 2011; Turnnidge et al., 2014).

Multiple participants highlighted a ‘humane-first, winning-second’ position as a salient feature to their practice as agents of positive social change. A male Tajik coach articulated his changed views on sports as an activity that was less about winning and more about fostering a team-first environment:

It’s okay if we lose and if we lose, we are still one team. We don’t have to make problems. He says that this isn’t only something you do in sports, but from [my] point of view sports is one place to start solving these types of problems. (P20)

This did not imply that coaches rejected the value of winning or promoting active competition. Rather, the coaches demonstrated a greater focus in reinforcing more internal rewards, such as optimizing a youth’s psychosocial development.

Changes in Youths’ Attitudes and Behaviors

Two sub-categories emerged from this conceptual category relating to changes personal and social coaches saw in their youth. These sub-categories relate to: (a) on the field and (b) off the field changes. Findings from this sub-category of codes were slightly less developed than other categories due to coaches’ own limited and biased recounting of specific success stories; nonetheless, these findings serve to describe some of the transformations observed by the coaches and teachers following the employment of implicit and explicit strategies while working with disaffected or disconnected youth.

On the Field

Coach and teacher participants recognized some changes in their youth in their clubs/programs since last participating in the SDP coaching training program. Different sources of information (i.e., anecdotal, word-of-mouth, observed) served as markers for deducing changes in youth’s attitudes, behaviors, and experiences. Participants shared examples of youth attitude/behavior changes included (a) increased openness to participate in sport activities intended to teach a transferable life skill; (b) approaching coaches and teachers to openly discuss social issues; (c) better regulating strong emotions that accompany competitive situations and sensitive topics; (d) modifying how youth conduct themselves in relationship with adults; and (e) managing negativity by reframing game losses or lack of playing time as learning opportunities. Coaches attributed changes to several factors, including their own deliberate application of lessons, strategies, and practices learned both independently and via SDP programs on how to instill peace or foster social change through sports.

Another finding revealed a rise in the number of girls actively and openly willing to participate in unfamiliar activities led by the coach. Participants reported that more girls were willing to challenge stereotypical labels and roles imposed upon them relating to participation in “male dominated” sports. Excerpts were offered relating to Muslim girls’ modifications on dress codes that had prevented them from participating in sports. In the words of one Tajik participant:

I am observing changes, the same thing though, you can’t change the person all at once. The situations are changing, but it is changing slowly. For example, there are more people, especially more girls, interested in football and in sports in general… girls are open to wearing the uniform, they are not feeling shy at all, before two, three years ago, it was almost impossible for a girl to wear a uniform, now they don’t feel as ashamed. (P11)

Increased female engagement in sport-specific activities has led coaches to observe how young girls approach the physical game differently, as previously young girls may have fixated on their own fragility or overlooked their own athletic competence. This approach contrasts with past approaches, as research generally indicates that gendered stereotypes concerning the expected physical style of play act as barriers to girls participating in male-dominated sports (Zipp & Nauright, 2018).

Off the Field

Only a few coaches elaborated with concrete and vivid examples of social changes in youth who had previously shown disaffected and disengaged attitudes and behaviors:

So, he [the boy] is living with his grandmother and he’s a really poor kid like they don’t have any money. So, he’s in 6th grade, [I] tried to help him [the boy]. So, I talked to the principal, and the principal said that he could have whatever kind of food he likes from the school for free. Sometimes they also make him lead and that changed him. Like the groups or sometimes during class. Like you [the boy] are responsible for what we are about to do here—to show him that he is just as important as others. In our team, I made him [the boy] the captain of the team. Sometimes I make him the one instead of [my] place [the coach]. They [the teammates] came and ask me their coach, and I would say no I am not your coach no longer, [the boy] is the coach. And that makes him fly in the clouds and feel so high and so by that his attitudes changed positively. (P22)

To become involved to this extent requires a highly attuned coach or teacher. This individual must be sensitive enough to register nonverbal signals communicated by a young person during an interaction. Beyond this, the coach or teacher then must choose to act compassionately within their capacity on these cues, with the hopes of conveying messages that can instill a sense of empowerment and belonging; this participant attributed his work with this student to his SDP training.

Dimension 2: Practical Strategies for Fostering Nonviolence

We found participants were still employing some of the methods learned in their SDP training. Participants reported the application of innovative practices to support their decision-making, in which they employed methods to prevent and transform conditions (e.g., power imbalances, rigid identities/positions, ideologies, fears, intolerance) that may precipitate, perpetuate, or transform interpersonal conflicts occurring amongst youth. Thus, researchers identified three sub-categories that were placed under Dimension 2: (a) peace education, (b) conflict transformation, and (c) SDP lessons.

Peace Education

When asked about which principles or skills from their SDP training they implemented with their youth, participants reflected on efforts to reduce and transform conflict through five identified sub-categories: equality/unity, respect and appreciation, teamwork/cooperation, empathetic listening, and tolerance. Each of these topics were addressed by their SDP curriculum. Because of the similarity of these concepts, they are discussed collectively instead of separately.

One coach from Jordan reflected on a moment with his youth where he acknowledged affirming young peoples’ inherent right to experience a sense of equality. Consequently, such moment gave rise to teamwork and cooperative behaviors:

On the pitch, when they play against anyone else, [I] want them to be like one team and to move this forward for the bigger picture. (P17)

Another coach hinted at a perspective consistent with the value of fairness, when he ensured youth on the team had an equal chance to develop their athletic abilities and share playing time:

I promote the feeling that we are all one and equal, no superior or inferior. Everyone gets a chance to play. Even the players who aren’t playing, they all get a chance to play. (P32)

Coaches also encouraged their youth to practice respect and appreciation for individual and collective differences. Coaches emphasized responding to individual differences with gratitude and appreciation to keep the peace and sustain focus on the matches and play. For example, one coach noted the regular use of thanking one’s opponent after a loss or when emotional reactions to perceived conflict surfaced:

And when they have a conflict … even if someone behaves towards you unfairly or badly say “thank you” to him. [I] advises [my] girls not to argue with them, just be calm peaceful, say ‘Thank you, Thank you. It’s okay, you’re right.’ The opposite side is shocked like ‘Why if we are arguing are they peaceful?’ This really works . . . My students win because [the youth] don’t spend time and efforts on arguing and fighting, they just play. Kids appreciated this method and use it in their daily life too. (P9)

In this study, coaches emphasized encouraging youth to make conscious choices on how to best deal with adverse game outcomes or conditions. They did this by offering alternative methods to fighting such as cultivating the attitudes of patience and cooperation amongst peers. For example, participants’ incorporation of equality and cooperation manifests in the form of granting youth equal opportunities to participate in sport activities. As such, coaches and teachers facilitating team sports and activities such as football are encouraged to give careful thought to the design of sport or physical activity programs for vulnerable, conflict-affected youth. This is not only important in relation to the goals and intervention strategies to be used (e.g., Blom et al., 2015; Svensson & Woods, 2017), but also in the skills the program aims for participants to develop (Danish, 2002).

Conflict Transformation

Participants described several ways of deliberatively but also indirectly helping youth to better handle emotional states and task-related situations that may provoke conflict, both on the field and off the field. These ideas were identified as: (a) shared sense of power, (b) autonomy-driven, (c) open dialogue, (d) teachable moments, (e) deliberate team meetings, and (f) corrective experiences. Multiple excerpts and quotes from both Jordanian and Tajik participants illustrate the formal and informal types of interactions coaches and teaches have within their team. These quotes also show the deliberative communicative team and individual meetings used to promote alternatives for minimizing the frequency, intensity, and impact of conflicts. In the words of one Tajik coach:

With preparation, how [we] avoid the conflicts is it starts before the match. [We] gather the team and talk to them, you [the youth] should behave fairly to your opponents. You shouldn’t fight with anyone. That’s why [we] don’t have a lot of conflicts because before the match start, [we] conduct talks. (P2)

Coaches also considered using their direct interactions with youth as a mean for offering support. For instance, one coach noted, “I share ideas with him and I give him my advice, don’t argue with someone, especially the teachers, and you have a problem, it’s not the right way to settle roles or fight him.” (P24)

Coaches also spoke about alerting youth of the consequences to instigating conflicts with teammates, opposing team members, or referees, as well as any conflict materializing off the field with parents, teachers, or other youth by setting and enforcing ground rules. In addition, coaches discussed the involvement of youth in improving the soccer practices. An example of this would involve a coach soliciting youth feedback on lessons learned during practice. This element is representative of an athlete-centered approach:

Like before the kids were not able to speak or voice their point of view. But after that we [the coaches] started to ask them questions “did you get any benefits from the training? What you got from this?” (P20)

These findings appear consistent with the literature on conflict resolution as one form of restorative practice, which often includes the value of holding formal or on-the-spot team and individual meetings (Hemphill et al., 2018). The basic premise behind team meetings held by coaches is that it provides individuals a space for formally addressing unacknowledged and unspoken tensions within the team (Hemphill et al., 2018). These findings point to the literature on open dialogue as an effective form of conflict resolution (Ungerleider, 2012; Yukelson, 1997).

SDP Lessons

Some participants within the study recounted their implementation of some of the conflict resolution activities and fun-recreational games, as learned from the SDP training they had participated in four years earlier. The most popular activities were the dentist game (a health game) and conflict resolution bench (Horrocks, 1978), as well as the conflict closed fist. Conflict resolution bench activity was cited as the most frequently used conflict resolution strategy. One coach noted:

One of the methods that I use is the conflict bench of making friendships. First, I call them and have them both sit over here and imagine a bench. And you solve this problem yourselves now. It depends on the situation, but about 5 minutes they sit and talk through it. They are both pretty aggressive usually back and forth, so about after 5 minutes they come to me? (P4)

Another participant drew from a group experience where he chose to implement the Closed Fist activity to experientially differentiate forms of communication used in peer or adult relationships:

Everyone, anyone who I used the exercise with did not know what I mean. Everyone tried to open the other persons hand (with force). And then I asked them/talked with them and say please can open your hands and everyone opened their hands, and everyone became happy. Then I said we can sit down to solve problems/conflict between each other not by using fighting but by talking about it. (P19)

For this coach, the Closed Fist activity helped to discern the effects of violent communication from nonviolent communication, and how the latter could be a more viable, alternative response that yields constructive relational outcomes. These results support SDP intervention studies that have been conducted to prepare and equip coaches and teachers with tools for conditioning young people with culture-specific skills; when carried out, they carry with them consequences increasing the probability that youth grow into equitable citizens and agents for positive social change within their communities (Blom et al., 2014, 2015; Spacey & Sudgen, 2016).

The use of fun recreational games within the sporting context was endorsed by several participants as another desirable and viable avenue for maintaining wonder and fulfilling needs for stimulation common to most young people. Using the words from one Tajik coach, “The kids don’t have free time to think about harming and conflict, sport is filling in that space and time (P22).” Several studies support the utility of sport programs in redirecting and minimizing attitudes and acts of violence (Burnett, 2010; Waardenburg, 2006; Whitley et al., 2013).