Fostering Youth Female Athletes' Decision-Making Skills through Competitive Volleyball: A Mixed Methods Design.

Decision-making is one of the most important life skills for young athletes to succeed in their daily lives and can be improved through Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs. Although the application of this type of programs has increased within educational and recreational sports, there is a lack of research relating PYD through competitive sports. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine whether an intervention with competitive female youth players improves their decision-making. A hybrid PYD program was applied (37 trainings and 14 games) using convergent mixed methods. 15 girls (8-10 years) and a male coach participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews and field notes were used to collect qualitative data and the Decision-Making Style in Sport questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The results showed a positive perception of the improvement in decision-making in both the players and the coach; however, there was no statistical significance between the pretest and the posttest, and the integration between qualitative and quantitative data was mostly discrepant. Despite the lack of significance in the statistical analysis, the findings suggest that the intervention program appears to have beneficial effects on the development of decision-making skills in the players.

Personal and Social Responsibility Development in a Volleyball Hybrid Positive Youth Development Program: A Mixed Methods Approach.

Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs are being used to foster holistic growth in children and adolescents. The hybridized application of two or more programs of this type has acquired special relevance in recent years. Although their application is common in the school context, there are few research studies that attempt their implementation in an extracurricular context. This study analyzed the effects of an intervention based on a hybrid PYD program on personal responsibility (PR) and social responsibility (SR) in youth volleyball players in an extracurricular context. A hybrid program was applied during the competitive season, with a total of 37 sessions with 30 girl students (15 experimental and 15 control) aged between 8 and 10 years (M = 8.87, SD = 0.82). A convergent mixed methods design was applied to integrate the following: (a) semi-structured interviews and field notes and (b) personal and social responsibility questionnaires. The results indicated that the implementation of the hybrid program appeared to yield a positive perception of learning in both the participants and the coach. Although there were no statistically significant intergroup or intragroup differences, the findings suggest that the hybrid program seems to be effective in fostering PR and SR in youth girl volleyball players.

Diseño, implementación y evaluación de un programa de actividades en la naturaleza para promover la responsabilidad personal y social en alumnos de formación profesional / / Concepção, implementação e avaliação de um programa de actividades na natureza para promover a responsabilidade pessoal e social em alunos de formação profissional / Desing, implementation and assessment of an outdoor activities programme to promote personal and social responsibility in professional training students

El propósito del estudio fue evaluar los cambios producidos en relación a la responsabilidad personal y social, tras el diseño e implementación de un programa de actividades en la naturaleza (basado en el modelo de responsabilidad de Hellison y en la pedagogía de la aventura), en alumnado del ciclo formativo en conducción de actividades físico-deportivas en el medio natural. Se utilizó de forma complementaria el diseño cuasi experimental (analizando los cambios en la responsabilidad personal y social de un grupo experimental de 21 alumnos/as y un grupo control de 22 alumnos/as) y el estudio de casos (evaluando la percepción sobre el aprendizaje del alumnado y profesorado del grupo experimental). El programa se implementó durante 5 meses, 15 horas/semana, por tres profesores/as, en tres módulos profesionales diferentes. Los instrumentos empleados fueron: el cuestionario de responsabilidad personal y social (que se aplicó antes y después de la intervención), y la entrevista individual semiestructurada, (que se empleó tras la intervención). Al cuestionario se le aplicó un análisis estadístico descriptivo y posteriormente la generalización de estimación de ecuaciones. Mientras que las entrevistas se analizaron siguiendo el análisis sociológico de sistemas de discursos. Los resultados obtenidos en el cuestionario muestran efectos positivos sobre la responsablidad personal y social en los alumnos del grupo experimental. Estos resultados coinciden con la percepción del alumnado y profesorado del grupo experimental, obtenidos a través de las entrevistas. Por tanto, es posible concluir que existe una relación positiva entre el programa diseñado y los efectos producidos sobre los alumnos/as (AU)

The purpose of this study was to assess the changes produced regarding personal and social responsibility upon the design and implementation of an outdoor activities programme (based on the Hellison responsibility model and on Pedagogy of Adventure), in students in the performance of outdoor physical and sports activities. A quasi-experimental design was used in a supplementary way (analysing the changes in personal and social responsibility in an experimental group of 21 students and a control group of 22 students) as well as case studies (assessing the perception on the learning of the students and teachers in the experimental group). The programme was implemented dor 5 months, 15 hours per week, by three teachers in different professional modules. The instruments applied were: the personal and social responsibility questionnaire (applied before and after the intervention), and the semi-structured individual interview (applied after the interview). A descriptive statistical analysis was applied to the questionnaire and later also the generalized estimating equations. The interviews were analysed according to the sociological discourse systems theory. The results obtained in with the questionnaire show positive effects on the personal and social responsibility in the experimental group students. These results coincide with the experimental group students and teachers’ perception, obtained through the interviews. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that there is a positive connection between the designed programme and the effects produced on the students (AU)

O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar as alterações produzidas em relação à responsabilidade pessoal e social após a criação e implementação de um programa de actividades na natureza (baseado no modelo de responsabilidade de Hellison e na pedagogia da aventura) em alunos do ciclo formativo na condução de actividades físico-desportivas na natureza. Foi utilizado, de forma complementar, o desenho quasi-experimental (analisando as alterações na responsabilidade pessoal e social de um grupo experimental de 21 alunos/as e um grupo de controlo de 22 alunos/as) e o estudo de casos (avaliando a percepção sobre a aprendizagem dos alunos/as e profesores/as do grupo experimental). O programa foi implementado durante 5 meses, 15 horas por semana, por três profesores/as e em três módulos profissionais diferentes. Os instrumentos aplicados foram: o questionário de responsabilidade pessoal e social (aplicado antes e depois da intervenção) e a entrevista individual semi-estruturada (aplicada após a intervenção). Foi aplicada uma análise estatística descritiva ao questionário e posteriormente equações de estimação generalizada. Por sua vez, as entrevistas foram analisadas seguindo a análise sociológica de sistemas do discurso. Os resultados obtidos no questionário evidenciam efeitos positivos sobre a responsabilidade pessoal e social nos alunos/as do grupo experimental. Estes resultados coincidem com a percepção dos alunos/as e profesores/as do grupo experimental, obtida através das entrevistas. Deste modo, é possível concluir que existe uma relação positiva entre o programa desenhado e os efeitos produzidos sobre os alunos/as (AU)