As the adolescent problems are recently increasing due to various reasons, the population of at-risk youth has also been increasing. At-risk youth are the ones who have high probability to be isolated from the mainstream groups and also have behavior problems. Currently, at-risk youth faces many risk factors particularly after-school time, but there are not enough after school programs to utilize the time meaningfully in Korea. In this situation, the after school sports program can provide a great alternative way in terms of an effective protection of students and an educational aspect. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the after school sports program on at-risk youth in Korea.
Method:
The participants of the study consisted of eight male middle school students (8th grade) in D city in Korea. The participants were selected among the top 10 % of at-risk students by using the revision of the Risk Screening Measures (Ku, et al, 2005). Among them, eight students were selected for qualitative research based on the consideration of their passion for participating in the sports program and the effectiveness of data collection. The method of the research includes class observation, participants’ journaling, and individual interviews. The data were collected twice per week for 10 weeks with the lessons of 20 times in total. The analysis of the data was performed through raw data transcribing, theme coding, and meaning generating steps. For the validity of analyzed data, peer debriefing, triangulation, and member checks were used.
Analysis/Results:
The results of the study regarding the effect of the after school sports program are the following: (1) the program has positive effect on the students’ adaptation in school. It helped the students to want to get involved in school activities, increased the will to study, improved the relationship with teachers by decreasing their negative attitudes, and established positive relationship with peers while avoiding at-risk student groups; (2) the program has positive effect on their ability to cope with the type of risks. The sports activities helped the students to develop their abilities to handle harmful environment or media and to control their compulsions; (3) the program has positive effect on the development of sociality by increasing self-confidence, interpersonal skills, positive thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Conclusions:
Further research on linking school to community is needed for examing the effects of after-school sport program