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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1388689
This article is part of the Research Topic Psychological Factors in Physical Education and Sport - Volume V View all 8 articles

Exploring Athletes' Experiences and Perspectives on an Educational Program for Athletes in the Pacific Islands

Provisionally accepted
Hee Jung Hong Hee Jung Hong *Sungkyung Kim Sungkyung Kim Brian Minikin Brian Minikin
  • University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This exploratory study aims to understand athletes' experiences and perceptions of the 'Voices of Athletes' (VOA), an athlete support program specifically designed and implemented in the Pacific Islands. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaires and short interviews, data were gathered from 414 athletes (questionnaires) and 104 athletes (interviews) during the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa. While a Chi-square test was used for quantitative analysis to assess the association between familiarity with the VOA and interest in learning more about the program, content and thematic analyses were employed to qualitatively examine participants' perceptions and attitudes towards the VOA. The Chi-square result indicated that although the majority of athletes were initially unfamiliar with the VOA, there was a significant association between familiarity and interest in learning more about the VOA. Accompanied by the results from the quantitative data analysis, the results of the content and thematic analysis demonstrate that athletes who participated in the VOA onsite reported positive experiences and acknowledged the program's benefits in terms of personal growth and development. Participants emphasized the educational and informative aspects of the VOA, highlighting its role in increasing athletes' awareness of contemporary social issues, empowering them to make informed decisions, and nurturing leadership skills within their communities. The results also highlighted the potential for integrating VOA into school curricula and using it as a model for support initiatives in other countries. Expanding the program could promote personal development, responsible decision-making, and leadership among a wider young population. Overall, the VOA offers significant benefits and has strong potential for broader application and customization across diverse environments. This can significantly contribute to the comprehensive growth of athletes and young people worldwide.

    Keywords: athlete personal development, educational program for athletes, sport in the pacific islands, Sport education, regional sport initiatives

    Received: 20 Feb 2024; Accepted: 12 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hong, Kim and Minikin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hee Jung Hong, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.