Social and Emotional Learning Through a Sports-Based Youth Development Program Grounded in a Hybrid Model-Based Practice

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the student’s experiences of social and emotional learning in a community-based youth soccer program grounded in the hybridization of the teaching personal and social responsibility model and the cooperative learning model. Methods: This research was guided by a case study design. Qualitative data were collected over 28 weeks. Twenty-three children (n = 23) participated in the study. Eleven individual interviews, six focus group interviews, two rounds of student drawing activities, and 22 researcher’s self-reflection journals were taken during the program. Inductive analysis and constant comparison were used for data analysis. Results: Four themes were drawn from the collected data: trying your best, respecting each other, learning and working as a team, and making your responsibilities at home and school. Conclusion: The study provided evidence that the hybridization of teaching personal and social responsibility and cooperative learning could be an effective pedagogical approach for students’ social and emotional learning development in sports-based youth development programs.