Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10566/11259

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Browsing by Author "Lees, Marion Keim"

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    An analysis of the implementation of the National Sport and Recreation Plan in the Western Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2016) Bouah, Lyndon; de Coning, Christo; Lees, Marion Keim
    It is widely accepted that sport has the potential to serve as a tool for development as well as a catalyst for social and personal change. The National Department of Sport and Recreation (SRSA) has recognized the role that sport can play in building a better society in its recently published document the National Sport and Recreation Plan(NSRP). The aim of this study was to analyse the implementation of the NSRP in the Western Cape and to develop options for the improvement of the implementation of the National Sport and Recreation Plan in the Western Cape. The study analysed the factors that are necessary for an enabling environment to be successful to create an active and winning nation. By linking policy to implementation the study showed that the social benefits of sport can be extended to the broader social community. The fieldwork research was conducted with sport councils, sport federations, academy officials and senior government officials. The study found that the links between local, provincial and national government must be strengthened. The study further found that the level of commitment amongst the various spheres of government is not the same. The will may be there but the actual resources that must be committed is not readily made available. An important finding was that there appeared to be a lack of a nationally coordinated dedicated unit to champion the NSRP within SRSA. No reporting mechanism exists that will indicate to the general public and sport fraternity what the level of compliance is with the broad requirements of the NSRP. The 5-C protocol was used to analyse the NSRP and its current implementation within the Western Cape. Communication was considered as a future addition to augment the5-C protocol. The alignment between various national, provincial and local spheres of government was found to be lacking. It is recommended that the NSRP be brought into the annual performance plans, strategic plans, medium term expenditure framework and performance agreements of departments and senior management. It was found that the voluntary nature of organisations may act as a hindrance to the implementation of the NSRP. It is foreseen that the outcome of the study will assist in benchmarking best practices for implementation. The recommendations proposed by this study will provide options for laying the foundation for the successful implementation of the National Sport and Recreation Plan in South Africa.
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    Combining sport and mediation skills for community healing. A multiple case study of two post-conflict communities in South Africa and Zimbabwe
    (University of the Western Cape, 2014) Chikwanda, Clever; Lees, Marion Keim
    This paper argues that post conflict communities need capacity to effectively deal with violent conflicts. This study therefore examines avenues through which sport can be used as a catalyst for mediation programmes in Zimbabwe and South Africa, to address sustainable community healing. This will capacitate communities with the skills to mediate and resolve their own conflicts, thereby contributing to knowledge and changing the paradigm of post-conflict community healing. Grounded in the structural functionalist theory and John Paul Lederach’s Multilevel Leadership pyramid, this study was carried out in Mfuleni, Western Cape and Highfields, Harare, where mediation training for sport participants, community coaches, sports men and women were carried out. It was assessed at all the stages using the qualitative research methodology. This study discovered many benefits derived from the sport and mediation training. However, successful implementation of sport and mediation training in post-conflict communities can face challenges around language, different ways of interpreting terms and related issues by stakeholders; the extreme dominance of religion; superstition and use of magic in sport; lack of acceptance in communities on issues around age and gender, owing to patriarchy. It also noted that the school system is replete with loopholes that threaten the security of learners. Also, the school system is caught in the net of propagating patriarchal values, albeit in subtle ways. As such, the need to take all these into consideration cannot be overemphasised
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    An exploration and evaluation of mechanisms on the role of sport in post-conflict racial reconciliation and integration : the post-apartheid South African context
    (University of the Western Cape, 2016) Asihel, Solomon Ghebremedhin; Lees, Marion Keim
    Sport has both uniting and dividing features, often manifesting contradictory outcomes in terms of conflict or co-operation. Sport is a social construct and its role and function depends largely on what society makes of it, and how it is consumed by society. If sport’s potential is to unfold, the dividing features should be guarded against and the desired positive effects must be furthered. The aim of this study is twofold; on the one hand, the study focuses on evaluating the post-apartheid South Africa’s experience, of reconciliation through Sport Intervention Programs (SIPs), and on the other hand, the study explores mechanisms through which sport can serve as a vehicle to integrate racialized South African youth identities with the aim of promoting, reconciliation and integration for change. The study identified 12 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that are facilitating grassroots sport initiatives that use sport as a platform to combat social issues in previously marginalised communities of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to identify12 focus group discussions, consisting of 10participants in each group, ranging from 14-20 years, totaling 100 youth as well as another group of 13 respondents for semi-structured interviews, ranging from 25-68 years old, which include sport managers, coaches/officials, role models, government and UN officials, who contributed to the SIPs and their organizations in different capacities. Both the discussion groups and face-to-face interviews were conducted on a voluntary basis. Thematic content analysis was carried-out to analyse the data. This study explored existing theories, literature, and good intervention practices, and has established the relative interlinkages between sport and peace-building, as pivotal to the ongoing scholarly debates in the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). From the findings, reconciliation and integration through SIPs may require a unique method in the holistic approach for transformation and social change in post-1994. From the findings in this study, the SIPs’ effort and approaches highlighted a number of positive inroads. The majority of the discussion groups and face-to-face interviewees felt the desire to have a united and non-racial South Africa. Within the discussion group, the notion of the ‘Rainbow Nation’ emerged as a ‘counter discourse’, and, a reaction to the apartheid discourse ‘racial segregation’, both discourses found to have impacts on the youth identities. The youth participants also referred as ‘Born Frees’ are still deeply marked by their racialized past, but they also showed a drive to make a different present, and a new future. From the findings, the SIPs foci of learning by doing, such as team cohesion on the field, and peace education off the field were found instrumental in building relationship. Networking, non-violent conflict resolution, and collaboration for shared goals, which reduced, negative perceptions among the South African racialized youth, at personal and relational level. However, the structural and cultural dimensions require multiple changes at all societal levels. The interconnection of the hierarchies of change in relation to the program in-put, out-puts and outcomes, on how the attitudes and behaviours of the individual youth are expected to change by the SIPs, and how these personal changes are sought to change the structural, and cultural practices, within the programme design, monitoring and evaluation of the SIPs were found unclear, and under-developed. The reflexive learning within the current research process postulate that, first, conflict resolution, racial integration and reconciliation within the SIPs endeavors is characterized by a complex set of factors and dynamic forces on the ground such as race relations and social change. As such, a systems approach is necessary to approach this field in comprehensive manner. The present research study shows that a model is required that needs to integrate the various elements in a comprehensive fashion to promote reconciliation, conflict resolution, peace and development. Secondly, the SIPs may serve as a platform and provide contextual mechanism for conflict resolution, and this study discovered that the ‘theory of change approach’ is an effective tool to unpack the change process between the SIPs’ activities and its ultimate goal. Thirdly the genuine effort of SIPs and its NGOs in the lives of the future leaders is well articulated; however, they seem to confront a problem way bigger than their capacity, which involves power and massive resources. The fieldwork experience from the present study, commends the SIPs’ culture of networking, and collaboration can only be enhanced when it is framed by the ‘scaling-up’ strategy developed by Lederach et al. for wider social impact, and,sustainability. In light of the findings, while the above three imperatives considered as an original contribution to the existing knowledge in the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP), it also concluded by providing possible recommendations that may guide sport practitioners to effectively design, implement, monitor and evaluate programmes and the SIPs’ in post-apartheid South Africa, in Africa and beyond.
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    Sport for development and peace in communities: A case study of the ‘sport for peace and social transformation programme’ in Uasin Gishu, Kenya
    (University of the Western Cape, 2021) Mariga, Erick; Lees, Marion Keim; De Coning, Christo
    This study examined the role of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) in peacebuilding, focussing particularly on the case of the Kenya Community Sports Foundation’s (KESOFO) Sport for Peace and Social Transformation (SPST) programme in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. It was meant to provide an in-depth understanding of the role generally played by community NGO programmes in fostering peace in communities through variations of the SDP framework. Additionally, the study’s purpose was to identify lessons of experience from the programme and give recommendations on how the programme can be improved in delivering its stated goal of fostering peace and development in conflict prone communities. The study made use of Johan Galtung’s 3Rs Conflict transformation theory, linking it with the Sports for Development and Peace (SDP) framework, with a critical analysis being proffered all in the quest to inform conceptualisation of this particular study. It made use of the philosophical assumption of interpretivism through relativist ontology and qualitative research methodology anchored on a descriptive approach.