Character of Champions: An Intervention Using the Power of Soccer to Inspire Character Development​

TWCF0513
  • TWCF Number:

    0513

  • Project Duration:

    June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2022

  • Core Funding Area:

    Character Virtue Development

  • Priority:

    Global Innovations for Character Development

  • Region:

    The Bahamas

  • Amount Awarded:

    $231,166

  • Grant DOI*:

    https://doi.org/10.54224/20513

  • *A Grant DOI (digital object identifier) is a unique, open, global, persistent and machine-actionable identifier for a grant.

Director: Edward Bethel

Institution: University of The Bahamas

Directed by Dr. Edward Bethel, this project will develop and evaluate an after-school, sports-based character development program for Bahamian youth. The program aims to instill hope, perseverance, and responsibility in children (ages 9-12) from inner-city neighborhoods. The project will also examine the impact of the program on coaches.

The curriculum will be based on five pillars:

  1. selection and training of character coaches, who will deliver the intervention faithfully and model good character, specifically hope, responsibility and perseverance;
  2. integration of character education with soccer skills training;
  3. in-practice reflection, where players reflect on how the soccer skills represent character strengths, and how the broader world of sports can encourage good or bad behavior;
  4. out-of-practice transfer, where players reflect in their log books on their character development and transfer to daily life; and
  5. off-field “Character Studios” on the second weekend each month, where all players come together for character goal-setting and sharing sessions.

The study will take the form of quantitative group experimental designs that study 288 children and include observations, self-reports and focus groups.

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