ABSTRACT
This
study was undertaken to examine the factors inhibiting the growth and
development of sports in secondary schools in Esan West Local Government Area
of Edo State. The survey research design was used in carrying out the study.
Three (3) research questions were raised to guide the study. A questionnaire
was designed by the researcher and validated by the supervisor which was
administered to the respondents for the generation of data. However, a total of
one hundred (108) respondents comprising both male and female students were
selected through simple random sampling method to generate the sample size. The
data collected from both were analyzed using tables, frequency count and simple
percentage. The major findings of the study include: Lack of funds is one of
the major challenges inhibiting the growth and development of sports in
secondary schools in Esan West Local Government Area. It was found that the
lack of qualified sports personnel is another major problem of secondary school
sports development as well as inadequate facility and equipment. The following
recommendations were made: Various school authorities should ensure that all
personnel assume professional responsibility for sports. The federal government
should ensure that there is a functional and effective sports development
policy which statutory provision will be duly implemented so as to accommodate
the needs, interests and aspiration of sports participants.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title
Page- - - - - - - - - i
Certification-
- - - - - - - iii
Dedication- - - - - - - - - iv
Acknowledgement- - - - - - - v
Abstract- - - - - - - - - viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study-
Statement
of problem-
Purpose
of the Study- -
Research
Questions- -
Scope
of the Study- -
Limitation
of the Study -
Significance
of the Study
Definition
of Terms- -
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
Conceptual framework-
Sports and sports development
Constraints to sports development
Theoretic framework -
Theory of constraint (TOC)
Empirical studies on constraints to sports development
-
Summary of Literature review
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Research
Design of the study -
Population
of the study- -
Sample
and Sampling Technique-
Research
Instrument- -
Validity
-
Reliability
Method of Data Collection -
Method
of Data analysis -
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Discussion
of Findings -
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Conclusion-
Recommendations
-
REFERENCES-
Appendix-
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Sports are very popular all over the world because of
the diverse purposes they serve. Onifade (2011) states that sports as a social
institution teaches and reinforces societal beliefs, norms and values, thereby
assisting in socializing athletes into major cultural and social behaviour
patterns in various societies. Bucher and Krotee (2012) opined that sports
contribute to character building, discipline, economy, ideology, patriotism,
education, mental development, human communication, physical fitness, and
health. Sports competitions, seminars, conferences and meetings of various
types provide the opportunity for individuals from different countries to
exchange ideas and knowledge, which in turn, would be of immense benefit in
educating the citizens of their countries. Morakinyo (2012) observed that
sports as a social phenomenon has grown from its humble beginning of being an
entertainment and recreation pastime to become a visible and prominent business
phenomenon that could no longer be ignored in the social, political and economic
environment of any nation.
Many great nations and societies of the world have
realized that participation in sports is the key to a healthy development of
their citizens, and have used it to develop their young ones, attaining a
success that science, religions and politics have failed to achieve. Sporting
activities have as well permeated the Nigerian society just as many other
societies worldwide and also all aspects of societal life such as politics and
religion. Awosika (2013) described sports as a symbol that has become a
unifying factor in Nigeria and views it as an essential ingredient for nation
building, which cuts across all barriers-ethnic, religious or social, and has
served as a medium for the development of youths.
Cowell and Schwehn (2015) conceptualized sports as
any particular play, game, or mode of amusement, as well as other similar
activities. Hornby (2012) defined sports as outdoor or indoor game,
competition, or activity carried on by rules and needing bodily effort or
skill. Onifade (2013) viewed sports as an institutionalized competitive
activity that involves vigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively
complex physical skill by individuals. Sports in the context of this study are
defined as games and plays of low and high organization within the secondary
school setting. Such games and plays may or may not be competitive but may
encourage greater students’ participation.
The relevance and importance of sports to National
development has made sports development a sin-qua-non to the attainment of the
goals of sports in the society. The Federal Republic of Nigeria Sports
Development Policy (2009), defined sports development as the process of
continuous improvement of the sport structure, institution, and programmes in
order to create a societal condition conducive to physical fitness for all and
for effective functioning and self-actualization. Collins (2015) defined sports
development as a process whereby effective opportunities, processes, systems
and structures are set up to enable and encourage people in all or particular
groups and areas to take part in sport for recreation or to improve their
performance to whatever level they desire. Explaining the concept of sports
development, Sheitima (2014) claimed that development must involve a movement
from the old to the new and implies that this is progressive. In other words,
sports development is about creating new and better ways of doing things in
sports. In the context of the present study, sports development is defined as
the provision of standard facilities and equipment, qualified personnel,
adequate funding as well as an effective school sports policy that can
accommodate the needs, interests, and aspirations of the participants. The Federal Republic of Nigeria Sports Development
Policy (1989), segmented sports development into five distinct components:
international sports, indigenous sports, stadium management, sports federations
and institutional sports.
International Sports arises because sports regularly
cross international boundaries. Defining International sports as having an
impact on more than one nation, Master Alexis,
Barr and Hums (2011) noted that it is extremely difficult to name sports
that are unaffected by international
influences. On this note it becomes imperative that sports development in
Nigeria should be geared towards meeting international standard.
Indigenous sports refer to traditional sports and
games that have been practiced in Nigeria all over the years, even before
colonialism and western education. The traditional sports and games then were
basically for leisure and recreational activities, some of which reflect the
cultural heritage and religious background of the people in Nigeria in general.
Akinemi (2012). Some examples of indigenous sports in Nigeria include Ayo (Seed
game), Langa (Hopping game), Kokawa (Traditional wrestling), Aarin (African
billiards game), and Dambe (Traditional boxing). Indigenous sports encourage
indigenous people to be more active and to play sport at all levels. It works
to increase opportunities for indigenous people to learn the skills needed to organize,
deliver, and manage community based sports, and to ensure that talented
indigenous sports people are able to access the support they need to reach
their sporting goals even in the absence of properly constructed sports
facilities.
Sports Federations are the organizations governing a
specific sport within each country. Examples of sports federation in Nigeria
include the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Athletic Federation of Nigeria
(AFN), and Traditional Sports Federation of Nigeria (TSFN) among others. These
organizations are responsible for approving and sanctioning competitions open
to all athletes in the country. They set the national policies and eligibility
standards for participation in their respective sports. Sports federations are
also responsible for the training, development, and selection of teams in their
respective sports for various competitions in various institutions.
Sports development in Nigeria has witnessed a lot of
metamorphosis from the colonial, pre-independence to independence eras. Prior
colonial incursion, dancing, acrobatic displays and wrestling featured
prominently as part of ceremonies in Nigerian societies (Ikulayo, 2014). Modern
competitive sports were introduced to Nigeria mainly by the British Christian
missionaries. Sports were organized on recreational basis in the schools, but
were later held competitively as part of the British Empire day celebrations.
In 1910, school competitions started in Ibadan, western Nigeria to vie for the
Rowden shield, presented by the former Director of Education in Southern
province of Nigeria, Mr. E.G. Rowden. In the Western provinces, the first
inter-school sports meeting was organized in 1919 for the peace challenge
shield competition held an armistice day to commemorate the signing of the
armistice, which ended the First World War on 11 November 1918. In 1933, Selwyn
Grier, the Director of Education of the Western province donated Grier shield
that was first competed for by colleges, namely Kings college, Lagos,
Government college, Ibadan, St. Andrews college Oyo and Baptist College,
Ogbomoso. The British, in their effort to strengthen the ties between Northern
and Southern Nigeria started the Hussey shield competition in 1933. The
competition was named after E. R .J. Hussey, the National Director of
Education. (Uti and Ojeme, 2012). The fortunes of this and many other
competitions in particular and sports development in Nigeria in general has
been affected by several constraints.
A constraint according to Hornby (2017) is a thing
that limits or restricts. Quirk (2003) perceived constraint as something that
limits ones freedom of doing what he wants to do. In the context of this study,
constraints to sports development refer to those things such as lack of
qualified sports personnel, adequate and suitable facilities and equipment
among others that limit the development of sports in secondary schools in
Ibadan Education Zone of Oyo state.
Available records on development of sports in Nigeria
showed that following the landmark independence of Nigeria in 1960, government
started taking initiatives such as the introduction of the Nigeria School
Sports Federation in 1976 to emphasize the relevance of sports to nation
building (Abeku,2012). An important instrument for the attainment of the above
objective would have been emphasizing the implementation of the regular school
sport system and its physical education programme at all levels of schooling
(primary, secondary and tertiary). School sports constitute an important and
inseparable stage in the pursuit of long term development objectives of sports,
the athlete, the national and sports organizations (Vencateswarlu,2018).
The secondary schools as one of the levels of
schooling in Nigeria are made up of students who are predominantly in their
early adolescent years between the ages 10-16 years. Musa (2011) noted that
secondary school age bracket constitute the critical period for acquisition and
mastery of sports skills. This is a unique and fascinating period in human
development because students are usually in their formative period of
development. Therefore, Secondary school sports is seen as a promising setting
to encourage adolescents to begin and maintain a physically active life style
and also to acquire and develop high
standard skills for major games and sports
Secondary school sports connote competitions
particularly in football, athletics and a few popular sports. This is so
because of the objective of the philanthropists who always donated cup or
shields to boys or girls schools or to individual sports and schools where
houses are named after them. Examples of such competitions were the Hussey
Shield and Grier cup competitions; these are inter-scholastic competitions
which were organized annually for secondary schools. Both competitions started
in 1933. The former was organized for all secondary schools in Nigeria, while
the latter was organized for secondary schools in Western provinces and Lagos.
Also, the Morocco-Clarke cricket competition was organized for all secondary
schools in Nigeria. (Umedum, Okafor&Azubike, 2014). These inter- school
competitions produced some of the finest national athletes in Nigeria. Even
after the attainment of independence, the competitions continued to exists, but
the search for a more unifying factor for a segregated nation like Nigeria,
soon found these competitions inadequate. Therefore to bring about enhanced
growth and development in sports in
Nigeria,the Nigerian School Sports Federation (NSSF) was proposed and
inaugurated for the control and organization of all school sports in the
country in 1976 (Uti&Ojeme 2010). The first sports meet under NSSF was held
the same year, and they have since then been held annually. These meets not
only helped to foster national unity among Nigerian citizens but also encourage
the development of good sportsmanship among the athletes at the grass root
level and the discovery of sports talents in the secondary schools. (Ladani
2012, FRN, 20104).
There may be however, some variables that can impinge
on the developmental process of sports in secondary schools generally and in
Ibadan Education Zone of Oyo state in particular. One of such variables is
provision of qualified personnel. According to Morakinyo and Aluko (2010), the
administration of any organization is a function that requires personal/professional
preparation on the part of the personnel. Sport is a technical area that
requires adequate preparation for those that will manage it at any level.
Therefore in choosing personnel for sports programmes in secondary school,
certain principles must be borne in mind; such principles include
qualification, personality, interest and experience. The administration of
sports programme in the secondary school is majorly the responsibility of the
physical education teachers who usually serve as game masters or mistresses.
These physical education teachers have significant roles to play in the
development of sports in secondary schools. Sonmez (2012) observed that a
teacher is the firm foundation supporting the new generations in any country to
keep up with changing economic, political, and socio- cultural lives, which may
include sports programmes in secondary schools.
Formulation of policy is essential to the efficient
administration of any sports organization. In
Nigeria, government policies usually affect sports development. This is
as a result of having inappropriate policies in place to serve as a standing
plan or guide in general terms of how sports organizations will run and how its
activities are to be conducted. Many of the government policies as they relates
to sports development have not been fully implemented. This of course impinges
on the development of sports because policies are developed from mission
statement, which when properly implemented would be the basis for establishing
all aspects of the operational procedures in sports.
Another variable that can effect development of
sports in secondary schools is funding. For meaningful development of sports in
secondary schools, adequate funding needs to be guaranteed. The sources of
fund, sourcing for fund, and management of funds are all variables under
funding that affect development of sports in secondary schools. All will be
considered in the present study.
Bucher, Koening and Barnhard(2010), stated that no
physical education and sport can effectively be carried out without adequate
facilities and equipment. It is obvious that ideal facilities and equipment,
and a good educational programme complement each other in the successful
development of sports in secondary school. However, sports facilities and
equipment in Nigerian secondary schools are in pitiable situation and in most
cases, they are not in existence (Okosun, 2010). This of course is a major
constraint to the development of sports. This study will also seek to examine
whether or not the provision and maintenance of facilities and equipment for
the development of sports in secondary schools are constraints.
Principals, physical education teachers, and game
prefects in various secondary schools were included in the present study. They
are those directly faced with the administration and management of sports in
their schools. The principals in their monitory and supervisory roles of sports
in their schools, are usually confronted with certain constraints for the
development of sports such as those associated with funding, facilities and
equipment etc. The administration of sports programme in the secondary school
is majorly the responsibility of the physical education teachers. They usually
serve as game masters and game mistresses in their various schools and as a
result have significant roles to play in the development of sports (Nji2010).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Report of the Vision 2020 National Technical
Working Group on Sports Development (2019) recognized the weaknesses that exist
in the conduct and organization of sports in Nigeria and Nigerian schools in
particular, and recommended among others statutory provisions such as to
enhance sports development in schools and communities. The Nigerian sports
structure is such that the secondary school offers the main sporting
opportunities for her citizens and it is the key for early discovery of talented
athletes. Onifade (2010) explained that this opportunity for organized sports
at the secondary school level is most logical, especially as many Nigerians
appear to terminate their formal education at the secondary school level. In
light of the background, this study seeks to examine the factors inhibiting the
growth and development of sports in secondary schools in Esan West Local
Government Area of Edo State.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to examine the factors
inhibiting the development of sports in secondary schools in Esan West Local
Government Area of Edo State.Specifically, the study seeks to:
·
Examine the factors affecting the
development/growth of secondary school sports
·
Examine the availability of Sports personnel for
development of sports in secondary schools in Esan West Local Government Area
of Edo State.
·
Examine
the place of Government policy on development of sports in secondary schools in
Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
RESEARCH QUESTION
The following research questions were raised to guide
this study;
1.
What are the factors affecting the growth and development of secondary
school sports?
2. Is the availability of
sports personnel a factor inhibiting the growth and development of secondary
school sports?
3. How does government policy
affect the growth and development of sports in secondary school?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be
beneficial in the following ways:
·
The data generated from this study will provide
the basis for development of a package for government, sports administrators,
and athletes on how to eliminate or reduce theconstraints to sports development.
·
It will enable school administrators and sport
ministries to see the need for training and re- training of secondary school
physical education teachers (game masters/mistresses) to cope with the changing
trend in sports.
·
It will reveal the place of government policy in
the growth and development of secondary school sports.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is delimited to examining the factors
inhibiting he growth and development of secondary school sports in Esan West
Local Government Area Edo State
LIMITATIONS
The
researcher will encounter some problems in the course of this study. These problems include lack of sufficient time
and financial constraints. Failure, of respondents to return all administered
questionnaire, and Irregular
completion of the questionnaires which may lead to rejection
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Sport: This is an activity
involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes
against another or others for entertainment
Development: This is a process
that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical,
economic, environmental, social and demographic components.
Sport personnel: These are
trained persons that undergoes raining in the profession
Evaluation: Evaluation is a
systematic determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using
criteria governed by a set of standards.
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