Master's Degree - Youth Development

Course Information
Youth, Sports & Society*

Course Description
Sports and athletic activities are deeply connected to one’s life. Regardless of one’s athletic status (professional or amateur), level (grassroots, regional, national, or international), and other facets of engagement, sports are such a vital part of one’s life that we rarely think about them even when we participate in them as spectators, fans, or players. In reality, however, decisions we make with sports greatly affect not only the way we experience sports but also the way we develop as individuals throughout our lifespan. How we are and are not engaged in sports impacts our development as individuals. This is to say that our relationship to sports is bilateral, i.e. we affect sports and sports affect us. Simultaneously, critically examining sports and society helps us better understand what we value, how we become who we are, and how we may be able to realize social justice in a larger social context. Because of these strong ties between us and sports, this course will specifically examine our relationships to sports and how the context of sport engagement contributes to individual development. On one level, its focus is on youth development. How can we use sports to contribute to positive youth development? How do team and individual sports affect the developmental growth of children, youth, and emerging adults? On another level, however, in order to discuss the relationship between youth development and sports, we must examine various contexts in which sports and we interact. For example, how do policies related to sports affect us? How do families and communities impact sports and how are they impacted by sports? In addition, this course will also explore how sports are a vital part of our identity development, as well as a way to combat one’s marginalized status. The course is designed for both researchers and practitioners. Real-world questions will be discussed in a way that is scholarly well-informed.
Contacts
Instructor

Yuya Kiuchi
Office: 517-355-7680
Fax: 517-432-2953
kiuchiyu@msu.edu

Campus Coordinator

For course access questions, contact the teaching university’s campus coordinator. For enrollment questions, contact your home university campus coordinator.
View the Campus Coordinator Directory >>

Disability Support Services

To request accommodations for this course, contact the disability support office at your home university. You must register each semester and for each course. Read more about the Great Plains IDEA process for requesting accommodations.


Textbooks

APA Publication Manual
American Psychological Association
Edition: 7th
ISBN: 978-1433832161

Until it hurts: America’s obsession with youth sports and how it harms our kids
Hyman, M.
Edition: 2010
ISBN: 978-0807021194
Publisher: Beacon Press, Boston

The most expensive game in town: The rising cost of youth sports and toll on today’s families.
Hyman, M.
Edition: 2013
ISBN: 978-0807001448
Publisher: Beacon Press, Boston


Course Access
 
Approximately three weeks before the semester begins, the Registrar's Office enrolls the student in the class and assigns them a student number (PID) and 4 digit passcode (PAN). These are sent to the student in two separate emails using the email address listed in ExpanSIS. The student must use the PID and PAN to activate their MSU email address. After 24-48 hours, the student can access the class through the course management system. The course information pages are sent multiple times to any and all e-mail addresses listed for the student in ExpanSIS.

Exam Proctor

This course does not require an exam proctor.

Synchronous Components

This course does not include synchronous components.


Comments

Recommended Texts (no need to buy):
Sport and physical activity across the lifespan: Critical perspectives. Dionigi, R. A. & Gard, M. (2018) (This is available on www.lib.msu.edu. Read chapters as you see fit.)

The national youth sport strategy. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). (This is available on D2L. Read chapters as you see fit.)

University Members
Members of the Great Plains IDEA are universities accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Member universities recruit, admit and graduate students, teach in an academic program and contribute to the leadership and maintenance of the alliance. Membership in the alliance is a selective process that engages institutional leadership at all levels.

Wearbon_Kristen_Headshot_for_Website1.pngThe online Family and Community Services Program is teaching me to observe, evaluate, and assist families using a strengths-based approach. In my previous role as alumni advisor, one of my responsibilities was speaking with parents from various backgrounds to prepare them for their scholar's graduation and matriculation. Using what I learned in Resilience in Families and Family Resource Management I was able to highlight families' assets and internal resources to help them help their scholar succeed, in addition to providing them with new information and external resources. All of my courses have contributed in some way to how I now approach my work and interact with those close to me. I am a better employee, sister, daughter, friend, and mentor because of the online Family and Community Services program!

– – Kristen Wearbon, Family and Community Services Student,
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