Critical Approaches to Youth Development through Sport

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to invite submissions for a Special Issue of Youth: Critical Approaches to Youth Development through Sport.

Within the youth development field, theories and concepts predominantly reinforce coloniality, whiteness and patriarchy, and normalize a white male identity. Despite calls for research that addresses the historical structural inequities in youth development, many studies continue to rely on approaches that center individual differences based on identity(ies), which, in turn, obscures, at best, and even denies systemic inequities. We continue to see race and/or gender-neutral frameworks in the literature which position those who identify as Black, Latino, Asian, Indigenous, and/or female and beyond the binary as others.

This Special Issue on “Critical Approaches to Youth Development through Sport” seeks research that moves beyond approaches that emphasize individual factors. We encourage scholars who have discarded the traditional, normative perspectives where youth are labeled as “at-risk” and “vulnerable.” We are expecting submissions that counter the idea that positive development occurs simply through sport programs providing spaces where youth who have been othered can temporarily avoid the environments that place them at a disadvantage, or “stay out of trouble.” And we seek work that enacts discourse and informs theory to examine the problematic focus on the individual navigation of discriminatory systems as developmental. We encourage submissions that not only challenge the field to examine the sociopolitical environment youth inhabit, but also demonstrate how scholars can engage in the transformation of the field.

The issue invites contributions from global researchers and practitioners in fields including, but not limited to, sociology, public health, health promotion, youth studies, human development, family studies, psychology, and sport and leisure studies. We welcome empirical research as well as conceptual pieces and encourage the use of critical frameworks and methodologies. We encourage participatory approaches where youth perspectives are centered.

Prof. Dr. Jennifer McGarry
Dr. Kolin Ebron
Dr. Roc Rochon
Dr. Jesse Mala
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Youth is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• youth development
• sport
• critical theory
• identity