Expecting too much? Can Indigenous sport programmes in Australia deliver development and social outcomes?

Abstract

Sport holds a special place in the national psyche of many nations with claims for sport being far reaching. More recently sport has been identified as a development and an educational tool in the areas of health and behaviour modification. Against the backdrop of the Close the Gap blueprint for Indigenous Australians and within the context of competing claims for sport, this paper discusses whether sport can genuinely contribute to community development in Indigenous Australian communities. Drawing on cases from sports-based programmes that spanned a 5-year research programme and informed by a theoretical framework inspired by Sen’s notion of ‘Development as Freedom’, this paper makes the case that sport can be a robust developmental tool capable of delivering social outcomes to marginalized communities.

Keywords:

• sport
• indigenous communities
• development
• social outcomes
• freedom

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Australian Sports Commission for its continued support of this research. At a time of fiscal restraint and uncertainty, its work remains important to all Australian communities. I am greatly indebted to the community members, the community coaches and the dedicated group of Sports and Recreation Officers who gave freely of their time to advance my understanding. I would also like to thank my colleague Dr. Steven Rynne for encouraging me to write this paper.

Notes

1. Sistergirl is an Aboriginal English word that is broadly similar in meaning to MtF (Male to Female) transgender, but not necessarily exactly the same. Sistergirls often identify as or live as women. Some do not dress like women, many do. In traditional communities the word sistergirl also includes sisters (gay men) but to urban sistergirls it does not. In some communities sistergirls are known as Yimpininni (literally ‘boy-girl’). Source: www.yarns.org.au. There is much more to be understood about this but space is limited here.