Click! Using photo elicitation to explore youth experiences and positive youth development in sport

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to use photo elicitation to explore youth experiences and positive development in sport. Participants (N = 26) involved in either a high-performance sport context or a sport camp context were recruited and focus groups were conducted using photographs taken by the participants. The photo methodology involved participants taking pictures of their experiences in their respective sport context. Two separate studies were conducted and the setting features framework was implicated in the analysis. Results point to differences in youth sport experiences between the contexts. The setting feature related to supportive relationships was more prominent in the sport camp context and the feature related to opportunities for skill building was reported more in the high-performance context. Other setting features were also implicated in the analysis and discussion. The suitability of the photo methodology is also discussed.

Keywords:

• photo
• youth
• sport
• positive youth development
• qualitative

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Dean’s Research Grant from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. The authors also wish to acknowledge and thank the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable and thorough feedback.