Quantitative evidence for the benefits of Moving the Goalposts, a Sport for Development project in rural Kenya

Sport for Development has many reported benefits, but quantitative evidence of the impact of these interventions in Low Income Countries remains sparse. A new monitoring and evaluation toolkit was used in a cross-sectional survey at Moving the Goalposts (MTG), a football project aiming to empower young Kenyan women. We wished to determine empirically whether increased membership duration brought increased benefits. MTG selected and translated toolkit items consistent with the organisation's strategic aims. We collected 333 completed questionnaires at 15 sites. Psychometric validation revealed some reliable scales; remaining items were scored separately. Scores were sensitive to differences between members defined by sociodemographic and site characteristics. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses showed that increased membership duration brought increasing benefits across several domains (perceived lifeskills; social life; insights about HIV/AIDS; outcomes related to female empowerment). Improved leadership skills were mainly age-related. Members attending more established sites experienced greater benefits, but members at more and less accessible sites benefitted similarly. Positive thoughts and feelings were related not to membership duration, but to how long a site had been operating. This indicates the importance of creating a positive culture over time. This cross-sectional study provides quantitative evidence for the benefits of Sport for Development initiatives.     

Readiness for college engagement among students who have aged out of foster care

This study compares self-reported readiness to engage in college between a sample of 81 college freshmen who aged out of foster care prior to or while attending a large four-year public university and the national freshman population. Results indicate that students from foster care are significantly different from their non-foster-care peers in their readiness to engage in college. The results also show that foster youth are less well prepared academically upon entering college and this performance gap persists through the first semester of college. These findings are examined in the context of the current literature on foster youth. Limitations of the study and implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Conducting Large‐Scale Surveys in Secondary Schools: The Case of the Youth On Religion (YOR) Project

There are few published articles on conducting large‐scale surveys in secondary schools, and this paper seeks to fill this gap. Drawing on the experiences of the Youth On Religion project, it discusses the politics of gaining access to these schools and the considerations leading to the adoption and administration of an online survey. It is concluded that successful research in schools has to be planned carefully in collaboration with key members of staff, and justified as an educational activity. Providing speedy feedback was helpful to ensure schools benefited from the research and to keep them engaged with the project. © 2011 The Author(s). Children & Society © 2011 National Children’s Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited     

Maya cosmopolitans: engaging tactics and strategies in the performance of tourism

Maya heritage is embraced throughout Yucatán as a crucial component of tourism promotions. This, coupled with an emphasis on multiculturalism, makes the state itself a local actor in the marketing of Maya identity through the creation and funding of community-based tourism projects. This article discusses the shifting role of the state in shaping these communities, referencing a Maya village in the Mexican state of Yucatán as the context. The aim is an understanding of the articulation of local tactics to conceal cosmopolitanism while remaining competent in the eyes of funding agencies and the strategies employed by the state that reinforce the importance of performance for tourists. The desire on the part of state creates situations in which individuals are expected to exist in concurrent states of authenticity and modernity, as both traditional and cosmopolitan.     

Relationship Churning and Parenting Stress Among Mothers and Fathers

Researchers have documented the consequences of relationship instability for parenting stress but have given little attention to within‐partner relationship instability. In this study, the authors used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,544) to estimate the association between within‐partner relationship instability (known as churning or on‐again/off‐again relationships) and parenting stress. First, they found that by the focal child's 5th birthday about 16% of biological parents experience churning. Second, compared to being stably together with or stably separated from the child's other parent, churning is associated with greater parenting stress for both mothers and fathers. Because parenting stress is the same or higher among churners compared to their counterparts who stably separate, this suggests that, more than a change in partner, relationship instability—whether within or across relationships—is tied to parenting stress.