Sport Social Work Research Lab announces new international partnership, grant-funded project and book

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Throughout the fall 2024 semester, the Sport Social Work Research Lab (SSW-RL) at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work (CoSW), has secured several new collaborative partnerships under the direction of Dr. Tarkington J Newman. Newman and the SSW-RL have also co-authored a new book, “Coaching Values and Life Skills through Physical Education and Sports.” 

Read below for the latest updates on the SSW-RL’s new partnerships and book. 

International Research Collaborative 

The SSW-RL, in collaboration with the UK International Center, has formally established an international research collaboration with the Polytechnic Institute of Porto. 

The partnership is in support of an ongoing 10-year grant through the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth, which is being conducted with scholars from eight countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. The project – “Coach Education and Positive Youth Development through Sport” – seeks to assess youth sport systems and organizations, develop evidence-informed education for coaches, and provide governmental policy recommendations. Already, this partnership has produced 13 peer-reviewed journal articles, three book chapters, and 10 international and national workshops and trainings. 

Select Peer-Reviewed Publications: 

Newman, T., Santos, F., Collins, K., Pierce, S., Kochanek, J., Mercier, V., & Lee, L. (2024). Social justice promotion in youth sport: Insights from current high school coaches. Sport Coaching Review, I29(2), 206-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/21640629.2024.2324633  

Santos, F., Newman, T., Vella, S., Camiré, M., Rathwell, S., Strachan, L., MacDonald, D., Pierce, S., & Milistetd, M. (2024). Promoting positive mental health in Portuguese and Brazilian youth sport: The roles and responsibilities of policymakers, coaches, and coach developers. International Sport Coaching Journal. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2023-0131  

Newman, T., Black, S., Santos, F., Jefka, B., & Brennan, N. (2023). Coaching life skill development and transfer: A scoping review of facilitative coaching practices in youth sports. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16(1), 619-656. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2021.1910977  

Tarr, C., Newman, T., Santos, F., & Turgeon, S. (2023). The duality of sport social workers coaching critical positive youth development within competitive youth sport. International Sport Coaching Journal, 11(1), 124-135. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2022-0080 

Movember Foundation 

This grant-funded project, which is being conducted in partnership with researchers from Illinois State University, is supported by the Movember Foundation. The project is dedicated to co-creating youth sport programming with two local community organizations, which were designed for youth in underserved communities of color in Chicago (Beyond the Ball) and San Diego (UWEAST), respectively. The resultant youth sport programming will be designed to promote healthy masculinity, mental health literacy, and emotional regulation skills among youth through the use of sport and recreation. Ultimately, the goal of the project is to create evidence-informed, culturally appropriate programming that can be scaled and implemented nationally and internationally. 

Coaching Values and Life Skills through Physical Education and Sports 

This book was co-authored by Newman alongside Dr. Koon Teck Koh and Muhammad Shufi Bin Salleh from the National Insitute of Education at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). The book is intended for physical education teachers, youth sport coaches, and sport managers from around the world. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, the book provides tangible evidence-informed approaches for teaching values and life skills through physical education and sport. 

Learn more about the book here. 

For more information and to get involved with the SSW-RL, please email Dr. Tarkington J Newman (tarkington.newman@uky.edu).