Rethinking Development ‘Of’ and ‘Through’ Sport: A Critical Analysis of Key Conceptual and Pedagogical Approaches for Sport as a Tool for Addressing Young People’s Intersection with Criminogenic Harms

The intervention of sport in youth justice remains widely discussed and utilised, evident in the recent UK Ministry of Justice’s 2023 £5 million investment in the Youth Justice Sport Fund. As sport continues to be promoted as a means for addressing diversion, rehabilitation, and recidivism, there must be continual consideration of how it is implemented both structurally and pedagogically. While critically examining sport intervention tactics, from diversionary approaches to the social change model, this paper explores the pedagogical roots and theoretical premises of ‘development of sport’, and ‘development through sport’. Where recent criminological research has placed experiences of social exclusion close to the phenomena of youth offending and exploitation, this paper questions whether sport should focus more on broader societal factors to indirectly reduce criminogenic risks. Conducted through a narrative literature review methodology, the

Findings: highlight the various residual outcomes of interventions, such as the enhancement of sporting skills, the fostering of team bonds, the development of socio-cognitive abilities, and the promotion of self-efficacy. However, the paper questions the ‘top-down’ nature of some models, encouraging instead the emergence of community led initiatives which value sport as space for safety and natural development, as opposed to a site for the delivery of overly professionalised and mechanistic coaching.