Sport Management Review, 2007,10, 125-1 3 1

O 2007 SMAANZ

Sport Management Education: Teaching and

learning for the Future

An Introduction to the Special Issue

James Skinner
Griffith University

Keith Gilbert
University of the West of England

Ensuring high quality sport management education is an important step

in delivering high quality sport managers, particularly in a time when
the management of sport is becoming increasingly global, complex and
demanding. The question that emerges is "how do we deliver high quality
sport management education?'Frisby (2005) calls for the need to engage
critical social science in our teaching. Moreover she suggests we must also
be able to reflect on our own knowledge claims if the educative process
is to remain fluid and "foster healthy debate, critique and social justice"
(p. 8). Others such as Costa (2005) and Chalip (2006) suggest there are
inadequate mechanisms to ensure that the teaching of sport management
is research evidenced based and therefore the knowledge we acquire is
relevant to the environments in which sport managers operate. A broader
investigation of the quality of sport management education could include:
(1) the background and characteristics of students and of sport management
educators; (2) course length and course structures; (3) course content and
delivery modes; (4) course assessment and evaluation of procedures; (5)
the nature and length of professional experience; and (6) the nature and
strength of partnerships among different sport management stakeholders.
Although we may debate how we can best deliver high quality sport
management education, it is imperative that steps are taken to establish
what is meant by quality sport management education.

James Skinner is Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education at Griffith University,
Gold Coast, Australia. Keith Gilbert is with the University of the West of England.
Email for James Skinner is J.Skinner@griffith.edu.au
126 James Skinner

The first step in such an investigation could be to analyse what Bernstein (197 1) refers
to as "semiotic message systems", that is, the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
practices that shape sport management education. However, Bolstad and Hipkins
(2005) suggest that the answer lies in creating a much clearer alignment between
pedagogy for critical thinking, and the other two message systems of curriculum
and assessment. They believe that we need to move from a curriculum message
system that allows this kind of pedagogy to occur, to one that actively supports
and promotes it. Such a pedagogic approach is comprised of students engaging in
the process of knowing, inquiring, responding, and reflecting that promotes the
various "critical" attributes. Although such an approach to the teaching of sport
management is not new it is not yet commonplace. It is through this special issue
that we hope to further facilitate engagement of critical thinking in the teaching of
sport management programs.
The push for curriculum coverage as a driving force in sport management
education creates challenges for sport management educators who aspire to cultivate
a critical thinking and issues-based approach to teaching and learning. Although the
challenges for bringing critical thinking to sport management education may seem
great, they are outweighed by the potential benefits this would have in terms of
developing sport management students' interest, understanding and ability to engage
with the sport management environment of today and of the future.
Bolstad and Hipkins (2005) suggest critical thinkers are "able to consider
other points of view and have personal dispositions that value open mindedness,
fair mindedness, respecting evidence and reason" (p. 7). As such, they argue that an
important part of critical thinking is the individual being able to recognise his or her
own knowledge, views and opinions, and be prepared and capable to defend these
through rigourous examination. As Facione (1 998) states:
Beyond being able to interpret, analyse, evaluate and infer, good critical thinkers
can do two more things. They can explain what they think and how they arrived at
that judgment. And they can apply their powers of critical thinking to themselves
to improve on their previous opinions. (p. 5, cited in Bolstad and Hipkins, 2005,
P. 7 )
This implies that to engage sport management students in the process of
becoming critical thinkers, there should be a way for students to explicitly bring
their own views and experiences into the learning environment.
Zakus, Malloy and Edwards extend this discussion of critical thinking in
their article. They provide a discussion of critical thinking within an ethical frame
and provide practical pedagogical activities for developing and advancing critical
thinking skills and abilities in sport management graduates. Their paper discusses
ontology, epistemology, and axiology as a framework in which students must be
taught, assisted, and encouraged to explore their underlying thought processes and
value positions. The focus is on the individual's ability to think and act as the basis
for a sound expert praxis and organisational engagement. The authors suggest that
An Introduction to the Special Issue 127

it is essential we help our students develop beyond standardised ways of thinking

and acting, and challenge their perspectives to begin to make sound and ethical
decisions as individuals and as sport management professionals. Zakus et al. argue
that by seeking the deeper frameworks of our thoughts, actions, and situations, we
become critical thinkers.
The authors explain that the role for sport management educators is to develop
their students' ability to link thought and action using a two-stage process. The first
is reflective thinking, which begins when students start with an understanding of
themselves, their thought processes, and their life experiences from a basis of self-
reflection. They need to objectively reflect on their subjective ability to think, know
and act and are then able to be reflexive. From there, they become authentic change
agents through the capacity to act reflexively. The second stage is praxis, which
goes beyond the objective/subjective unity of reflexive thinking towards individuals
applying theory to practice. Zakus et al. suggest that together, reflective knowledge
and praxis will lead students toward being authentic, ethical and critical thinkers
who can handle challenging situations and make decisions effectively in a rapidly
evolving sport management environment.
What is clear from the discussion presented by Zakus et al., is that the
shift from student to critical thinker is not a simple process and sport management
educators need to create pedagogical practices that will assist in this process.
However an important part of this transition process from student to critical thinker
lies in understanding how students learn. It could be suggested that learning is a
process through which permanent change to knowledge or behaviour occurs as a
result of experience. But the question that arises is what is effective learning and
how do we know? There are many debates regarding what we learn and how we
learn in educational settings. There are other debates regarding what students should
learn and how they should learn in these settings. It is sometimes easy to think of
learning as a process without any reference points. That is, to focus on the how as
a set of general principles without taking account of the who, what, where and why,
and how each interacts with the how. As such, it is valuable to think of learning as a
social process that is closely aligned to a social and cultural context. This perspective
is associated with the work of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978) in the
1920s and 1930s. For Vygotsky, learning commences in the social world and as a
result:
....thinking occurs as much among as within individuals, it becomes less crucial
for each student to be involved in each activity, all can participate in the collective,
and one student can 'represcnt' the others in the learning activity. The class is still
actively learning by watching and listening, and all move forward together. As
different students, over time, take their turn to represent the class, talking their way
into the expertise of the community others are involved in 'legitimate peripheral
participation' still part of the community of practice. (Bourne, 2003, p. 509)
128 James Skinner

Vygotsky's work uses a social constructivist approach (Santrock, 2001).

Consistent with the view of Bourne (2003), social constructivism suggests that
humans do not discover knowledge. Rather, they construct knowledge by using
concepts, models and schemes, which are continually revised and renewed. In
addition, these concepts are socially constructed in shared historical and social
contexts rather than individually developed.
Light and Dixon analyse and apply the theory of social constructivism to
sport management education in their discussion of contemporary learning theories.
They discuss learning as inseparable from engagement in day-to-day social practice,
even though much of this implicit learning occurs at a non-conscious level. As
such, learning is socially and culturally situated and is a dynamic part of our lives.
Consequently, for teaching and learning to be relevant and effective, the focus must
be on learning instead of teaching, on the process of learning rather than its product,
and must include relevant experience and involve participation in the practices of
the community of sport management.
Light and Dixon begin by reviewing contemporary learning theory and its
application in the sport coaching and physical education fields and the ways these ideas
might be applied to sport management education. They argue that constructivism is
the learning theory that has most influenced contemporary educational approaches
and the development of innovative practice and research in sport and physical
education pedagogy over the past decade. Sport management educators can use
the constructivist view of learning to develop approaches that are relevant to, and
more connected with, the lives and work of students outside the sport management
classroom. Sport management education can involve students in the practices of the
sport management community as "legitimate peripheral participants". This involves
learning the culture of the sport management community and learning how to
participate legitimately in its practices. Sport management students have a need for
learning which engages them in performance through co-participation with others
and where meaningful learning is dependent upon the ability to perform appropriate
tasks.
Light and Dixon's discussion of contemporary learning theory and its
application in related fields highlights the ways in which current practices such as
service learning and internships can provide the complete learning experiences that
meet the expectations of contemporary learning theory. Therefore, viewing these
practices from a constructivist or situated learning perspective allows for a better
understanding of how student learning occurs and how sport management educators
can further enhance critical thinking through appropriate learning methodologies.
Kemmis, Cole and Suggett (1983) identify three broad orientations
towards curricula that reflect certain values. Of particular relevance to this special
edition is the socially critical orientation. Kemmis et al. suggest a socially critical
orientation that views knowledge as constructed through social interaction as the
most appropriate orientation for developing students as critical thinkers who are
An Introduction to the Special Issue 129

able to transform and be transformed by their interaction in a given social and

cultural context. Broadly speaking however, it is important for sport management
educators to design a curricular structure that suits the needs of their students and
contexts. This point is taken up by Humphreys and Maxcy in their examination of
sport management curricula, in particular the place and value of sport economics.
Humphreys and Maxcy identify sports economics as a new and developing academic
field which has a specific role within the sport management curriculum. However
they suggest that sports economics is not currently an important part of the majority
of sport management curricula. Two possible explanations for limited inclusion of
economics and sports economics to sport management curricular requirements are
put forward. These are: (1) a lack of qualified faculty, and (2) indifference about
the value of economics - especially when relying on consultation and input from
industry practitioners on curriculum content.
Humphreys and Maxcy draw on the work of Becker (1997) who suggests that
sport management students who successfully complete a course in sports economics
improve their analytical and critical thinking skills and are able to apply these skills
to the sports industry. Consequently, a lack of qualified faculty and indifference
about the value of sports economics as a mandatory component within the sport
management curricula has the potential to stifle the ability of sport management
students to engage critically with sport economics issues. Moreover, as critical
thinking plays an important role in sports economics, it should be considered when
shaping sport management curricular guidelines.
Current trends in sport management teaching and learning reveal there is
strong evidence showing the increasing deployment of web-based teaching and
learning resources in sport management courses. Since the late 1980s, researchers
have been quick to adopt the World Wide Web as a communication tool and medium
for academic and scholarly discourse and the free dissemination of information. In
recent years there has been an increasing expectation that this will translate into
enhancement of teaching and learning. However the use of the Internet as part of
the learning environment needs to be informed by the literature related to effective
teaching and learning. Despite this, in whatever form teaching and learning is
delivered via the Internet, it is necessary that academics become facilitators of
learning as well as transmitters of knowledge.
There is little doubt that for sport management students of today, and more
so for those of the future, the Web will serve as a key learning tool as well as
serving a social function. Sport management students rely on online resources
such as Google and Wikipedia when working on assignments; and use MSN,
MySpace and YouTube when building social networks, and more recently for
engaging with online virtual reality environments such as Second Life as a vehicle
for living out new experiences. Given this, sport management education must
respond to the shifting social and technical landscapes of global liquid modernity
(Bauman, 2004; Castells, 2000). These landscapes are in part characterised by:
130 James Skinner

(1) rapid innovations in scientific and technological knowledge producing fast

and continual social, economic and cultural changes; and (2) the emergence and
changing morphology of new online and ofline worlds (Robertson, 1995).
The work of Edwards and Finger needs to be considered within this
context. They discuss the potential applications of information and communication
technologies (ICT) or eLearning in sport management education. Edwards and
Finger provide a comprehensive definition of ICT to accommodate more than just
a limited focus on the personal computer. Their definition encompasses new and
emerging devices, applications and technologies that can assist educators to move
beyond traditional methods and technologies to enable excellence in teaching and
learning. The essential dimensions of eLearning - technology, access and quality -
enable a diverse range of interactions between educators and learners by eliminating
traditional limitations of time and space and affording learners an environment in
which to develop deep reflective practices and critical thinking skills. They argue
that hyperpedagogy, which can be viewed as an amalgam of hypertext theory and
critical pedagogy, is fundamental to the eLearning experience in that it enables
learners to become active participants in planning and designing their own learning
in critical and collaborative ways. Early examples of the application of eLearning to
sport (or Sport-eL) which follow a blended learning approach are examined. Whilst
considering current models of best practice in elearning, the authors emphasise
the importance of educational technologists incorporating the theoretical framework
of hyperpedagogy into elearning. They argue that when greater interaction and
creativity are allowed to flourish, critical thinking skills are enabled. Edwards and
Finger go on to suggest that the internet based virtual world known as Second Life
(SL) provides perhaps the best eLearning environment for the future of online
sport management education. SL's online community enables users to interact
with each other, simulate real-world experiences and learn from virtual mistakes
through animated characters. In essence, learners have the opportunity to engage in
those communities of practice deemed essential to sport management education by
Light and Dixon, without the restrictions of time and space accorded by traditional
education methods.
It is hoped that this Special Issue will encourage sport management educators
to further reflect on their curricular and pedagogical practices. From a curriculum
perspective, "what we teach" is no doubt fundamental to developing sport
management graduates who are able to apply critical thinking skills in a changing
sport industry. However, our pedagogical practices that shape how we teach and the
process of how students learn also require consideration in the facilitation of critical
thinking practices. The intent of this Special Issue is to provide a platform for the
discussion of the value and place of critical thinking in sport management education.
Through this discussion, it is hoped that greater insight into the sport management
teaching and learning processes will be gained and will facilitate best practice in the
delivery of sport management education.
An Introduction to the Special Issue 131

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