Abstract:
Sporting activities are no more participated in for healthy life style only but for talent
exploration and development leading to successful career. The career prospect in sports
increases but with associated competition which demands thorough approach to talent
development. This study examines the contribution and benefits of early diversification
with late specialization versus early specialization model of teaching sport activities in
physical education classes at basic schools level in Ghana. Primary data was collected
by interviewing 8 Professional Soccer Coaches, 6 Physical Education Teachers and 56
soccer academy players. The result shows that early diversification with late
specialization is the ideal strategy for identifying the broader spectrum of children
potentials and developing them to higher professional level. It is a pre-condition for
specialization, and its effectiveness leads to developing multiple skills that gives
competitive advantage globally. The duration an individual spends in diversification is
dependent on the capability to engage in multiple roles effectively with the minimum
being up to 11years of age, and the maximum being up to 20 years of age. The
development and teaching of early diversification programme for children in basic
schools cover broad areas with benefits that span across behavioural development and
skills acquisition. Some of the recommendations made were that, the curriculum
focusing on early diversification programme should be structured, standardized and
deployed in the teaching of physical education in schools. Also the curriculum and
related manuals produced should be part of sports education and easily accessible to
coaches, sports associations and clubs. Moreover, specialization should be widened to
include at least two areas of positions where possible as a matter of gaining competitive
advantage in the child‟s future career.
Description:
Thesis in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Sports, Faculty of Science Education, Submitted to the School of Graduate
Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in Partial Fulfilment of the
Requirement for the Award of Master of Philosophy Degree in Physical
Education.
NOVEMBER, 2014