Project

Implementation of the Flemish Sports Compass in primary education in the region of Ghent

Code
05C01713
Duration
01 January 2014 → 31 August 2017
Funding
Ghent University funding
Research disciplines
  • Social sciences
    • Education curriculum
Keywords
youth sport
 
Project description

The sport of choice young children is usually the result of some random factors such as proximity to a sports club, sports choice of peers influence of parents or socioeconomic factors. Many children get that way in a sport where they find no or less predisposed and hooks will eventually off. The Flemish Sports Compass (VSK) is a science-based tool developed at Ghent University with the aim of orienting children between 6 and 11 years to a sport that matches their 'talents' ie their individual motor skills. Based on simple field tests the profile of each child compared to a database of more than 5,000 children, both athletes from more than 20 different sports disciplines as non-athletes. At the same time launched an e-VSK, a web application that lets kids get a sports orientation advice based on their individual preference and self-perceived competence in certain skills. This App acts as a support and 'teaser' for the guidance advice via the field tests of the VSK. In this project, the VSK will be distributed to a wider audience through the primary schools in Ghent in close collaboration with Ghent University spinoff SpartaNova who developed an efficient web platform for this. Through science-based information sheets with personal results of each child finds a large-scale communication to children, parents and teachers place.