Training requirements for school sport managers: The South African context

Abstract

The professionalisation of sport has reached the domain of schools as a grass root incubator for sporting talent and for providing positive experiences that might lead to lifelong engagement in physical activity. It has inevitably also led to the development of specialized human resources
such as high quality coaches and well-trained sport managers. In the South African context, a variety of sport management programmes exist, but need to be continually updated and adapted to address the needs of the market and workplace. In addressing this need, this study aims to
compare the current and projected competencies of the school sport managers with reference to their functional components and professional requirements, in order to provide guidelines and recommendations for appropriate education and training. The sample of the respondents represented 70 principals who returned completed questionnaires, and 87 (53.3%) school sport representatives from 165 secondary public schools (former model-C schools) in 5 districts in Gauteng also completed questionnaires. This was followed by interviewing 12 school sport managers for in-depth and contextual information. The results indicated that the management of school sport is varied, politicized and complex. There is a statistically significant difference between the required competencies of school sport managers, and what they currently have. Various potential shortcomings with varying scope in the competencies of the school sport
manager were identified in the survey. It is therefore suggested that higher education takes cognisance of the currently limited competencies of school sport managers to provide appropriate education and training for school sport managers in order to enhance their competencies and skills.

Key words: Training, school sport manager, school sport, competencies