My Statement of Purpose for a Phd In Sports Pedagogy
"Never give up on something that you cannot go a day without thinking about", these are words of former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill which I resonate with. This has always been one of the things that kept me moving when I decided to pursue a career in Education. At about age 10, I had already discovered my athletic talent. In junior high and senior high school, I represented my school in various marathon and football competitions where I won many laurels for my school. I began to develop a passion for sports because I enjoyed and exceled in it, something that has continued to this day. After studying Accounting in high school, my family like everyone else expected me to further my education at the university level to become a charted accountant in future. It came as surprise to everyone when I vehemently opposed and advanced reasons why I wanted to enroll into a Teacher Training College to become a professional teacher. I wanted to be a teacher more precisely a Physical Education teacher due to my longstanding interest in sports, I felt this was one of the few ways to remain in the sports sector and also impart knowledge at the same time.
After earning a teacher certification and teaching for about 4 years, my interest in teaching (Physical Education) evolved more, I enjoyed working with students and encouraging them to participate in physical activity. In 2010, I decided to test my limits by enrolling in Bachelor of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports degree program at the University of Education Winneba - one of the best universities in Ghana, this program exposed me to the rudiments of Health, Physical Education and Sports and provided me with a comprehensive background for further studies. During this time, I was actively involved in extra-academic activities in order to broaden my perspective and build critical skills outside the classroom. For example, I was a key player in the university football team and an active member of the Sissala Students Union. I also took up a voluntary leadership position as the General Sports and Games Secretary in 2012. In recognition of the remarkable achievements chalked during my tenure as the General Sports Games and Secretary I was honored with an award of appreciation by the university in 2013 and also by the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA). Holding such a position at the highest level in the university while maintaining an enviable academic standing has helped me develop the resilience which I believe has been a prerequisite for the success in my professional career.
In 2014 after my first degree, I was posted to Wa Senior High School as a Sports teacher. I taught physical education lessons, set examination questions, graded, collated and relayed examination results to the appropriate school body. I also organized the annual intramural sports activities for 4000+ students. One of my esteemed achievements within this role was when I rigorously and tactically prepared students for the yearly inter-school sports competition in Bolga in 2015 where my students won the boys' gold medal in soccer, volleyball boys and ladies gold medal, and handball gold medal out of 8 high schools. During the weekends, I lead the students in weekend keep fit exercises and organized workshops for both teaching and non-teaching staff on the impact of physical education on their wellbeing.
After teaching for 2 years, I decided to continue my pursuit in academia but due lack of financial strength for graduate school, I almost gave up. I started exploring opportunities to support my goal. In 2017, I gained admission into the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom to pursue a Master of Science in Sports Psychology, I got selected as a beneficiary of a partial scholarship from the University of Stirling and another partial scholarship from the Ghana Education Trust Fund. I was among a few selected out of thousands of talented applicants across the country. This was a big boost for me towards the realization of my academic and career goals.
At the University of Stirling, I developed an interest in the psychology of sports. My dissertation topic was "Exploring the Differential Effects of Dimensions of Social Support on Principle Outcomes for Soccer Goalkeepers". With Dr Pete Coffee as my supervisor. The study was aimed at exploring the effects of dimensions of social support on the emotions, confidence and performance of soccer goalkeepers before and during a match and during penalty shootout. To achieve this, standardized interviews were conducted on ten soccer goalkeepers and the data generated were analyzed using the content analyses (Cole, 1988) approach. The four dimensions of support used for the study were emotional, tangible, esteem and informational support. Findings of the research revealed that support dimensions were perceived and received at different stages in a soccer match. Emotional and informational support were impactful on the emotions and confidence of participants before and during a match and required expert support during penalty shootout to be able to impact on performance. Specifically, informational support is noted as relevant for participants throughout a match because it influenced their performance and provided feedback on their game. Tangible support had impact on the confidence and emotions of participants before and during a match and no effect on performance during same period in a match. It was found that esteem support was available before and during the match and when accessed during penalty shootout influenced participants' performance. Implications for future study on the experience of support of soccer goal keepers were discussed.
Upon graduating, I returned to my home country to apply the knowledge I gained. Currently I am the Assistant Regional Physical Education Coordinator. Within this role, I prepare the annual Physical Education programs in accordance with the national sports calendar for 11 district education offices and 42 second-cycle Institutions within the region, this has allowed me to master the art of partnering with stakeholders and policymakers as well as honing my monitoring and evaluation skills. I also took up a role as an assistant coach for a football team and later became the head coach of Wa United Football Club where I led the team to a season record of 20 wins, 10 draws and 6 defeats in the 2020/2021 season. While doing all this I still stuck with my passion for teaching. I currently teach Adapted Physical Education, Philosophy, Pedagogy and Organization and Administration of sports at both ASWAJ and Daboya Colleges of Education as a part-time Tutor. I teach both theoretical and practical physical education, I also guide students in their end of studies projects.
After accumulating all these years of experience and contributing to education and sports as an athlete, a teacher, a football coach and physical education coordinator, I believe the time has come for me to challenge myself and be part of a more sophisticated research environment. I am applying to the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa to pursue a PhD in Kinesiology (Sport Pedagogy). After teaching physical education in almost all cycles of education, I believe this is the next step for me. This PhD program will provide me with the opportunity to learn more about sports pedagogy, hone my pedagogical skills, fill in the gaps in the literature of sports pedagogy and prepare me to be a professor at the university level- something which has always been my lifelong goal. Additionally, I will now be qualified to supervise research projects at both undergraduate and graduate levels and prepare future physical education teachers.
Studying at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa will be a great opportunity for me to avail myself to the great infrastructural and research facilities as well as faculty experts. The courses of study within the Sport Pedagogy program are not just interesting but appear to be particularly designed to propel me into attaining my professional and research goals. I am particularly allured by the opportunity to be able to tailor the foundation concentrations to suit my research interest if it falls outside the faculty's listed foundation concentrations.
Female participation in physical education and sports is an area of research I am really interested in. This is evident from my undergraduate thesis which was on the topic "Female Muslim Students Participation in Sports". Over the years in my practice as a teacher, I have noticed an inverse relationship between the cycle of education and the level of participation of female students in sports and physical education. At the lower cycles of education, participation tends to be high but decreases as the cycle goes up. When I started teaching in senior high school, I observed a sharp decline in female participation in sports. When I was a Tutor at the college level too, I observed the participation of female students in physical education and sports further dropped. My preliminary investigations pointed to a few causes for the sharp decline in the numbers. Even though my method of Investigation is not scientific. I am of the greatest conviction that the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa will be a great place to further explore this decline in numbers.
Having taken the step to pursue a PhD, I am fully aware of the task ahead. I believe I am prepared and equipped with the technical ability, resilience and commitment needed to succeed. Furthermore, I believe that my teaching and coaching experiences would be beneficial to the faculty. I look forward to a positive consideration and a chance to grow as a student, teacher and researcher. I am MADE TO MOVE that is why I choose the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE.
--- In CAPS faculty motto and university motto.