A practical means of engaging children with academic learning through football: the inclusion case of EduKicks
Presenter:
Oscar Mwaanga
CEO & Founder at EduMove
Confirmed speakers:
Alex Burt,
Football Project Coordinator at EduMove
Max Annetts, Tom Crump, Lizheng Yao, Jamie Connelly, Dragos Cavasdan
Lead Coaches at EduMove
Abstract
The power and size of the football industry is undisputable. However, the claims that football interventions promote aspects of social development (including education and social inclusion) remain vague and unsupported by robust theorisation and evidence. Football for Development is crowded with quick fixes, homogenous thinking politicians (who want to stay in power) and a political discourse with limited understanding of social phenomena. These attributes are demonstrated through FIFA as the centre of knowledge.
The EduMove Football Programme provides an example of critical application to several social needs and utilises the power of football as a tool to engage children with academic education. The workshop will aim to achieve three deliverables to support such claims. Firstly, it will present the EduMove (Education through Movement) methodology and examine its rationales. Secondly, case studies and evidence will be presented to support the methodology. Finally, a practical session will be delivered to demonstrate the EduMove Football Programme and its resources in action. EduMove Football has already been utilised by local primary schools in Southampton to engage pupils with academic learning and revision during after school and holiday clubs. The feedback from stakeholders confirms the stress free revision environment facilitates increased test scores, particularly with learners who are disengaged through didactic teaching/ revision methods. The scope to increase social justice rationales of EduMove to football academies locally, nationally and internationally seems very plausible with the added value of developing the whole person through inclusive sport.