From violent protest to university: impact of entering a sports degree course

Abstract

As part of its educational strategy, the Mayor´s Office of Santiago de Cali, Colombia, through the Secretary of Education and with the support of the “Escuela Nacional del Deporte (END)” created the “Todas y Todos a Estudiar” program to provide access to university education for young people from the city’s most disadvantaged communities. In this context, several studies recognize the formative contribution of sport and its impact on the comprehensive training of children and youth, as well as the importance of corporate social responsibility in this sector. Likewise, Paulo Freire recognize the transformative power of education and its ability to promote more hopeful scenarios for the future. This study analyzes the impact that entering university life has had on a group of young people who directly participated in the social outbreak that took place in Cali in 2021. A mixed descriptive and phenomenological study was designed. The non-probability convenience sample consisted of 61 young people who were enrolled in a university education program with a sports orientation. The instruments used were a structured survey and a semi-structured interview. The information was analyzed using SPSS and ATLAS.ti research programs. The results show that the transition to university life has allowed young people to reconfigure their life project, to identify difficulties and challenges in the face of their new responsibilities, and to set themselves new challenges in terms of reading and writing habits, study techniques and time organization in order to respond to the new dynamics of university life. In conclusion, the program offers opportunities for social transformation through education and has a positive impact of young people in the city’s most vulnerable communities.