Early adolescents' perceptions of conflict experience with teachers in a physical activity setting

Although conflict is an area that all people need to learn to navigate, underserved youth are at a greater risk for experiencing social, emotional, and psychological hardships than youth in wealthy communities. Modeling and teaching positive conflict negotiation during physical activity lessons could be especially beneficial for these youth. Recently, researchers have recognized the importance of obtaining a youth perspective to make programming more relevant in the lives of their young participants. This study examined early adolescents' perceptions of the conflict experience with teachers in a physical activity setting. The research questions that guided this study were the following: (a) What is the experience of early adolescents who have conflict with their teachers in a physical activity setting? and (b) What are early adolescents' perceptions of how that conflict is negotiated? Participants were recruited from a summer physical activity day camp program in an urban area. Criterion sampling was used to identify 8 youth (5 males, 3 females) to participate in this qualitative study. Participants were between the ages of 12 and 14. Data consisted of 14 interviews, 2 focus group sessions, and field notes. A henomenological research design and data analysis were used to create the essence of the experience.