ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | Oct. 12, 2021
Exploring Talent Development Environments in Nigeria: A Case Study of Sport Development Framework in Ondo State
Dr. Adeboye I, Elumaro, Prof. George O, Ayenigbara, Dr. Joseph S, Adegboro, Dr. Danjuma M, Momoh
Page no 212-218 |
10.36348/jaspe.2021.v04i10.001
Talent development environment is a key factor of successful talent identification and development in sports. Without effective talent development environment, athletes and their coaches would achieve little or no success in their quest to nurture sporting potentials into actual performance. Despite Nigeria’s participation in international sporting competitions, sport development in the country suffers from certain functional barriers relating to the general framework for talent development. This study explored talent development environments in Nigeria, using Ondo State as a case study, in order to identify environmental barriers to effective talent development. The Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ) was used for data collection among seven hundred and sixty-eight (768) athletes who participated in the study. Data analysis revealed that talent development environments in Ondo State were weak on long-term development focus (m=2.15); poor on quality preparation (m=4.26); strong on communication (m=2.09); poor on understanding the athletes (m=3.51); weak on support network (m=2.26); poor on challenging and supportive environment (m=3.44); and weak on long term development fundamentals (m=2.36). Findings were discussed in relation with the extant literature.