Development of Commitment as a Life Skill through Sports: Assessing Former Athletes’ Perspectives

Taslim Arif; Dr. Salahuddin Khan; Sadia Shaikh

Taslim Arif Assistant Professor, Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, Research In-charge of the Department of Sports Sciences
Dr. Salahuddin Khan Chairman, Department of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, Gomal University, D.I. Khan
Sadia Shaikh Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Greenwich University, Karachi

Keywords: Life Skills through sports

Abstract

The present study was an attempt to assess the perception of government servants in the community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan towards development of commitment as a life skill through sports. The population of this study comprise of doctors, engineers, and teachers who had previously participated in sporting activities in their student lives. Purposive sampling (snowball sampling) technique was used to identify the study participants to complete the self-administered structured questionnaire. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The formulated hypotheses were tested with a significant level of .05. The findings revealed that participants believed that involvement in sports activities develop commitment as a life skill. No gender, as well as category wise differences were found pertaining to the role of sports in the development of commitment as a life skill. Furthermore, the quality of "commitment" was clearly identified by the stakeholders as being a significant life skill for success in various professions, along with a clear perception that participating in sports would help develop this ability. The findings of the current study will enhance the interest of medical, engineering, and general students and encourage them to participate in sports to be successful as well as advance in their professions.