The sword of Damocles: autoethnographic considerations of child safeguarding policy in Aotearoa New Zealand

This paper aims to extend the small but growing body of global literature on the topic of child safeguarding (CSG) policy in sport and related educational contexts. The authors, all male coaches/educators, offer 'snapshots' of the moments in time they each realised their previously unquestioned practices must change in light of shifting societal attitudes to CSG and resulting legislation. Our contributions in this space are two-fold. Firstly, we present an autoethnographic methodology that provides a lens into the challenges confronting pedagogues in sport and related educational contexts. Through this methodology, we broaden the scope of discourse that we deem necessary for future CSG policy direction and operationalisation. Secondly, we explore and include an addition to the dominant 'duality (dichotomy) of danger' narrative discourse currently reflected in the literature. We do this by proposing a trichotomy of danger framework for leaders and managers of sport and related educational contexts to consider when plotting this future landscape. Research surrounding the possible implications of CSG policy on practice is critical if educators are to navigate the 'risks' of their professions. Although there is a small and emerging body of research on this topic, we, the authors seek to redress the scarcity of research observable in the Aotearoa New Zealand context.

Automated summary

This paper expands the global literature on child safeguarding policy in sport and related educational contexts, offering an autoethnographic methodology and proposing a trichotomy of danger framework for future policy direction. It emphasizes the importance of researching the implications of safeguarding policies on practice and aims to address the scarcity of research on this topic in the New Zealand context.