Publication Date

8-2012

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis

Degree Title

Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies

Major Advisor

Shelton Woods, Ph.D.

Abstract

This thesis is a case study of the Hebei tennis program, which works under the auspices of the Chinese governmental sports system. The research is intended to take the reader on a chronological journey through the Chinese sports system, beginning with the infrastructure of the program, the identification and selection process of players, the methodology of education, training, and competition, the benefits and hardships, and its future as a state-controlled entity.

It is a multidisciplinary thesis that uses the Hebei tennis program and my job as the head coach to provide analysis and perspective of daily life in the Chinese sports system. In the process, I offer suggestions for reforming the Hebei tennis program while taking into account the cultural, social, political, and ideological challenges and differences of working as a foreigner within the system.

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