PhD Studentship - Empowering People in Prison through Sport

This collaborative PhD opportunity is supported by the 3Pillars Project which is a not-for-profit Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). 3Pillars Project launched a new 5-year strategy to grow and share their work in summer 2024. In addition, they were granted £300,000 by the National Lottery Community Fund to deliver their GAMEPLAN intervention over five-years in several prisons across the Midlands. The aim for 3Pillars is to be able to evidence the impact of their work over the duration of the project given the complexities that exist in delivering both growth and impact.

GAMEPLAN engages people in prison through sport with extensive follow on and post release mentoring support using the core pillars of exercise, education, and ethos as a foundation for effective rehabilitation. The approach utilises positive role models, sport, and the power of community to equip young men with a toolkit of skills to forge a brighter future. A core strand of the implementation of the 5 Year Strategy is demonstration of the impact of the work in order to advocate more broadly within the sector.

Undertaking this study offers an opportunity for the PhD student to work with 3Pillars to develop, trial and innovate more effective ways for third sector sports organisations to critically examine their work and support them to evidence their successes (and failures) in ways that are more nuanced and that challenge existing practice, stimulate critical thinking, and push knowledge forward. In so doing the study will contribute to enhancing the SDP sector to demonstrate its effectiveness more robustly. Intersectionality, and in particular intersections between masculinity, race and socio-economic status will be a primary focus within this study.

The study will be primarily qualitative and involve spending time in both community and prison settings alongside 3Pillars staff and volunteers.

Supervisors:

Primary supervisor: Dr. Carolynne Mason
Secondary supervisors: Dr. Chris Kay and Dr. Nik Dickerson

Entry requirements:

Students will normally need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Sociology, Psychology, Criminology or similar. A relevant social science master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage: Sport for Development, Third Sector/Non-Profit Sports Organisations, Qualitative Research Methods.

English language requirements:

Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website (www.lboro.ac.uk/international/applicants/english).

Funding information:

Studentship type – 50% external partner matched with 50% University.

The studentship is for 3 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum for the duration of the studentship, plus tuition fees at the UK rate. Due to the funding restrictions, this is only available to those eligible for UK fees. The opportunity is subject to external funding. In the event that the funder withdraws prior to recruitment the studentship would be withdrawn.

All applications should be made online. Under programme name, select the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. Please quote the advertised reference number: SSEHS/CM in your application.

To avoid delays in processing your application, please ensure that you submit the minimum supporting documents.

Start date: October 2024

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