Leaving no child behind? Exploring the developmental potential of physical education and school sport for left-behind children in China

<p dir="ltr">In China, left-behind children are broadly defined as those under the age of 16 whose parent(s) have moved from rural to urban areas for better economic opportunities, leaving their children behind in the care of others. Some research has suggested that being left-behind can pose challenges for individuals, leading to calls for greater attention to be paid to how to best support the holistic development of this youth population. Despite much research espousing how physical education (PE) and school sport can support the positive development of marginalised youth populations, limited research has been undertaken with left-behind children, rendering them a hidden group in this space. This conceptual paper sought to examine the context of left-behind children in China and consider the potential of PE and school sport to support their positive development. It highlights that while much research has been conducted on left-behind children in China, this has tended towards a deficit perspective, positioning these young people as in some way ‘lacking’. This paper critically examines the persistence of the deficit perspective and seeks to challenge this prevailing narrative, advocating for a shift towards a strengths-based perspective. With consideration of research on PE and school sport specifically, this paper argues that whilst PE and school sport have been recognised as valuable contexts for fostering strengths among for marginalised youth broadly, there is a dearth of literature on left-behind children’s experiences. As such, further research on the PE and school sport experiences of left-behind children in China is urgently needed.</p>