Roles and challenges of club activity instructors in community-based extracurricular sports development: An interview study of teacher advisors and instructors

Abstract

Problem Statement. In Japanese schools, extracurricular sports activities (undō bukatsudō) have traditionally relied on teachers’ voluntary commitment, contributing to long working hours and placing additional burdens on teachers who coach sports outside their areas of expertise. These activities are now being reorganised through “community-based development” (formerly known as “regional transition”), with a six-year “Reform Implementation Period” beginning in the 2026 academic year. During this transition, club activity instructors— community-based, non-teaching personnel who provide coaching in schools—serve as a vital link between schools and local communities. Clarifying the realities of programme implementation and the challenges encountered can help inform its future design. Approach. In October 2023, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three teacher advisors and three club activity instructors, representing five individuals in total because one participant had served in both roles. All participants had experience coaching clubs in junior high schools and were purposively selected as information-rich cases. Guided by a grounded theory approach, the interview narratives were inductively coded and organised into categories, while expert triangulation was used to support the trustworthiness of the findings. Purpose. The study examined the current state of club coaching and the realities and challenges of serving as a club activity instructor from the perspectives of both teacher advisors and instructors. Results. Although both groups demonstrated a strong commitment to club activities, they differed in their perceptions of remuneration, role expectations, and instructors’ impact. Teacher advisors reported reduced workloads but expressed concerns about instructors’ limited familiarity with the school environment and the practical demands of coordination, and tended to recruit individuals they already trusted, including former students. Club activity instructors expressed satisfaction with their remuneration and recognised qualitative improvements in club activities. However, they also identified limited public awareness of the scheme and administrative burdens as significant challenges. Remuneration varied in both form and amount, while perceptions of the instructors’ roles differed: teacher advisors viewed club activities as part of the broader educational mission, whereas instructors focused primarily on the activities themselves. Conclusions. Effectively utilising club activity instructors requires greater public awareness of the scheme, systematic humanresource development, improved matching between instructors and schools, remuneration arrangements based on equal pay for equal work, and a clearly defined division of responsibilities and collaborative framework between instructors and teacher advisors. Relying on teacher advisors’ personal networks—a form of social capital—for recruitment may be effective in the short term, but it ultimately constrains the expansion of provision. These difficulties reflect broader challenges confronting community-based development. By drawing on insights from those directly involved, the study identifies important implications for the sustainable management of club activities.