Junyi Zhang *, Yingchun Wang * and Robert Schinke **
(*) School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
(**) School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada
Citation
Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Schinke, R. (2026). Crafting Identity: how youth athletes navigate borders and find their place in China’s Sport-Education System (Part 2). International Journal of Sport Psychology, 57(3), 239-255. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2026.57.239
Abstract
Crafting Identity: How Youth Athletes Navigate Borders and Find Their Place in China’s Sport-Education System (Part 2) Building upon the Eastern relational framework from Part 1, our authors investigated into three identity trajectories: The Pragmatist, The Value Seeker, and The System Perpetuator. We propose a theoretical model that advances knowledge on identity in constrained systems and offers culturally informed dual-career identity construction during youth athletes’ specialization transition within China’s sport-education system. Data came from interviews with four school-team coaches, all graduates of professional sports universities, who provided institutional and developmental perspectives, six school team athletes (aged 11-13 years, M = 12.33) offering developmental insights as elite sports reserves, and two elite athletes (aged 18 and 26, competing at national and international levels) representing high-performance experiences. The relational ontology approach framed accounts as co-constructed within hierarchical networks. Findings revealed border navigation through three stages: Seeking Affirmational Support, Acquiring Evidence of Competence, and Managing Identity Boundaries, with families acting as Strategic Border Guards. These processes, situated within Academic Pressure, Institutionalized Sport Pathways, and the National Elite Sport System, crystallize support strategies.
Keywords: Youth athletes, Identity construction, Sport-education system, Dual careers, China, Relational ontology, Constructivist grounded theory