The Future of Education

Sport holds a distinctive capacity to unite communities, enhance health and well-being, foster social inclusion, and inspire positive social change. Within the context of the global challenges articulated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [1], sport development offers a platform for conceptualising innovative, socially responsive solutions. This study explores how final-year university students engaged with sport development principles to address SDG-aligned issues through an applied capstone assessment, and how this process influenced their sense of personal and professional purpose. Students were required to draw on the knowledge and skills developed throughout their degree to identify a global or community-based challenge linked to a specific SDG and propose a viable, sport-based strategy aimed at making a positive social contribution. Designed as an authentic learning experience, the task sought to deepen disciplinary understanding while activating students’ purpose, agency, and readiness to transition into professional practice. To examine the impact of the assessment, data were collected before and after task completion to identify shifts in students’ perceptions of purpose, preparedness, and capacity to contribute to social change. Findings indicate a notable shift in students’ overall sense of life purpose, including a strengthened desire to make a positive difference within their communities, aligning with broader scholarship on purpose development and agency in emerging adults [2]. Students also reported increased awareness of how sport can be leveraged to address complex societal challenges and greater confidence in applying their skills in meaningful, real-world contexts, supporting literature emphasising the potential of intentionally designed sport initiatives to contribute to social outcomes [3]. Collectively, these outcomes highlight the value of purpose-driven, SDG-aligned curriculum design in sport development education. Embedding authentic, socially relevant assessments within undergraduate university degrees can simultaneously cultivate professional competence and foster a sustained commitment to contributing to a more equitable and sustainable world.