The co-creation of an online educational tool to raise awareness about whistleblowing

Abstract

Considering the rise of reported instances of harmful irregularities in sport, it is of paramount importance to safeguard sport from unethical and illegal practices through whistleblowing. The present study aimed to develop an online educational tool to raise awareness about whistleblowing by using the co-creation approach, in the context of the “Sport WHISTLE” Project. Participants were 18 young athletes from Greece who took part in the co-creation workshops. Regarding the results, athletes didn’t perceive what the whistleblowing is. A significant issue that was emerged was the legitimacy and the responsibility of whistleblowing. Also, athletes acknowledged that attitudes, social norms and controllability play a key role in whistleblowing. Finally, the reasons for or against whistleblowing were identified. The findings of the present study offer a better insight into the athletes needs for online education regarding the whistleblowing of harmful irregularities in sport applying the usefulness of a co-creation approach in guiding future preventive and educational strategies promoting whistleblowing.