Paper short abstract:

Intersectionalised social inequalities can be understood as a lack of capabilities which influence the participation of children in sports. By using a model of good-practice (which shows transformative characteristics) a qualitative study analyzed the children's perspective regarding capability building. The findings show that transformative staging on the micro level can create capabilities.

Paper long abstract:

Background: Intersectionalised social inequalities describe social conditions that can be understood as a lack of capabilities (Sen, 2009). These also influence children’s sports. Children who are affected by poverty, are attributed a so-called migration background, are female, and/or grow up in deprived residential environments are underrepresented in extracurricular sports in Germany (e.g., Mutz, 2020). A lack of sports-related capabilities can be the reason for an insufficient fit between children and sports. While these conditions cannot be directly changed, transformative sports stagings are becoming relevant to social justice from a (sports-) educational perspective. Social sports projects for children in precarious situations come into focus since their staging requires only minor conversion factors and, thus, generates capabilities.

Objective: The goal of this paper is to explore key elements of sports settings for aimed at addressing children in precarious situations by using a model of good-practice called Open Sunday (as commodity). This project requires no specific motoric abilities, knowledge, or gender, it is free of charge, with no registration, has got a polysportive approach, and it is roofed and accessible on foot (Edelhoff, 2023). The study aims to reconstruct the capabilities (respectively the conversion factors) from the perspective of the participants (6 – 10 years old).

Method: By using a qualitative method approach, 25 guided interviews were conducted with children who participate in the project Open Sunday. (Mage = 8.2 years, SDage = 1.01 years). The average interview length was about 29 minutes. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to reconstruct shared and multi-faceted meaning across the dataset regarding key elements of staging that explain the participation (Braun & Clarke, 2022).

Result: Five themes were developed in the data analysis, which refer to the key elements as follows: (1) In contrast to other settings (e.g., schools, sports clubs), children have the freedom to play as they like. (2) Every child is at least able to do some of the given sports content, so that there is no a priori exclusion. (3) Due to the broad social conditions, the participants can choose various relationships with other children (old/new friends, family members) while playing, which fits to their diversity in social needs. (4) The constantly changing sports content leads to a continuously attractive leisure time possibility for children. (5) In order to guarantee free, safe, and joyful playing, it is necessary that adults make slight regulations and structural arrangements (content, methods). These themes represent different conversion factors that generate the capability to participate in this project, which then strengthens e.g., sports-related competences that can be used in other settings.

Conclusion: This study enlarges the research on key elements for the staging of sports for children in precarious situations at the micro level by providing the perspective of children. The analysis sheds light on missing elements of sports settings and contributes to unveiling underlying mechanisms of social exclusion in children’s sports.

References

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE.

Edelhoff, D. (2023). Soziale Gerechtigkeit im Kindersport durch Capabilities am Beispiel des sozialen Sportprojekts Open Sunday. Bewegung & Sport: Fachzeitschrift für den Unterricht in Schulen, Kindergärten und Vereinen, 77(2), 15–19.

Mutz, M. (2020). Sport- und Bewegungsaktivitäten von Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland: Ein Update des Forschungsstandes. In C. Breuer, C. Joisten & W. Schmidt (Hrsg.), Vierter Deutscher Kinder- und Jugendsportbericht (S. 39-50). Hofmann.

Sen, A. (2009). The idea of justice. Allen Lane & Harvard University Press.