The aim to the study is to shed light on girl’s lower degree of participation in the sports movement by examining how both non-European born parents as well as parents born in Sweden view organised sports and their daughter’s participation. The study is based on focus group interviews with parents to daughters aged 6-18. The report offers insight in the perceptions and experiences of parents to daughters that are underrepresented in the sports movement.
Some overall conclusions and recommendations
- Work actively to introduce the sports movement through cooperation with other local associations and organisations to create possibilities to reach underrepresented groups.
- Facilitate the travels to and from sports activities with the parent’s participation through, for example, middlemen that can escort the children between school and practices. This could either be arranges within the mandate of the school’s leisure activities or through volunteering activities.
- Initiate flexible family-focused activities where parents and children can engage in sports together to create the possibilities for participation and common leisure activities. This could reach groups that, today, don’t see organised sports as an alternative for them.
About the authors
This report is written by Anders Kassman, Associate professor in sociology, and Åsa Kneck, Doctor of Medical Science with a focus on Health Care Sciences, both at Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College.
Picture by Stefan Schranz from Pixabay.