Etniske minoritetspiger: Bevæggrunde for deltagelse eller fravær i idrætsforeninger

Abstract

In recent years the importance of sports organizations in integrating ethnic minorities has become of greater interest. Despite of this the existing research among ethnic minorities has mainly consisted of quantitative studies to determine how many as well as how much time they spend on physical activity and sports organizations. These studies show that people from ethnic minorities are less physical active and their participation in sports organizations is lower. However, any significant variances among boys and men from ethnic minorities are not seen when compared to the majority, hence the differences in sports participation are to be found among girls and women. Studies in sports organizations which clarify the perspectives of ethnic minority girls have been limited. As such, the aim of this study was to qualitatively examine the underlying reasons which ethnic minority girls describe for either their participation or absence in Danish sports organizations. To investigate this I conducted four focus group interviews including twelve girls with ethnic minority background. These focus groups represent both ethnic minority girls who are members of a sports organization and ethnic minority girls who are absent from sports organizations. On the basis of these interviews I found that the promotive aspects for participation in sports organization could lead to a sense of community. Furthermore, a feeling of recognition and acceptance of cultural and religious values inside the community had importance along with meeting new friends. This also included ethnic minority girls who are absent in sports organization who felt that sports organizations could give them an opportunity to meet with new friends from the majority. Parental support towards physical activity and sports organizations were also valuable for ethnic minority girls who also experienced an expansion of their network after coming into the sports organization. The limiting aspects expressed in this study were mainly education, including time spent and prioritisation on education and also the importance of education from their parents’ point of view. Furthermore, the lack of network of friends and family to introduce ethnic minority girls seemed a barrier and also the lack of friends inside sports organizations. In addition, sport organizations were seen as expensive and the flexibility of these compared with ethnic minority girls schedule were seen as a disadvantage compared to commercial sports organizations. Finally, it was clear from the interviews that ethnic minority girls across both groups had interest in both physical activity and participation in sport organizations. This leads to reflection of what opportunities and offers ethnic minority girls are offered in relation to sports organizations and how they meet ethnic minority girls’ demands.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Etniske minoritetspiger: Bevæggrunde for deltagelse eller fravær i idrætsforeninger

[Ethnic minority girls' reasons for participation or absence in Sports organizations]