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Sport in the lives of young Australians offers an informative look into the practice of sport, the nature of children's and young people's experiences, and its significance for their development.
Based on survey data derived from face-to-face interviews with 2,400 schoolchildren, 600 four-day diaries and focus groups with both elite performers, coaches and parents, the book offers a comprehensive overview of young people's involvement in sport and physical activity in the 1990s. Deliberately set in the context of the literature on sport involvement and participation motivation, and alongside wider policy concerns, individual contributors each have accessed the data in order to address a particular substantive topic. Given the almost complete absence of hard data currently available in this field, the book should appeal not only to a local audience but to a wider international readership including sport scientists, sports' administrators, coaches, teachers and policy makers, indeed anyone with an interest in the who, what, why and how of young people's involvement in sport.
This book introduces the fundamentals of sport sociology and social issues in sport for students of physical education (PE) and coaching. It provides an accessible, jargon-free foundation for understanding the relationships between sport, education, and wider society that puts into context the reader's applied studies in PE and coaching. Drawing on cutting-edge research, this book examines core topics in the study of sport and society, including the origins of sport, sport education, sport as business, commodification, globalisation, sport and health, sport and the media, gender, migration, and Indigenous people in sport. Throughout this book, in-depth ‘commentary’ pieces look closely at particular pieces of research that illustrate the sociological themes being examined, from the impact of sport media on school children to the effects of hegemonic masculinity in rugby. This book is invaluable reading for any course on sport and society, physical education, sports coaching, or sport development.
The Indigenous peoples of Australia have a proud history of participation and the achievement of excellence in Australian sports. Historically, Australian sports have provided a rare and important social context in which Indigenous Australians could engage with and participate in non-Indigenous society. Today, Indigenous Australian people in sports continue to provide important points of reference around which national public dialogue about racial and cultural relations in Australia takes place. Yet much media coverage surrounding these issues and almost all academic interest concerning Indigenous people and Australian sports is constructed from non-Indigenous perspectives. With a few notable exceptions, the racial and cultural implications of Australian sports as viewed from an Indigenous Australian Studies perspective remains understudied. The media coverage and academic discussion of Indigenous people and Australian sports is largely constructed within the context of Anglo-Australian nationalist discourse, and becomes most emphasised when reporting on aspects of ‘racial and cultural’ explanations of Indigenous sporting excellence and failures associated anomalous behaviour. This book investigates the many ways that Indigenous Australians have engaged with Australian sports and the racial and cultural readings that have been associated with these engagements. Questions concerning the importance that sports play in constructions of Australian indigeneities and the extent to which these have been maintained as marginal to Australian national identity are the central critical themes of this book. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.
This book redresses a pressing need for us to understand the motivations of children and young people in playing sport, what it means to them, and how it fits into their everyday lives. It is research-heavy, with each chapter presenting the results of a different study conducted on children’s and young people’s participation in sport across a diverse range of ages, settings and sports from a humanistic perspective. Well-written and accessible, it captures the texture, nuances and meanings of participation in different sports in Australia, France, Japan and New Zealand in order to situate learning and the nature of children’s experiences within their social and cultural contexts. It provides valuable insights into the subjective nature of children and young people’s participation in sport, and should be read by anyone interested in children’s and youth sport, from academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students to coaches, teachers, parents and youth sport administrators.
Youth sport in Australia explores the history and policy development of youth sport in the Australian context, the role of sport and physical education in private and public schools. The book investigates the conflict between elite and grassroots sport and its repercussions on policymaking and youth involvement in sport.
The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is a comprehensive survey of the latest research into young people’s involvement in sport. Drawing on a wide diversity of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, policy studies, coaching, physical education and physiology, the book examines the importance of sport during a key transitional period of our lives, from the later teenage years into the early twenties, and therefore helps us develop a better understanding of the social construction of young people’s lives. The book covers youth sport in all its forms, from competitive game-contests and conventional sport to recreational activities, exercise and lifestyle sport, and at all levels, from elite competition to leisure time activities and school physical education. It explores youth sport across the world, in developing and developed countries, and touches on some of the most significant themes and issues in contemporary sport studies, including physical activity and health, lifelong participation, talent identification and development, and safeguarding and abuse. No other book brings together in one place such a breadth and depth of material on youth sport or the engagement of young people in physical activity. The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is therefore important reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in youth sport, youth culture, sport studies or physical education.
