Background and objective of the project
In the wake of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, an increasing trend towards integrative physical education and club sports can be observed in many countries, including Switzerland (Achermann et al., 2017; Lamprecht et al., 2017). This is because sport and physical activity in integrative settings is ascribed a high potential for promoting social participation (e.g. Fediuk, 2008; Elling et al., 2001). However, the specifics of the culture of sport and physical activity as well as certain individual and structural conditions can also mean that restrictions and exclusions are more tangible and visible than in other contexts (Reuker et al., 2016; Shields & Synnot, 2014). Accordingly, the potential for social participation can also be critically questioned. Against this background the following questions arise:
- How does the social participation of children with cognitive impairments in integrative school and club sports take shape?
- What factors are important for social participation in integrative school and club sports?
- What connections exist between social participation in the settings of physical education, school, sports club and leisure time?
Theoretical and methodological approach
The theoretical basis of the research project is the heuristic of social participation in an integrative school context by Koster et al. (2009), which differentiates between four dimensions: social contacts and interactions, social relationships and friendships, social perception and social acceptance. The analysis of the influencing factors of social participation focuses on various factors, on the one hand at the structural level of the school and associations (design of lessons and training, competences and support of the teachers/training persons, class and group structure/climate, framework conditions of school/association) and on the other hand at the individual level of the children and teachers/training persons (attitudes of the children and teachers/training persons). The project is designed as a quantitative cross-sectional study with a sample of approx. 150 integrative mainstream classes (4th-6th grade primary school classes, at least 1 child with a cognitive impairment, a total of approx. 3,000 children) in selected cantons of German-speaking Switzerland and approx. 30 selected sports clubs in which children with a cognitive impairment are members of the school sample. Data on the four dimensions of social participation and their influencing factors will be collected by means of standardised questionnaires and interviews which are specifically designed for the target group of children with cognitive impairment or which will be partially adapted in a self-financed preliminary study for this project. Multi-level models and structural equation models for hypothesis testing are planned for data evaluation in order to analyse the characteristics of social participation (question 1) and the relevance of the individual influencing factors (question 2) on the one hand and the context comparison (sports lessons, school, club, leisure time; question 3) on the other.
Relevance of the project
The aim of this research project is to generate a differentiated picture of the social participation of children with cognitive impairment in school and club sports in Switzerland. This will help to highlight the opportunities, but also the challenges and limits of integrative school and club sports with regard to the social participation of children with disabilities and at the same time contribute to the current controversial debate on integration and inclusion. In addition, the findings can be used to provide decision-makers and actors in education and sports politics with specific knowledge for action and control in order to develop concepts and measures for the targeted and successful social participation of children with cognitive impairments in integrative school and club sports.
Literature
Achermann, B., Buholzer, A., Däppen, S., Hubmann, F. & Sahli Lozano, C. (2017). Länderbericht Schweiz [Country report Switzerland]. Zeitschrift für Inklusion, 2017(2). https://www.inklusion-online.net/index.php/inklusion-online/article/view/421/325
Elling, A., de Knop, P. & Knoppers, A. (2001). The social integrative meaning of sport: a critical and comparative analysis of policy and practice in the Netherlands. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18, 414-434. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.18.4.414
Fediuk, F. (Ed.). (2008). Inklusion als bewegungspädagogische Aufgabe. Menschen mit und ohne Behinderungen gemeinsam im Sport [Inclusion as a task for movement education. People with and without disabilities together in sports]. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider-Verl. Hohengehren.
Koster, M., Nakken, H., Pijl, S. J. & van Houten, E. (2009). Being part of the peer group: a literature study focusing on the social dimension of inclusion in education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13, 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110701284680
Lamprecht, M., Bürgi, R., Gebert, A. & Stamm, H. P. (2017). Sportvereine in der Schweiz: Entwicklungen, Herausforderungen und Perspektiven [Sports clubs in Switzerland: developments, challenges and perspectives]. Magglingen: Bundesamt für Sport (BASPO).
Reuker, S., Rischke, A., Kämpfe, A., Schmitz, B., Teubert, H., Thissen, A. et al. (2016). Inklusion im Sportunterricht. Ein Überblick über internationale Forschungsergebnisse aus den Jahren 2005 bis 2014 [Inclusion in physical education. An overview of international research results from 2005 to 2014]. Sportwissenschaft, 46, 88–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-016-0402-7
Shields, N. & Synnot, A. J. (2014). An exploratory study of how sports and recreation industry personnel perceive the barriers and facilitators of physical activity in children with disability. Disability and Rehabilitation, 36, 2080-2084. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2014.892637
