To deviate from the expected: a collective story of physical activity among inactive rural children

ABSTRACT

Physically inactive children in rural areas are overlooked in research because of the dominance of urban perspectives focusing on physical activity rather than inactivity. The aim of this article is to examine an emerging collective story of how physically inactive children (aged 9–11 years) in two rural areas experience their relationships with physical activity. Based on praxis-oriented sociocultural theorising, this study focuses on how practical physical activity is understood by rural children as part of their sociocultural environment. Five focus group interviews with 21 physically inactive rural children in western Sweden were conducted. Experiences and behaviours that the children emphasised as central to their inactivity were analysed as sociocultural expressions in a collective story about physical activity. To underline the importance of narratives for behaviour in the sociocultural environment, the collective story is presented through three composite narratives told by three fictional characters: ‘Robin, the shy one’, ‘Kim, the farm kid’, and ‘Angry Alex’. Characteristic of these inactive rural children is a lack of self-confidence, a lack of meaning, and difficulties in managing social physical activities. Common to the behaviours that follow from the children’s experiences is that they are perceived as deviating from what is expected of them in accordance with the cultural story about a physically active child. The analysis shows that the underlying cause is the discrepancy between the children’s understanding of physical activity and the understanding conveyed via institutions informed by urban perspectives such as, for example, school. For instance, children view physical activity as part of daily labour at the same time that the school teaches physical activities intended for recreational purposes in spare time. Institutions should make room for more interpretations, including rural ones, of the meaning of physical activity and, thus, contribute to reconstructing the cultural narrative about physical activity.

KEYWORDS:

• Collective story
• physical activity
• rural
• narrative
• physically inactive children
• sociocultural perspective

Introduction

Efforts aimed at promoting children’s physical activity (PA) are usually designed based on notions of PA as experienced by physically active children (Högman et al., 2020b; Patriksson & Persson, 2012; Shilling, 2010). Such notions are often produced and interpreted within an urban frame of reference, creating a particular cultural story (Richardson, 1990) about the physically active child. However, although allowed limited space in the public discourse, there are always also collective stories (Richardson, 1990). These are stories that deviate from general notions and contain alternative experiences of a phenomenon. We examine an emerging collective story of how physically inactive children (aged 9–11 years) in two rural areas experience their relationships with PA. The examination of this collective story is guided by two research questions: (1) What experiences underlie these children’s relationships with PA? and (2) What behaviours arise in the encounter with different physical activities in their sociocultural contexts? This collective story is important to consider to develop an understanding of the different meanings PA can have for various groups of children. A collective story has the function of complementing the cultural story and opening up a more differentiated view of, in this case, what PA might be (Piggin, 2019; Richardson, 1990). In particular, this collective story is important to understand how physically inactive children in these rural areas relate to PA.

This study was conducted in two rural areas in central western Sweden. We do not use an absolute definition of rurality but consider rurality as one end of a continuum with urbanity on the other (Rich & Misener, 2019). This continuum is shaped by ecological and economic relations where the rural is recognised by extraction of raw materials. Thus, we acknowledge the diversity of rural contexts that arise as a result of the different relationships that rural areas have with other systems. This means that rural areas are spatially characterised by extensive land areas and economically by primary production (Gilbert, 1982). In the study areas, most residents are employed in manufacturing, service, or agricultural/forestry industries. Spatially, the areas consist of a small central village where the school and, in some cases, a grocery store and a few sports clubs are located, as well as houses and farms scattered further out in the countryside or in the woods. Few sports organisations exist, and these are mainly traditional sports such as football, floorball, gymnastics, and horse riding. The distances to the central village and, thus, school can be up to 20 km; thus, most children have to rely on school transport. At these small so-called rural schools, children in several grades are mixed. For both areas, the nearest larger community is 10–30 km away and has about 10,000 inhabitants. A somewhat wider range of sports and activities is available here. The nearest city with about 100,000 inhabitants is 30–50 km away.

Theoretically, we draw on praxis-oriented sociocultural (Gilbert, 1982; Rogoff, 2003) and narrative (McGannon & Smith, 2015; Richardson, 1990) frameworks. Rogoff (2003) argues that human behaviour is shaped by the specific cultural practices found in the cultural communities in which people live. It is through practical activities, both related to production and leisure, that children create their relationships with the outside world. Practical action is also what shapes what can be called the rural (Gilbert, 1982). Rural culture develops within the framework of the economic system and is shaped by the practical activities of primary production (Gilbert, 1982; Rogoff, 2003).

Narrative inquiry has been promoted as a fruitful methodology for integrating culture into the understanding of how people relate to PA (McGannon et al., 2021; McGannon & Smith, 2015). People use narratives to understand themselves in relation to the external world. Children receive messages about values and desirable goals through stories conveyed by fairy tales, education, the media, parents, and so on (Rogoff, 2003). Richardson (1990, p. 24) argued that ‘participation in a culture includes participation in the narratives of that culture, a general understanding of the stock of meanings and their relationships to each other’. Children can have access to several complementary or competing narratives, but it is also possible that a narrative is so strong that it is perceived as the only one present (Richardson, 1990). Such dominating narratives constitute a society’s cultural story. Richardson (1990, p. 25) emphasises that the cultural story is always told from ‘the perspective of the ruling interest and the normative order … ’ It represents the particular common narrative that people living together in communities perceive as the truth about themselves and who they are.

Stories of children’s PA

Regarding PA, we argue that it is the physically active child represented in the contemporary cultural story of PA in Western countries. Messages to children, repeated by scholars as well as by those who are significant in children’s lives, include the importance of being physically active and the individual responsibility to maintain a healthy lifestyle (Piggin, 2019; Shilling, 2010). In the cultural story, the physically active child is active in specific forms that also promote various psychological (self-confidence, concentration, fighting spirit) and social (cooperation, sportsmanship) skills (Wright et al., 2003). The child is physically active together with others and learns to cooperate with peers and adult role models. Such training incorporates mental and emotional abilities that teach the child to be respectful, to persist, and to lose honourably. The proposed ideal environment for this type of socialisation is organised sports programmes that structure children’s leisure time in the way modern society demands (Rich & Misener, 2019; Shilling, 2010). Organised sports are not only about PA; they also offer a story where the meaning of PA becomes clear. The purpose of the child’s physical efforts in the present is to progress and, if fortunate, become a successful athlete. It is a story with a beginning, middle, and future and one that is understandable to children themselves.

The collective story of PA, from the perspective of the physically inactive child, is far less known to us. Since research has systematically focused on what supports PA, we know little about the processes underlying children’s avoidance of it (Patriksson & Persson, 2012). Yet, even children who avoid PA must relate to it in their positioning within the social environment. As Wright et al. (2003, p. 19) put it: ‘In Western societies it is difficult in some way not to construct one’s identity in relation to physical activity and/or sport, even if it is in rejecting it as part of one’s social and cultural life’. Several perspectives contribute to our fragmentary knowledge of this collective narrative of PA. Mikalsen and Lagestad (2018) found that children construct different meaning systems regarding PA depending on their growing engagement in and identification with physical (in)activity. Consequently, they may build different kinds of lifeworlds in which they locate the place and meaning for PA. Patriksson and Persson (2012) showed that inactive young people’s relationship to PA is characterised by cultural notions of the purpose of PA and how this is related to other cultural endeavours in the local community.

Based on children’s own statements, physical inactivity is not desirable and may even be stigmatising as it can be linked to characteristics such as laziness and lack of discipline (Bentholm et al., 2021). Further, physically inactive children can experience marginalisation and exclusion in settings such as physical education (PE) classes or at recess as they do not manage to perform according to the cultural story of PA (Bentholm et al., 2021; Patriksson & Persson, 2012). Such situations may result in negative experiences based primarily on a feeling of incompetence. Being seen as ‘not good enough’ can be significantly detrimental to the growing understanding of one’s place in the cultural context (Rogoff, 2003; Wright et al., 2003). Additionally, these experiences often lead to a direct fear of engaging in physical activities together with other children. A further consequence may be avoidance of physical activities to distance oneself from the cultural story of the physically active child (Patriksson & Persson, 2012; Wright et al., 2003).

Sports, PA, and rurality

Today, the production system in Western countries moves increasing numbers of people to cities. This process reinforces the already-established ideas of cities as centres for development and their inhabitants as representatives of the norm (Farrugia, 2014; Stenbacka, 2011). Historically, the development of Western sport as we know it (standardised rules, formal competitions, ranking) also has its origins in cities. Patriksson (1973) has shown that Western sports originated as amusement for the bourgeoisie as major competitions and events entertained the urban population. The modern version of PE also originates from urban environments as, during the nineteenth century, it first emerged in urban schools (Lundquist Wanneberg, 2004).

In rural areas, in turn, physical effort has always been integrated into daily work (Gilbert, 1982). Yet, Patriksson (1973) showed that different types of folk sports, physical competitions, and games have long been part of many cultural communities in different rural contexts. Chores linked to primary production have been modified and reinvented as activities for recreation and pleasure. However, these activities have, historically, not been organised for physical health purposes since daily labour has been considered more than enough physical effort. Although much of the daily work in the primary production sector has been automated, the attitude that PA relates to daily labour and not leisure time seems to persist (Smyth et al., 2014; Witcher et al., 2007). Gavarkovs et al. (2017) found that middle-aged rural men considered PA superfluous after their tiring workday, and McGannon et al. (2014) suggested that, while the urban middle class uses PA as a way of balancing sedentary workdays, rural people more often consider PA a necessary part of their daily labour.

The dynamic between the ‘normative’ city and the ‘deviant’ countryside has several consequences for rural children (Farrugia, 2014). For instance, the perception of common intra-group characteristics that separate the group from a counterpart can lead to feelings of social belonging (Rich & Misener, 2019). However, rural collective identity-creating processes may also leave less room for individual expression. This can lead to the exclusion of people who do not share the ethnic, cultural, and gendered understanding of sport and PA (Tonts & Atherley, 2010). Further, family values are particularly important in rural areas (McGannon et al., 2014; Smyth et al., 2014). The organisation of work and its significance for adults’ relationships to PA can provide explanations for why rural children seem to have slightly different PA habits than urban children. Although no differences have been identified with regard to more intense activity, rural children spend more time performing light PA than urban children (McCrorie et al., 2020). Another important factor for these conditions is the often-limited range of organised sports activities in rural areas, potentially creating a narrow frame of reference for how PA should be performed (Högman et al., 2020a; Kellstedt et al., 2021). Consequently, rather than sports activities, some scholars consider schools to be particularly important institutions for rural children’s PE (Button et al., 2020). Operating in a semi-rural geographic context, such as smaller towns, yet including children living in remote areas, schools can be considered links between rural communities and the urban establishment. Schools are connected to broader bureaucratic systems in terms of agencies and governing bodies based in urban geographies. Thus, they are central to the production of the cultural story upheld by values embodied in an urban middle class (Farrugia, 2014; Rich & Misener, 2019; Stenbacka, 2011).

To summarise, relatively few studies have been interested in physically inactive children’s collective story of PA, especially in the rural context. Furthermore, it is uncommon for studies to focus on the sociocultural contexts that influence inactive rural children’s relationships with PA. Therefore, it is relevant to pay attention to inactive rural children’s collective stories about PA.

Materials and methods

Methodology

Based on sociohistorical materialism, this study focuses on the common world of ideas arising from experience of practical activities (Gilbert, 1982; Rogoff, 2003). For the world to appear comprehensible, ideas are arranged first socially and then individually into narratives or specific stories (Richardson, 1990). To understand such constructed stories, there is a need to interpret expressions in relation to the sociocultural patterns under which the constructions were created (McGannon & Smith, 2015; Rogoff, 2003). Collective and individual stories are, thus, contextual. Consequently, an appropriate approach is to attempt to capture parts of various stories that children relate to and investigate the practical activities and experiences from which these are created. Recognising the significance of the spoken language in this construction process (Rogoff, 2003), this study utilises focus groups (FGs) for producing data. In an FG, several participants gather to discuss a common subject with assistance from a moderator who, to varying degrees, directs the conversation. Thus, data are jointly constructed by researchers and participants (Karembelis et al., 2018). Gibson (2007) suggested that the strength of FGs includes the creation of a conversational climate that tends to produce richer statements than individual interview situations do, especially with children. These statements are also produced in a social context more similar to children’s typical environments, contributing to data quality (Karembelis et al., 2018). Karembelis et al. (2018) further argued that FGs are useful for children to jointly explore and discover their world and thus increase their understanding of it. This is also a first step to increase the agency of a marginalised group such as physically inactive rural children (Greene & Hill, 2005).

Participants

Children were recruited from four rural schools that participated in a previous project (Högman et al., 2020a). For this first project, schools were selected based on previous involvement in initiatives to integrate PA in the school day. For this study, physically inactive children were recruited by asking classroom teachers, in collaboration with PE teachers, to identify children based on the following two criteria: (1) not participating in organised sports in their leisure time and (2) perceived by teachers as often avoiding participation in PE classes and other physical activities at school. A total of 24 children accepted participation in the study and were divided into five FGs. Three children were absent on the day of the interviews; thus, 21 children (9–11 years old; 10 girls) finally participated in FGs during December 2019 and January 2020 (Table 1).

Table 1. Overview of focus groups and study participants.

Focus group	No. of participants	Age	Location
1	5	9	School 1, Location A
2	4	10	School 1, Location A
3	4	9–10	School 2, Location B
4	2	9	School 3, Location B
5	6	9–11	School 4, Location B

Before data collection, two pilot FGs were conducted with children the same age as the participants to ensure comprehensibility. The FGs had a semi-structured character, enabling a balance between predetermined themes and space for the children’s own thoughts (Gibson, 2007). The first author functioned as the moderator and the second author as an assistant, taking notes and following up on important aspects of the conversations. We used an interview guide with four domains to explore the nature of relationships with PA. The domains were chosen based on the research reviewed above as well as our theoretical framework that emphasises practical (Gilbert, 1982; Rogoff, 2003) and narrative (McGannon & Smith, 2015; Richardson, 1990) aspects of children’s PA. The domains were (i) experiences and emotions; (ii) self-perception and abilities; (iii) meanings and beliefs; and (iv) social interplay in activity. Each theme had a predetermined opening question, followed by questions formulated based on the direction of the discussion.

Ethical considerations

There is always an unequal power balance between children and adults (Greene & Hill, 2005). We reflected on our position as adults backed by a public academic institution and how this affected the relationship between our motives and the children’s experiences. The goal was to prevent the risk that another urban, adult interpretive prerogative would marginalise the inactive rural children’s experiences. As general starting points for this project, we acknowledged the four basic ethical principles of research: information, consent, confidentiality, and utilisation. The research project underwent ethical review by the regional ethical board (ref: C2017/546). Participation in FGs was voluntary for all children and the children gave their verbal and written assent when recruited to the study and again before the interviews. All participants also required written approvals from their legal guardians. At the beginning of the FG interviews, the children were informed about their rights, including the right to not answer questions or to leave the FGs at any time (Greene & Hill, 2005).

Rigour

One way we strengthened the methodological rigour was by applying our many years of collective experience interviewing children about PA in groups and individually. With help from previous research, we were able to approach an understanding of differences between these children and those who are more physically active. Another measure was to jointly promote our reflexivity through conversations about our own backgrounds and starting points in relation to the study (McGannon et al., 2021).

The first author conducted the primary analysis. The analysis was focused on both the children’s subjective expressions of a collective story and the sociocultural arrangements in which it is constructed (Karembelis et al., 2018; McGannon & Smith, 2015). The purpose of the analysis was not to examine a coherent story from individual children but to focus on the meaning units that were critical for inactive rural children’s relationships to PA (McGannon & Smith, 2015). Technically, the analytical procedure followed the steps of qualitative content analysis as described by Graneheim and Lundman (2004). First, we used interpretation to access a latent level of meaning attached to meaning units (Graneheim & Lundman, 2004). One example of such a latent meaning unit was when a participant spoke about how they ‘liked sports, as long as they did not get a ball in the face [laugh]’. This was interpreted as a way of saying that physical activities are unappealing and coded as ‘unpleasant experiences’. This phase resulted in 36 codes. Next, codes were analysed in relation to how they illustrated different parts of a particular aspect of the children’s relationship to PA (e.g. feelings, perceived competence, social interplay). In total, we had 10 higher-order themes (Graneheim & Lundman, 2004). Finally, themes were analysed in relation to our understanding of the cultural versus the collective story of PA (Richardson, 1990). This included merging themes that linked experiences with expressions of behaviour. Two themes were excluded as they did not illustrate an essential part of the collective story. This led to three themes containing both an experience and a related behaviour: Feelings of incompetence–Being Shy; Finding meaning in other practices–Being uninterested; Expectations of social interplay–Being angry. We consider these themes to represent different aspects of a collective story of inactive rural children. At this last stage, the second and third authors acted as ‘critical friends’ to stimulate reflection over possible pre-assumptions influencing the understanding of the data (McGannon et al., 2021).

The themes are illustrated below through three composite narratives. According to Willis (2019, p. 472), a composite narrative is ‘a number of interviews [that] are combined and presented as a story from a single individual’. There are different ways of using composite narratives to analyse and present data (McGannon & Smith, 2015; Willis, 2019). We have chosen to utilise them as a presentation technique and to refine the analytical process rather than integrate them into the analysis from the beginning. Each narrative is constructed based on data from several children. Importantly, the composite narratives are, thus, not stories from distinct groups of children (or traits) but created from themes from the whole sample (McGannon & Smith, 2015). For instance, the findings that point to how low confidence in one’s own ability results in a fear and shyness regarding physical activities are based on several children’s different expressions about these issues. We could have presented findings as themes but chose composite narratives primarily to promote the understanding of the narrative structure of the children’s understanding of themselves in the world. We also did so because this presentation technique may create better conditions for the reader to grasp and recognise the findings (Richardson, 1990; Willis, 2019). To make the characters more vivid, we have integrated certain characteristics from the interviewees that were prominent for each theme, for example how some children behaved during the interviews.

Results

The composite narratives are told through three fictional characters – Robin, Kim, and Alex.¹ After presenting the findings related to each narrative, we outline our interpretation of this narrative in relation to the cultural story and the emerging collective story of PA.

Robin, the shy one

During the FGs, Robin was the most hesitant, frequently not speaking until personally addressed. Physical activities such as sports were not really of interest to them and, thus, not something to get excited about discussing. Additionally, the FG context, including quite vocal peers, was perhaps not a conducive format for shy Robin. Robin’s behaviour in the FGs, however, provides information about the role they might have in social physical activities with these and other more physically active peers. Although Robin was not a fan of participating in PA, they emphasised the importance of healthy behaviour. Robin stated that being physically active is good for one’s health. Thus, Robin has internalised the cultural story of being physically active as part of good behaviour for children. For instance, Robin said that they always participated in PE classes but without really expressing any excitement about it.

Moderator:

Do your parents usually tell you to, like, participate in sports and such?

Child 1:

No, but … 

Robin:

… mom tells me to work really hard so I get an A in PE!

One aspect of the importance of ‘being good’ is reflected in the way they have internalised their mother’s value of good grades. While it is common for children to report that their parents encourage them to be active, Robin denies that this is the case and, instead, emphasises the instrumental value of achieving a good grade.

Valuing being good and successful also had other consequences for Robin. As they did not consider themselves good at sports and other physical activities, such settings could give rise to feelings of shame and embarrassment.

Robin:

It was always so embarrassing because I couldn’t do it. Like … what’s the name of this sport … parkour! When we had parkour … Well, so I stopped participating. They just laughed at me because I couldn’t do it.

It was difficult for Robin to be exposed as incompetent regarding PA and to be laughed at by peers. Robin did not necessarily dislike PA but rather signalled a kind of indifference towards it. What seemed more problematic than moving or not moving, was the social dynamic surrounding PA. Although PA did not mean the world to Robin, the exposure of their lack of proficiency was difficult. Consequently, Robin stated that they preferred to engage in solitary or pair activities. Robin often talked about, for instance, dog walking as a pleasant routine or spending hours on the trampoline with a friend, alternating jumping with talking and relaxing.

The interpretation is that, for Robin, PA itself does not pose a major obstacle to being sufficiently active. Rather, they are aware of expectations for them to be physically active and are drawn to act in ways that align with good sociocultural values that are mediated through the cultural story (Rogoff, 2003). However, Robin considers it important to be good at the things they engage in. The rural context offers a narrow range of physical activities (Kellstedt et al., 2021), and Robin’s self-evaluation occurs in relation to these. Thus, physical competence in the rural context is, to a large extent, conditioned to reflect traditional sporting skills. Further, perceiving themselves as having low physical competence, playing sports becomes a problem since it is often performed in social settings within their community. The social cohesion that characterises rural contexts (Rich & Misener, 2019) may, in this regard, be seen as limiting Robin’s possibility to explore their own ways to be physically active. Robin’s experiences of physical activities highlight how constructing one’s general identity on always ‘being good’, while at the same time perceiving oneself as having low physical competence, can become problematic in sociocultural arrangements where sociality is integrated into children’s physical activities. Robin’s situation illustrates a conflict between the cultural stories of, on the one hand, being good and, on the other, being active in ways predefined in the rural context.

Kim, the farm kid

During the FGs, Kim’s willingness to share their thoughts varied greatly based on our questions. Although all the participants were rural children, not all lived on farms. Kim, however, lived on a farm about 10 km from the school and the village and was dependent on the school bus for transport to participate in after-school activities. Their parents’ work situation, comprising long and irregular hours at the farm, also increased Kim’s difficulty of signing up for activities that required continuity in parental engagement. Consequently, except for school, Kim’s daily life took place on the farm.

Moderator:

Do you have any favourite place where you like to be active?

Child 1:

Doesn’t matter.

Kim:

If anything, it’s on the patio.

Child 2:

The lawn.

Child 1:

At home, in the woods.

Moderator:

In the woods?

Kim:

In the room.

Moderator:

Inside?

Kim:

In my room.

Kim expressed that not many physical activities such as sports take place at their home. What they do in their room or on the patio was not specified, but these are spaces that offer limited opportunities for PA. Living on a farm means life revolves around the never-ending work related to farming operations. For Kim, this meant that child-related activities were integrated into these daily routines.

Kim:

We have a lot of animals so we take care of them as well.

Moderator:

Okay … are you moving a lot when you take care of the animals?

Kim:

… playing with the dog and everything.

Moderator:

Alright. Do you get tired as well?

Kim:

Mhm … 

Culturally imbued PA, play, and work seem interrelated in Kim’s life on the farm. Work is central, and a large proportion constitutes manual labour. Thus, Kim understands PA as occupational rather than a leisure pursuit. Children cannot contribute to all working practices on the farm, Kim said, but referred to chores such as walking the dogs or carrying heavy buckets with animal feed as physical activities integrated into their life on the farm. Much of Kim’s play was also closely related to the adults’ daily work routines and practices. For instance, motor vehicles, part of the farm’s business resources, were a significant component in Kim’s play. In general, Kim’s interests were more oriented towards activities related to farm life rather than to those that may be considered mainstream. When asked what kind of activities they engage in in their spare time, Kim and a friend made it clear that football, a popular activity in the other cultural communities, did not interest them.

Kim:

I don’t like football.

Child 1:

No, we don’t do that.

Kim:

In my spare time … when it’s winter … like when there’s a lot of snow … I can drive my four-wheeler … but what I really wish for is a snowmobile!

Motorised vehicles occupied an important place in Kim’s life. The four-wheeler is used for work but is also something they appreciated in their spare time. Owning and maintaining motor vehicles could be said to represent labour, identity, and leisure for Kim.

Moderator:

Do you think there’s something good about being active?

Kim:

It’s great for the body because … I’m outdoors a lot and … Today I’m going to help dad clear brushwood … And to lay paving stones in the wood because we are going to have a huge parking [area] there!

Moderator:

What if someone told you, ‘You have to move every day and you can choose yourself in what way’. What would you choose?

Kim:

Eh … drive the tractor.

Moderator:

… drive the tractor?

Kim:

Driving the tractor home.

Moderator:

Alright. And if you cannot say tractor or four-wheeler? If you have to move in some way.

Kim:

EPA-traktorn … .²

Kim’s obvious rejection of physical activities as meaningful chores points to their construction of a different relationship with physical work and leisure time. The interpretation is that Kim, similar to the particular work ethic Witcher et al. (2007) claim prevails in a rural area of eastern Canada, relates to a story not considering leisure time as something significantly separate from the rest of their time and, thus, not worth investing in. Rather, meaning is extracted from life on the farm and, thus, when there is spare time, interests are developed from these meanings (Witcher et al., 2007). Further, Kim expressed that the main problem they had with PE in school was that it mostly involved sporting practices they considered meaningless. The majority of the physical activities in PE in Swedish schools are inspired by mainstream leisure-time sports (Swedish Schools Inspectorate, 2018). Kim, however, does not participate in such leisure activities because, like the rest of the family, their life unfolds on the farm. If there is time for amusement, PA is not prioritised as it is already part of the daily labour performed to keep the farm running (McGannon et al., 2014; Smyth et al., 2014). Instead, using various kinds of motorised vehicles, which requires little physical effort but does involve playfulness that is not part of daily work, becomes of interest. Compared with other children, Kim is constructing a story containing a different set of meanings in relation to PA and what constitutes meaningful leisure.

Angry Alex

If it was difficult to get Robin to speak, it was the exact opposite with Alex. Alex was often straightforward; for example, a few minutes into the FG, they asked, ‘How much longer will this take?’ Alex spoke about how they experienced problems engaging in PA with other children. When the children were talking about participation in PE, Alex mentioned that they often become angry during these lessons.

Child 1:

Like, remember that if you get an F in all the subjects you might not even get a job. Maybe you get a really crappy job and you don’t earn any money.

Child 2:

At least you have to try!

Alex:

I’m trying! I get angry.

Moderator:

Do you usually get angry in PE class?

Alex:

Yes, a lot (looking down unhappily).

Alex agrees with the view that it is important – almost a duty – to always try to do your best. However, they did not feel good about their behaviour in PA situations and seemed to suffer from it. The outbursts were a problem not only for themselves but also for the wider social interplay within the peer group. In another FG, several children discussed Alex’s behaviour.

Child 1:

They ruin our games.

Child 2:

Yes, it’s Alex. They ruin it a little sometimes … like, it ends up not being that much fun … 

Moderator:

Okay, so what happens in these situations?

Child 2:

Alex gets mad at our teacher. Or someone else. And that doesn’t feel very good.

Alex’s behaviour was perceived as a problem both for Alex and their peers. These situations where Alex did not comply with the rules could appear in organised settings such as PE in school and in their own free play at recess. Physical activities seemed to trigger Alex’s anger and result in situations where, afterwards, Alex felt bad about their behaviour. Thus, in Alex’s story, social physical activities had a corrosive role rather than strengthening social relations. Talking about these issues, Alex effortlessly related their behaviour and the situations that occurred as being related to them having attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Alex:

My godfather’s brother, he was kind of like me! When he was in school, he didn’t listen and such either. And that’s not good. It’s hard to have ADHD.

Identifying themselves as having ADHD and putting their behaviour in the context of the disorder helped Alex make sense of their actions during physical activities. The diagnosis, not the environment in which Alex is expected to be physically active, is constructed as the problem in Alex’s story. However, under certain circumstances, PA was also considered a potential outlet for Alex’s anger.

Moderator:

… how do you mean ‘both yes and no’?

Alex:

It can be fun sometimes … and not. If you’re having a bad … if you’re angry or so. Otherwise, it is fun. It is fun because you get less angry.

Moderator:

Okay.

Alex:

Because that’s what happens when I bike sometimes. If I’m angry, then I’m usually able to get less angry … Or if there has been a fight at home.

Moderator:

Mhm … then it can feel good to get out and move around for a while, you mean?

Alex:

Yes, and sometimes if there are a lot of people around, it feels good to get some fresh air.

When Alex spoke about PA as a way to manage anger, they mentioned a solitary activity like biking. This illustrates how the physical and movement aspects of physical activities help control their feelings. When physical activities are performed in social contexts, they become problematic for Alex and risk bringing out their more aggressive side. Although Alex is considered only minimally physically active, it appears that it is not the physical aspects that are the primary issue with engaging in PA. Rather, the critical issue is the expectation of social competence integrated in the way physical activities are organised in the institutionalised life of a modern child (Wright et al., 2003) and, thus, part of the cultural story of the active child. This becomes problematic as Western childhoods today are, Shilling (2010) argues, largely arranged in institutions where children are expected to benefit from social interplay. In a rural context, this might become significantly more evident as, owing to the smaller student base, there are more limited opportunities to adapt institutions to specialised needs (Beach & Vigo-Arrazola, 2020). As groups are often smaller, for children like Alex, this might lead to fewer peers who may share their perspective on, for instance, social physical activities.

Discussion

We have highlighted three narrative aspects, consisting of experiences and behaviours, of what we consider an emerging collective story of PA, told from the perspective of physically inactive rural children. What these narratives have in common is that they all represent different ways in which children deviate from the cultural story of their sociocultural context (McGannon & Smith, 2015; Rogoff, 2003). While previous research on inactive children has pointed out how the social context can create, for example, feelings of incompetence (Patriksson & Persson, 2012) or marginalisation (Bentholm et al., 2021) due to difficulties with social relationships, we have outlined a picture of what these processes can look like in a particular social (rural) context. Robin, Kim, and Alex all have to relate to the cultural story of the physically active child. They are expected to strive to develop physical competence in health-oriented sports activities performed in social contexts (Shilling, 2010; Smyth et al., 2014). However, their own descriptions of their experiences and behaviours show their difficulties in living up to the cultural story. They become shy and withdrawn, uninterested and evasive, or angry and sad. In their collective story, these physical contexts do not offer joy, desire, and self-esteem but, rather, a feeling of deviating from what is expected of them as children. The feeling could be compared to cognitive dissonance, and thus, a lack of alignment between different perceptions or attitudes (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019). In accordance with the cultural story, the children perceive that by engaging in physical activities they should feel competent and part of a community. However, their reality is the opposite as their experiences are more about exclusion and feeling inadequate. To reduce the dissonance, the children construct an alternative story where PA is unimportant and uninteresting (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019). In Kim’s case, a narrative about how other interests, such as motorsports, become important for the construction of a role in their community emerges. In other cases, it is likely that, for example, computer games can fulfil these functions for many children who avoid PA (Bentholm et al., 2021).

The collective story of inactive rural children is, apparently, not one about disliking physical movement. It is even less a story about inherently unmotivated children who want to spend their lives in front of digital screens. Rather, the collective story from the perspective of the inactive rural child is about trying to fit their needs, preferences, and abilities into the sociocultural reality in which they live (Rogoff, 2003). The cultural story of the active child is an important part of this reality, present both in the minds of these children and in the centralised administrations that structure their lives through curricular and regulatory documents (Farrugia, 2014; Rich & Misener, 2019). Robin, Kim, and Alex all have their fragmented perspectives that contribute to their unfulfilled collective stories that negiotiate with the cultural story.

An important contribution of this study is the finding that the cultural narrative that characterises a particular instrumental view on promotion of PA, that PA should be health-oriented social activities associated with leisure and recreation (Rich & Misener, 2019; Shilling, 2010), potentially does not correspond with an understanding of PA found in inactive children in rural areas. According to the cultural story, influencing urban-centred institutions like PE in schools and other organised sports settings, children should learn physical activities for which they have use in order to be able to live healthy lives (Shilling, 2010). However, as Rich and Misener (2019) have argued, this view is based on an urban middle-class perspective where PA is regarded as recreation performed in leisure time or as a counterweight to a sedentary worklife. This approach may collide with the collective understanding of PA in rural areas where it is considered an integral part of the workday rather than something that must be actively introduced (McGannon et al., 2014; Smyth et al., 2014).

Conclusion

Recognising the collective story of PA from the perspective of inactive rural children is the first step towards reconstructing it as a story based on their own situations. The term ‘PA’ might derive its meaning from farming tasks, relationships with nature, working or playing with animals, and interests in motorised vehicles as well as from healthy pastimes or competitions. For inactive rural children, it is most certainly not meaningful to learn how to quickly increase the heart rate and then return to schoolwork. Rather, carrying heavy bags of animal feed over icy, slippery paths or running with one’s dog in an agility race may be physical activities that are grounded in less-active children’s needs and in the sociocultural values of some rural areas. The fundamental issue is that institutions make possible the creation of a cohesive story (Richardson, 1990). Physical activities that form a centre of the story need to be perceived as having a reasonable basis at the beginning of the story and, furthermore, a role that is consistent with their image of a desired future (McGannon & Smith, 2015). Consequently, it may be interesting to further examine, for instance, work-related PA or other alternative forms of movement.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the funder for this study, the Swedish Research Council for Sport Science [Grant no. P2020-0050].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Centrum for Idrottsforskning [grant number P2020-0050].

Notes

1 Composite narratives are presented using the pronoun ‘they’. The purpose is to avoid identifying them as boys or girls to promote an understanding of the children’s perspectives in relation to inactivity and rurality.

2 A kind of remodelled car, registered as a farm vehicle, common in many rural areas in Sweden with an age limit of 15 years.