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Abstract
In this article we explore children’s experiences of a Sport for All Programme (SAP) in school. The purpose of the ‘Sport for All’ policy is to give children an opportunity to try different sports, with a focus on play and motor learning rather than organized competition. In this study, we approach children as active agents in constructing the SAP practice in line with the theoretical standpoint that children are competent social actors with agency. The study is based on repeated focus group interviews with 15 ten-year-old children (9 girls, 6 boys) participating in a SAP in the western part of Sweden. The children perceived the SAP as sessions with less emphasis on performance and without organized competitions; it was described as a ‘low threshold’ activity. However, the result showed that the SAP activity was not free from performance-oriented principles. The Sport for All pedagogy needs to consider and handle the consequences of competition principles, especially if the participating children and leaders have a performance ethos.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.
Notes on contributors
Peter Carlman, is a Student at the Department of Sport Sciences at Karlstad University. His research interests are around sociology of childhood and children’s and youth sport. Particularly questions about dropout, alternative sport practices and life-long participation.
Christian Augustsson, Ph. Dr. and Senior Lecturer, is working at the Department for Sport Science at Karlstad University. His research is within the field of Youth Sport, focusing on children’s experiences of the sport milieu from a child perspective.
Notes
1 We use the Swedish abbreviation, RF (Riksidrottsförbundet) throughout the article.