Enhancing Individual with Disability Citizenship through Participation in Sport Activities

Abstract

Recently, social and sport activities are important in improving individual health and promoting social integration. Human rights research among disabled individuals is relatively new and along with it, the call for citizenship development in the same demographic is just being initiated. The aim of this study is to investigate the key role of sports activities participation in the promotion of citizenship among disabled individuals. A descriptive study design was implemented using a survey which was adapted to collect data from a sample of 50 participants. A total of 50 participants in a group of special needs with the age of 15-44 years old participated in the study. As for the results, the participants performed moderate levels on the study variables (citizenship and sport participation). The results also illustrated that there were no significant differences on the study variables based on the participants gender and age groups. Added to this, the results showed that there was a significant relationship between sport participation and citizenship dimensions such as active, semi and passive citizenship. The study results extended literature concerning sport activities participation and citizenship behavior and provided evidence to the sport participation role in boosting citizenship. Based on the results, the study recommended to organize several sport activities among individual with special needs in order to help them to engage in the community as well as to improve their citizenship levels. Finally, practical implications are outlines.