Sociology of Sport in Poland

Abstract

Theoretical reflections on physical education, competitive sport and recreation in Poland began in the late 19th century, developing as an integral part of the social science of sport, dealing with complex problems of the genesis, structure and functions of physical culture in the face of national and structural transformation. But the social elements of sport did not achieve full autonomy until the 1960s, when sociological and historical studies as well as theoretical analysis were initiated. Empirical research developed on rural sport and its social transformation, sport in urbanized areas, and sociological problems of top-class sport. In the 1970s the sociology of sport in Poland entered a new, much more advanced stage of development and dealt with social engineering, professionalism, the sociology of education through and for sport, the sociology of organization, and the role of sport in culture. The present needs and objective possibilities of Polish sociology of sport can be satisfied if it develops quantitatively as well as qualitatively, especially in the search for new paradigms and bold individual and collective research ventures and integration with related social sciences.