Sport schools in Europe: a scoping study of research articles (1999–2022)

Abstract

Sport schools have increased in popularity over the past three decades, and research in the area has proliferated. This study presents an overview of sport school literature, by investigating peer-reviewed articles, summarising the findings of relevant articles, and identifying possible gaps in this research area. In total, 55 articles are included. The descriptive summary reports publication year, study location, research design, methods, theoretical perspectives, population, and sport(s) studied. The thematic overview comprises two primary sections – research about sport schools and research in sport schools. The former cover ‘outside’ perspectives, such as socio-political and educational policy issues while the latter cover ‘inside’ perspectives focusing on the actors – student athletes and coaches. In the discussion it is acknowledged that pedagogical perspectives in sport school literature are limited, that research on sport schools’ admissions processes is overlooked, and concerns raised as to if sport schools are or should be socially inclusive.