Sociology Of Sport Research Articles

Discovering directions in sports sociology research: a brief bibliometric analysis

Discovering directions in sports sociology research: a brief bibliometric analysis

Sport for development and policy advocacy: Mapping the field

Introduction and Purpose Sport for development (SFD) has emerged as an increasingly prominent field in Europe and beyond. Defined as the intentional use of sport to support social development, the SFD movement focuses on a broad range of goals such as social cohesion, peacebuilding, gender equality and more. To support these goals, organisations within SFD usually focus on bringing diverse individuals together and exploiting sport’s interactive nature to foster experiential learning (Moustakas, 2024). This approach has however often been criticized as it tends to focus too strongly on the individual level, and therefore fails to account for or challenge socio-political realities that influence participant outcomes. In turn this means that SFD programmes risk generating limited, unsustainable outcomes as they seek to achieve broad gauge outcomes through limited focus programmes (Coalter, 2010). To address this, a growing number of scholars have suggested that SFD organisations must become involved in policy advocacy (Sanders, 2016). Understood as support of a particular policy or class of policies, policy advocacy allows SFD organisations to advocate for issues of relevance to participants and communities. Through this, programmes can influence the broader socio-political environment, or at least foster alignment between programme goals and this environment, which in turn can help support the sustainable, long-term impact of their programmes. Against this background, this study seeks to map out current practice, challenges and needs related to policy advocacy in the SFD sector. Method A survey was developed the consortium associated with the Erasmus+ project Policy Advocacy for Sport and Society (PASS). The goal of this survey was to understand how SFD organisations engage in policy advocacy, how they view relationships with policymakers, and what kind of resources they would like to support future policy advocacy activities. The survey was collaboratively designed by the consortium, and questions mapping policy advocacy activities were based on the conceptual framework from Gen and Wright (2013). The survey was distributed via a purposive sampling approach, whereby SFD organisations associated with professional networks in the field were targeted via e-mail and social media. Afterwards, given the primarily mapping function of the survey, results were descriptively analysed and graphically portrayed. Results Preliminary analysis shows that most SFD organisations engage with policymakers, especially at the municipal level (ca. 65%) or within national sport organisations (ca. 60%). Awareness raising activities or campaigns are the most common advocacy activities (ca. 70%), along with networking with policymakers (ca. 40%). However, relationships remain strained, with around 10-35% of organisations reporting difficult relationships with different policy stakeholders. Lack of resources (ca. 70%) and expertise (ca. 55%) are seen as the main obstacles to further advocacy, and organisations report that they would benefit from examples, templates, strategies, and learning offers. Discussion and Conclusion These results show reasonably widespread policy advocacy activities in the field, but activities remain limited to various forms of awareness raising or campaigning. Likewise, relationships with decision-makers often remain strained. This suggests that further work could unearth the complexities of these relationships, while applied projects could support by developing tools and learning materials. References Coalter, F. (2010). The politics of sport-for-development: Limited focus programmes and broad gauge problems? International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 45(3), 295–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690210366791 Gen, S., & Wright, A. C. (2013). Policy advocacy organizations: A framework linking theory and practice. Journal of Policy Practice, 12(3), 163–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/15588742.2013.795477 Moustakas, L. (2024). Sport for social cohesion: A conceptual framework linking common practices and theory. Sport in Society, 27(10), 1549–1567. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2024.2304231 Sanders, B. (2016). An own goal in sport for development: Time to change the playing field. Journal of Sport for Development, 4(6), 1-5.

Problem-based learning and problem solving model: which is more effective in improving student learning achievement?

Identifying the syntax of student learning experiences in learning models helps lecturers be more selective in determining the relevance of learning models and student learning achievements that lecturers have previously formulated. This research aims to determine the increase in student learning achievement, using the problem-based learning (PBL) learning model and the problem-solving (PS) learning model, testing the differences in the application of the PBL and PS models on student learning achievement, and finding out which learning model is more effective in improving Student learning outcomes in sports sociology courses. This research is a quasi-experimental research with a pre-test-post-test non-equivalent comparison-group design. The research sample consisted of 60 students (30 PBL and 30 PS groups) taking sports sociology courses. The research instrument includes ten learning achievement essay test questions developed from critical thinking indicators. The data was analyzed descriptively, testing differences using the independent sample t-test and N-Gain analysis to see the effectiveness of the PBL and PS models on student learning achievements. The research results prove an increase in learning achievement for both groups using PBL and PS. Meanwhile, from the results of statistical tests, there are significant differences in learning achievement between the PBL and PS groups. Furthermore, from the results of the N-Gain test, it turns out that PBL is more effective in improving student learning achievement than the PS model. Keywords: Problem-based learning, problem solving, learning achievement, sport sociology

Intertwining Influences on Perceptions of Risk, Pain, and Injury in Sport: A Close Study of a Chinese New Immigrant Mother–Daughter Pair

Sociological research on sport risk, pain, and injury primarily focuses on young, Western, high-performance male athletes in organized sport. In contrast, ethnic minority women’s experiences with sporting pain and injury, and risk perceptions are often underrepresented. This paper presents a close study of a Chinese new immigrant mother’s risk rationality and practices as related to her daughter’s sporting experiences in New Zealand. A conceptual framework of “neoliberal ethnic discourses of risk” was used to explore how intertwining factors of ethnicity, gender, and immigrant identity, influenced participants’ preferences for particular sports, and their perception and experiences of risk, pain, and injury. This study invites sports sociologists and organizations to consider how cultural and gendered discourses influenced Chinese new immigrant women’s sporting participation in host countries, such as New Zealand, especially why the group might be less active and more resistant to particular sports and physical activities while strongly favoring others.

‘Seeing it as a whole’: A research agenda for the sociology of sport and climate change

Climate change poses an existential, if varied, threat to sport. Equally, sporting activity is having a substantial impact on the natural environment, an impact to which sporting bodies have been slow to quantify and mitigate. Despite this bidirectional threat, social science research on the relationship between sport and climate change is underdeveloped. Much of the existing research is generated by scholars within sport management and the nascent sub-discipline of sport ecology, both of which tend to focus on organisations’ and managerial responses to climate change. By contrast, climate change and the natural environment have been understudied within the sociology of sport. In this paper, I argue that the limited contribution of sociological perspectives to the debate has restricted the ability to critically examine the social context within which sport and climate change intersect. In response, I advocate for the value of a sociological approach and propose a research agenda for examining climate change within the sociology of sport.

Sports following and social capital in the United States: Social networks and trust

Scholarship on sports following represents a burgeoning field of inquiry in the sociology of sport, yet sport following's connections to, or ability to facilitate, social capital remains underexplored. Drawing on a contemporary nationwide survey of the United States and employing the foundational theories of social capital by which we operationalize statistical analyses using regression modeling, this study investigates the nuanced contributions of sports following to various dimensions of social capital. Our analysis reveals complex relationships of sports following to social network size, community engagement, neighborhood trust, and social network variety, highlighting sports following as a significant predictor for all our operationalized social capital measures, although negatively so for neighborhood trust. Exploring the interplay between sports following, individual characteristics, and socio-political affiliations, results underscore the powerful predictive capacity of sports following even controlling for other characteristics, highlighting strong potentiality for building social capital, although along some dimensions more than others. These findings spotlight the domain of sports following as fertile ground for further investigation into its capacity to serve as a unique facilitator of social capital on the increasingly divided American socio-cultural landscape.

"Emotional Sociology of Sports and Crime with a Focus on Justice and Injustice"

"Emotional Sociology of Sports and Crime with a Focus on Justice and Injustice"

(Re)Asserting organization as a lens in sport sociology: The meaning, workings, and consequences of rational design efforts

The purpose of this article is to (re)assert the importance of an organizational lens in the socio-cultural study of sport. Specifically, we aim to demonstrate the often self-perpetuating and always value-infused nature of rational design, and the organizational processes through which problems, objectives, structures, roles, identities, and knowledges are (re)constituted and privileged in the context of sport. Drawing on an institutional understanding of organizational life, we examine Swedish sports' adoption of a new integrity platform as a case of rational design. Analyzing documentary and interview data, we demonstrate how positing organization as the object of knowledge allows us to unpack how, why, and with what effects, social issues and domains become subsumed into processes of rationalization and rational organizational design.

Research on the Application of Multimedia Image Processing Technology in Sports Sociology Education

In order to cope with sports events, it is difficult for cameras to accurately extract exciting moments during the competition. This article constructs a multimedia information system for sports sociology education. In terms of methodology, low-density architectures are used to measure and encode sparse signals, and the signal is reconstructed at the receiving end. By calculating the marginal probability distribution of each variable node, the reconstructed image is obtained. The experimental results show that this method performs well in detecting lens mutations and gradients, with a higher recall rate than other algorithms. The accuracy, recall rate, and F-value indicators have significantly improved, reaching 6.328%, 4.27%, and 6.012%, respectively. This method is superior to existing game shot extraction methods and lays the foundation for further detecting exciting events in sports competitions. In summary, this study has important guiding significance for the application of multimedia image processing technology in the field of sports sociology education.

Publication trends on sports sociology: Global perspectives and emerging themes

This study examined the depiction of publication trends and the transformation of scholarly discourse within sports sociology publications. The investigation utilised the Scopus and WoS databases to compile a comprehensive list of sports sociology publications. Employing ScientoPy and VOSviewer, the study dynamically constructed science maps and visualisation networks. In the Scopus database, there were 516 publications, and in the WoS, 216, resulting in 732 publications, constituting 79.13% of the overall count between 1990 and 2022. Sports Sciences emerged as the predominant field with 119 publications, and the most prolific source title over the three decades was the International Review for the Sociology of Sport. The United States and Germany stood out as the top two countries, each contributing over 100 publications. The keyword “sports sociology” demonstrated close associations with “development,” “athlete,” and “physical education,” particularly evident since 2015. This study is poised to lay the groundwork for future endeavours to enrich and invigorate sports sociology research. It underscores the need for sports sociologists to delve into novel insights, including the interplay between sports sociology and mental health, gender disparities, sports injury management, and artificial intelligence. The intriguing social dimensions of physical education and sports training are underscored for their significance in shaping daily human activities, behaviours, and emotions.

Mental Health Problems Among Children and Adolescents From a Sports Sociology Perspective.

Mental Health Problems Among Children and Adolescents From a Sports Sociology Perspective.

On the possibilities of mutual inspirations between sociological subdisciplines. The example of the sociology of the body and the sociology of sport

On the possibilities of mutual inspirations between sociological subdisciplines. The example of the sociology of the body and the sociology of sport

Repositioning the value of sociology for students studying sport in post-92 higher education institutions

The position of sociology within the UK post-92 higher education curriculum is increasingly under threat as neoliberal ideology continues to shape universities to be based on market principles. Here, the discipline is often thought to lack clear ‘practical’ outcomes which meet the demands of the job market and these challenges are particularly prominent within the capitalist nature of sport-based degrees. Using data generated from focus groups and interviews, this paper explores sport students' experiences of studying the sociology of sport within a UK post-92 higher education institution. The findings illustrate wide ranging benefits the students perceived to gain from studying the sub-discipline. From these empirical insights, we put forward the argument that the sociology of sport has potential to offer significant value to students on sport-based degrees which meet the demands of the current higher education system, as well as broader values beyond restrictive neo-liberal thinking.

Nature Games: Traditional Indigenous Games and Environmental Stewardship in Oceania

Traditional games are often situated in counter distinction to modern sport forms and are not well understood in Western society or scholarship. However, from these games, we have the opportunity to learn much about local play and physical culture. This article focuses on traditional Indigenous games in Oceania and how they can be used as a lens for the development of environmental stewardship or ecological sensibilities. The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to lay a foundation for future research in this area and (2) to situate traditional games within the broader sport ecology conversation. By deconstructing the embodied nature of traditional games and overviewing the histories of environmentalism in Oceania, a more grounded claim can be made for the relevance of traditional games within sport and leisure studies scholarship, including sport history, sport sociology, sport anthropology, and sport ecology. The nature games of Oceania yield diverse insights into Indigenous epistemologies, ecological sensibilities, and how outdoor play can be understood as a form of climate action.

Research on Analytical Model of Participation and Social Influence of She Sports Activities Based on Multi-source Data Fusion

The present research looks into the involvement and societal impact of women's sports activities by developing an analytical model based on multi-source data fusion. The She people, a nomadic farming tribe in southern China, have a rich cultural legacy, with sports playing an important part in community bonding and cultural expression. This study tries to explore the complex dynamics of sports engagement within the She community by combining multiple datasets from surveys, social media analysis, observational studies, and historical records. The analytical model constructed in this study examines the elements that influence sports participation among the She people, taking into account gender dynamics, resource availability, cultural norms, community support, and individual incentives. By combining data on community cohesion, gender dynamics, cultural preservation, and individual well-being, the model provides insights into the social impact of She sports activities. Further, this research examines the unequal impact of sports engagement on several demographic groups in the She community, providing a more nuanced understanding of how sports activities interface with larger social structures and inequities. The findings of this study contribute to the progress of knowledge in sports sociology and cultural anthropology, while also providing practical insights for developing inclusive and sustainable sports practices in the She community. As a result, increased sports participation and high-quality development were linked to stronger social bonds and community cohesion.

Forced migration, resettlement, and sport: Lessons from the Kabul-Edmonton soccer team.

Forced migration is one of the most pressing crises of our lifetime. Of the millions forced to migrate, many come to know the brutality of state-managed migration that habitually denies asylum seekers and places substantive restrictions on refugees who have been resettled. Sociologists of sport and leisure have examined the sporting experiences of refugees through an intersectional lens, foregrounding how displacement and resettlement are differently lived and negotiated across overlapping power structures and markers of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and legal status. Through a participatory and collective photovoice project, this article explores the experiences of an all-Afghan soccer team that played in a social, co-ed soccer league in the spring of 2022, just after they arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In photovoice narratives and subsequent interviews, team members underlined many of the barriers they faced as they navigated the formal and informal rules and dominant norms of this seemingly inclusive sports landscape. In doing so, they revealed some of the limits of official discourses of Canadian multiculturism, which rarely accommodate more significant forms of difference, and which reproduce racial and ethnic hierarchies that powerfully discipline newcomers who are encouraged to embrace their precarious status as model minorities.

A SOCIAL SEMIOTIC STUDY OF IMAGES IN FOOTBALL GAMES

This study delvesinto the realm of funny posters and images displayed by fans during the World Cup and Gulf Cup games, employing a social semiotic approach to interpret and understand their content, imagery, and cultural significance. The investigation focuses on how these images function as communicative tools that not only entertain but also convey deeper social and cultural messages to a global audience.The findings underscore the significance of visual literacy in contemporary media and offer a new perspective on the social dynamics of major sporting events. This research contributes to the fields of visual communication, cultural studies, and sports sociology by highlighting how seemingly trivial elements like fan posters can have profound social implications.

Introduction to the special issue—sport, the media and Ireland: intersections of gender, class and geography

The seven articles in this special issue of Sport in Society explore constructions and intersections of gender, class and geography in Irish sport media. Drawing on theoretical and methodological approaches from a variety of disciplines, ranging from sport sociology to film and cultural studies, the articles encompass both established ‘mainstream’ print and broadcast media, and alternative media platforms. They examine the cultural politics of sport media institutions, forms of representation, and media production and sharing, tracing how hegemonic intersections and hierarchies are both reproduced and negotiated in this national context. Although focused principally on the Republic of Ireland, the issue will be of interest to international readers as the articles variously identify the role of media and cultural contexts in the shaping of popular understandings and experiences of transnational sports; or have an internationally comparative dimension; or deal with transnationally circulating ‘Irish’ sport media texts within international networks.

Suicide in the Context of Elite Sport: a Meta-Ethnographic Synthesis

Suicide or its attempts are a serious problem that has drawn the attention of different areas of knowledge related to the field of sports. However, in most cases, the analyses are based on psychopathological visions or physical trauma without understanding the particularities of mental health. The article presents a meta-ethnography review of the literature on qualitative research on suicide in athletes from 2012 to 2022. The topics addressed in the studies are diverse: the importance of healthy relationships, the visibility of mental health problems, the normalization of violence by coaches, and the lack of emotional support. It is essential for athletes to have a support network (including coaches, mental health professionals, etc.). The issues that have affected athletes identified with suicidal ideation include a prolonged combination of concussion symptoms, academic problems, normalized violent training practices, high demands, the invisibility of suffering, and exposure to traumatic events. It required training of teachers/coaches in mental health, social support during injury recovery, ongoing mental health education, close relationships between coaches and athletes, involvement of sports psychiatry/psychology specialists, support from the environment, and balance between performance and personal development. Keywords: Mental health; Sport; Suicide; Social Sport Psychology; Sociology of Sport.

Cycling tribes: lifestyles, values, and aesthetics

ABSTRACT Popular literature (Magnusson 2012; Weiss 2010; 2012; 2013) has celebrated varying ‘bike tribes’ including road cyclists, mountain bikers, BMXers, touring riders, commuters, and urban hipsters on fixed-gear bikes. Such literature identifies how each ‘tribe’ is differentiated by habits, clothing, aesthetics, and values. With these varying cycling ‘tribes’ in mind we explore the lived experiences of road cyclists in the San Francisco Bay area of the United States as they negotiate the varying practices, rituals, meanings, and material culture that cycling offers. We engage in broader discussions within the sociology of sport regarding the utility of Maffesoli’s (1996) idea of contemporary life being characterized by ‘neotribal’ affiliations. We use ethnographic methods drawing upon both participant observations and interviews to explore the extent to which the fluidity and transience of road cycling also intersect broader structural forces, and how riders navigate their engagement with the cycling industry.