In order to help talented athletes to combine sport and education, different forms of Dual Career Support (DCS) have been developed in many countries. The effectiveness of these support systems have been debated. Most studies have investigated young athletes in the beginning of their careers, less is known about athletes who reached the highest levels. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the extent to which former Swedish world-class athletes have attended dual career sport programs at upper secondary school. A retrospective design was used with 274 former world-class athletes who answered a questionnaire. In order to investigate whether there was a relationship between attending a dual career sport school and athletic characteristics, as well as post career educational and employment outcomes, a series of Chi-square tests were conducted. The main results show that more than half of the athletes did not take part in any DCS. These results indicate that DCS in Sweden is not a decisive factor for success in sports as intended. Half of all participants, regardless of whether they studied at DCS, have studied at university, and all participants had a job at the time of data collection. The majority also consider that their financial situation has improved after their sports career.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the significance of a social innovation, free lending of sports and leisure equipment (Leisure Equipment Library, LEL), have for children’s and youths’ participation in sports and leisure activities. Further, we discuss whether this service can contribute to counteract socioeconomic segregation in the leisure sector.

Methods: Data consists of lending statistics kept by LELs and a questionnaire (n=427) distributed to all children and youth (7-25 years) who visited a LEL. The significance of LEL for socioeconomic segregation was analysed using the concepts of bridging and bonding social capital.

Findings: In regards of age, gender, socioeconomic background and sports habits, LEL was used by a heterogenous group of children and youth. Borrowers living in areas with socioeconomic challenges were overrepresented and came primarily from the same type of socioeconomic area in which LELs were located. In most cases, the equipment was used for play or informal sport with friends and family in their own neighborhood. Only 13 percent used the equipment for organized sports. 

Discussion: To counteract socioeconomic segregation, it was important that LEL was used by children and youths from different socioeconomic areas. However, since most borrowers used the equipment with familiar people in the same area as it was borrowed, it is likely that these activities produce binding rather than bridging capital.  

Conclusion: To produce more bridging social capital, free lending of equipment should be complemented with actions to secure that the places children and youth meet are socioeconomically diverse.

Syftet med föreliggande rapport har varit att undersöka den fysiska aktivitetsgraden hos personer över 65 år i Karlstads kommun som bor i det kommunalabostadsbolagets trygghetslägenheter. Vi har även studerat vilka fysiska aktiviteter som äldre personer ägnar sig åt samt vill ägna sig åt för att bli mer fysiskt aktiva i framtiden. Resultaten visade att flertalet var tillräckligt fysiskt aktiva ur ett hälsoperspektiv, men också att en betydande del är stillasittande eller otillräckligt fysiskt aktiva. Därtill visade det sig att flera som tillhör gruppen otillräckligt fysiskt aktiva vill vara mer fysiskt aktiva under förutsättning att aktiviteterna finns i närheten av hemmet, om man får möjlighet att utöva aktiviteterna tillsammans med någon, om aktiviteterna kräver låga eller inga kostnader alls och/eller om man får stöttning av utbildade och kompetenta personer för att veta om man kan och hur man ska genomföra aktiviteterna utan att riskera sin hälsa. Med utgångspunkt i dessa resultat föreslås att aktiviteter anordnas i närheten av seniorernas boenden, att det startas upp promenadgrupper där man träffas regelbundet, att det inrättas tillgänglighetsanpassade gym både inomhus och utomhus, att aktiviteter anpassas efter rörelsemässiga behov, att personal utbildas så de känner sig trygga i sitt ledarskap, att idrottsföreningar bedriver uppsökande verksamhet, att informationstavlor sätts upp som visar tillgängliga motions- och träningsformer samt att det tillhandahålls övningar som kan genomföras i hemmet eller tillsammans med andra seniorer, gärna med tillhörande digitalt stöd.

Using short-term longitudinal data, the primary goal of the present study was to examine the interplay betweenadolescents’ sports-related intrapersonal (e.g., sports values) and interpersonal factors (e.g., perceived parentalinvolvement) in relation to sports dropout. A secondary goal was to explore the direction of effects in the as-sociation between intra- and interpersonal factors. A total of 420 adolescents (39% girls, Mage = 14.06; SDage =0.33) responded to a set of survey questions over two consecutive years. Results from structural equationmodeling suggested that parental involvement predicted adolescents’ dropout one year later, via sports values.Further, the results suggested that the direction of influence is mainly from parents to adolescents. Overall, thefindings indicate that adolescents whose parents attend their practices and games perceive sports activities asfun, important and useful; as a result, adolescents are less likely to dropout. The findings offer an improvedunderstanding of how parents’ behaviors may influence adolescents’ dropout of organized sports.

The commercialisation of children's and youth sports has experienced a significant rise in recent decades. Currently, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge regarding the implications of this commercialisation for Swedish youth participating in sport as well as family members directly involved in the youth sport experience. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate parents' perceptions of commercialisation processes in children and youth sports in Sweden. In particular, we sought to examine why some parents are willing to pay for commercial alternatives and how the increased commercialisation of youth sport are associated with youth sport participation. We also sought to investigate parents' views about the impact of commercialised alternatives on coaches and voluntary sports clubs, both now and in the future. A total of nine focus group interviews were conducted, including a total of 48 parents (22 men and 26 women) strategically chosen based on their children's participation in different strands of commercialised sports businesses. The findings indicate that the excessive demands from voluntary sports clubs combined with the desire to be considered a good parent appear to influence parents' willingness to pay for commercialised businesses.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a collaborative communication style used to promote individuals’ motivation, and there is growing support for using MI in schools. This study aims to test whether a teacher-focused intervention program based on MI and autonomy-supportive teaching increases teachers’ autonomy-supportive teaching, teacher efficacy and students’ academic motivation and perceptions of autonomy support. In this intervention study with a short-term longitudinal design, teachers were trained in MI and autonomy-supportive teaching style, along with a control group in which the students’ teachers did not receive specific training. 14 teachers and 478 students (10–12 years) participated in the study. The MI-based intervention were found to significantly increase teachers’ perceived autonomy-supportive teaching and sense of efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management from Time 1 to Time 2. However, the intervention did not increase students’ academic motivation or perceptions of teacher autonomy support over time. The current study indicate that school-based MI may be more important for teachers’ professional development than for younger students’ academic motivation. This study demonstrates that MI training can have an impact on teachers’ instructional behaviors and increase teacher efficacy, providing valuable insights for both teacher education and school leaders.

To understand how physically inactive children relate to physical activity (PA) there is a need to utilize concepts allowing for a structured ideographic approach. Bronfenbrenners (2005) various theoretical models has been widely utilized within sport and health science. A common critique has been that the model, often illustrated as concentric circles, is too static and, thus, not accounting for the complexity of how culture informs human development (Vélez-Agosto, 2017).

In order to push bioecological thinking forward and to develop a more dynamic perspective, we use the concept ‘ecological landscape’. Our purpose here is to make visible how barriers and openings within various ecological systems interact and, thus, create a unique landscape for every individual child’s relationship with PA. The concept ecological landscape refers to the sum of the relationships between an individual child and its multidimensional environment. It is grounded in field theory (Lewin, 1952), bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005) and integrates sociocultural perspectives (Veléz-Agosto et al., 2017).

We consider the relationship between children and PA to be shaped by barriers and openings in the ecological landscape. These barriers and openings are derived from various ecological systems and are of different nature (both culture, nature and mixtures of these). Together they create a landscape that characterizes the path to PA. Experiences of the barriers and openings are created in interaction with the child and its unique characteristics. Thus, the landscape is subjectively constructed and unique to each child. The landscape is ecological because the child and its environment is inevitably intertwined. If one of the parts changes, so does the other. Learning always involves change in perception. To equip a child with resources, competences, and beliefs means that the landscape will change and new openings will be visible.

The potential in using the concept of ecological landscape lies in the ability to qualitatively, and at an appropriate level of abstraction, make visible how aspects of the inactive child’s relationship with the environment influence behavior. This makes it possible to start from a subjective position and investigate the weight of various influences. A further potential is to use the concept as a methodological tool that may open up for participatory action research. In the research process, inactive children may develop an increased awareness of their own ecological landscape.

Sweden has an extensive culture of community club sports for children and youths, based on voluntary leadership. Being a voluntary coach can be stressful and can affect coaches' well-being. Since voluntary coaching is closely connected to and conditioned by family life and civil occupation, coaches need support for practical issues as well as for developing their coaching assignment in relation to the constantly changing conditions within sports for children and youths. The aim of this paper was to conceptualize and problematize the supportive structures in everyday activities, in order to promote learning and well-being and to prevent mental health issues. This paper is conceptual and based on a paradigm case. The starting point is communities of practice (CoP) and how CoPs can contribute to the development of supportive structures for coaches in youth sports. In conclusion, a CoP is dependent on negotiation within the coaching team as well as on facilitating factors that can add knowledge, perspectives, and experiences to the CoP. The facilitating factors mean that a CoP has the potential to be health-promoting for both coaches and players. Hence, it is important to create conditions, structures, and support-such as policies, practice-based education, mentorship, and facilitators.