Objective: As an increasing number of children are identified as insufficiently physically active, the school environment has been targeted for efforts to promote physical activity (PA) among inactive children. While research has highlighted teachers’ role in promoting generic school-based daily PA, less is known about the early childhood education teachers’ experiences of physically inactive children and the strategies they use to promote PA. This study’s aim was to explore early childhood education teachers in Sweden’s experiences of physically inactive children and their strategies to promote PA among members of this group in their everyday school settings. Design: Qualitative interview study. Setting: Four small municipalities in Midwest Sweden. Method: Ten teachers working in early childhood education settings participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed with a focus on teacher agency and the social, material and cultural resources teachers used to promote PA. Result: Findings indicated that teachers shoulder the worry and unarticulated responsibility for inactive children. This resulted in their use of strategies that varied and which were largely subjective in character. At the same time, teachers expressed how their agency was limited by insufficient resources. Conclusion: Teachers used social, material and cultural resources to promote PA, but their strategies were not informed by evidence or formal guidelines. None of the resources they used were specifically designed for inactive children. Instead, teachers used general resources which they adapted to inactive children’s interests and needs.

Physically inactive children in rural areas are overlooked in research because of the dominance of urban perspectives focusing on physical activity rather than inactivity. The aim of this article is to examine an emerging collective story of how physically inactive children (aged 9-11 years) in two rural areas experience their relationships with physical activity. Based on praxis-oriented sociocultural theorising, this study focuses on how practical physical activity is understood by rural children as part of their sociocultural environment. Five focus group interviews with 21 physically inactive rural children in western Sweden were conducted. Experiences and behaviours that the children emphasised as central to their inactivity were analysed as sociocultural expressions in a collective story about physical activity. To underline the importance of narratives for behaviour in the sociocultural environment, the collective story is presented through three composite narratives told by three fictional characters: 'Robin, the shy one', 'Kim, the farm kid', and 'Angry Alex'. Characteristic of these inactive rural children is a lack of self-confidence, a lack of meaning, and difficulties in managing social physical activities. Common to the behaviours that follow from the children's experiences is that they are perceived as deviating from what is expected of them in accordance with the cultural story about a physically active child. The analysis shows that the underlying cause is the discrepancy between the children's understanding of physical activity and the understanding conveyed via institutions informed by urban perspectives such as, for example, school. For instance, children view physical activity as part of daily labour at the same time that the school teaches physical activities intended for recreational purposes in spare time. Institutions should make room for more interpretations, including rural ones, of the meaning of physical activity and, thus, contribute to reconstructing the cultural narrative about physical activity.

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.

Aim: As more children become increasingly physically inactive, efforts to reverse this negative trend are growing. Research has indicated, however, that we know relatively little about the pedagogical processes built into programmes and interventions. This is especially true in respect of how children view the process of becoming more physically active. This article therefore explores developmental processes as they unfold in the context of alternative sports programmes through children's voices. Methods: Theoretically, children's development is approached from a bioecological perspective focusing on the interaction between the child and its environment. This article builds on material collected from 5 focus groups conducted with 16 children in total (aged 11-15 years) after participating in an alternative sports programme. The data were analysed abductively using a qualitative content analysis technique. Findings: Findings illustrate how children develop physically active behaviours internally, as they acquire certain skills and knowledge, as well as between children and a multisystemic environment. In this study, children experienced that exploring practical activities in authentic situations could contribute to better understanding of the relationship between themselves and physical activities in their local community. Conclusion: To enable development in interventions, paying attention to the extent to which exo- and mesosystems influence children's relationships with the outside world is key. Participation may lead to an improved understanding of the surrounding world and the ability to further develop in an increasingly complex reciprocal process with the environment.

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.

Introduction

Whether or not to use league standings and playoffs (LSPO) in children and youth sports has been a recurring topic for fiery debates. In order to stimulate long-term sports development, enjoyment and continued participation, the Swedish Football Association decided that from 2017 the use of LSPO will be abolished until the year the children turn 13. 

Method

In order to study the effect of the use or non-use of LSPO on the participation rate, register data from a specific children's and youth football context (school class football) were analyzed. This context has the advantage that the conditions have in general been constant several decades until 2017, when keeping official scores, league standings and playoffs were removed for all age groups (7-12 years; Preschool- Grade 5) with the exception for the oldest group (13 years; 6th grade). This makes it possible to study the phenomenon over time in a natural environment and compare groups with each other while at the same time taking reasonable control of confounding factors without intervening or manipulating the groups. 

School class football is a phenomenon run by a voluntarily sport club where approximately 3000-3500 children and youths participate annually. In school class football it is the single class that makes up the team and competes against other classes from different schools in the municipality. It is optional for classes to sign up and it is also up to the individual child to participate. The schools are not responsible for their participating classes. Rather, the teams are coached by volunteering parents. School class football is subject to competitive engineering (CE) as rules are modified in several ways (e.g., playing on smaller fields, using smaller goals and footballs, girls and boys playing together, always at least two boys and two girls on the pitch). 

Results

Results shows that the participation rate before the removal of LSPO (2015-2017) increased slightly (<1%; from n= 3044 to 3063; n = 19), while a clear increase (20%; from n = 3063 to 3689) could be noted after the removal of LSPO (2017-2021). The increase was particularly noticeable among the girls after the removal of the LSPO (41%; from n = 1102 to 1550). While the increase among the boys was only modest (9%; from n= 1961 to 2139) and in correspondence with the municipality population increase (7 %) in this age group.

Discussion

The results indicate that the removal of league standings and playoffs increases the participation of groups of individuals who are usually not considered as competent as other participants. One of the reasons for this may be that a more caring and mastery oriented climate is created where coaches, athletes and parents to a greater extent care that everyone thrives and have fun instead of focusing on winning matches and getting to the playoff.

Few intervention programmes focussing on increasing physical activity among children have been successful long term. It has also become increasingly common among scholars as well as politicians to advocate for organisations within a field to 'join up' to tackle social challenges. Research indicates that collaborative processes may entail challenges in implementing programmes informed by high quality knowledge. The aim of this study was, therefore, to examine partner organisations' conceptions about objectives of an alternative sports programme, how such objectives are meant to be achieved, and how such conceptions may affect children's development of a physically active lifestyle. Qualitative content analysis revealed three underlying lines of thought regarding alternative activities for children, as follows: they should increase the member base through modifications; they should awaken the inherent desire to move through targeting motor skills; and they should transform sports clubs by providing an exercise arena. The article discusses how activities fail to consider children's predisposing factors and what implications this has for the work of promoting children's physical activity. Finally, we suggest that partnerships would benefit from applying a multi-leveled ecological model when designing programmes.

In a scientific effort to understand the reasons for low physical-activity levels among children, there is a need to consider how children perceive and interact with their complex environments holistically. This study outlines an image of the perceived landscape within which children in two lower-socioeconomic contexts engage in daily physical activity. By applying bioecological perspectives (Bronfenbrenner, U. 2005. Making human Beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. SAGE), the aim included an analysis of how the perceived landscape and its interrelated factors influence children’s physical activity. We used 15 focus-group interviews with children (n = 63, ages 8–13) from four different rural and suburban areas of southern and central Sweden. Through analyzing the children’s stories about their experiences of everyday physical activity from a bioecological perspective, an image of a complex landscape was revealed. Structural (schools’ institutional frameworks), cultural (local sports cultures), and environmental factors (e.g. schoolyard design) were evident in interpersonal relations within the microsystem and interacted with personal characteristics, primarily gender and level of physical competence and, thereby, affected the possibilities of the children engaging in proximal processes related to physical activity. This study contributes new qualitative understanding based on children’s voices about how the performance of daily physical activity among younger children (ages 7–13) in lower-socioeconomic areas may be considered an interactional process between individuals and their perceived environment, which can be thought of as a multidimensional landscape. Implications include actions which contribute to more diverse environments enabling proximal processes among a broader group of children.

Idrottsrörelsen har länge arbetat med att försöka hitta nya former för att få fler barn att idrotta. Barn i Sverige idag rör på sig för lite, vilket i förlängningen riskerar att leda till negativa hälsoeffekter. Ungefär en av fem flickor och knappt hälften av pojkarna i Sverige når upp till de nivåer av daglig fysisk aktivitet som rekommenderas för barn. Det finns stora kunskapsluckor gällande idrottens, och alternativa idrottsaktiviteters, potential och på vilka grunder denna verksamhet utvecklas. Framförallt saknas fördjupad kunskap om hur de deltagande barnen själva upplever aktiviteterna.

Det övergripande syftet med Flowsport-projektet har varit att fördjupa kunskapen om hur olika rekryteringsinsatser, så kallade alternativa idrottsaktiviteter, riktade till barn fungerar. Inom projektets studerade verksamheter (samverkan skola och idrottsförening) erbjöds barnen en flexibel och lättillgänglig idrottsmiljö som gav alla barn möjlighet att idrotta oavsett ekonomi och färdigheter. Verksamheterna byggde inte på organiserad tävling eller prestationsbaserade lekar och övningar utan istället har aktiviteterna framförallt haft ett tydligt fokus på inkludering och delaktighet.

I Flowsport-projektet har stöd tagits i ekologisk teori sett ur ett barnperspektiv, vilket innebär ett synsätt där individen utvecklas genom att samspela med den omgivande miljön. I projektet bildar dessa perspektiv såväl utgångspunkter, etiska riktlinjer som analysverktyg. Sammanlagt har 25 fokusgruppsintervjuer med barn (n=100) och 13 intervjuer med vuxna (n= 28) från 18 olika organisationer genomförts. Intervjuer med vuxna har genomförts som fokusgruppsintervjuer, parintervjuer och individuella intervjuer.

I fokusgruppsintervjuerna angav de barn som varit med i aktiviteterna att deras deltagande har känts meningsfullt och att de önskar mer av liknande aktiviteter. Vad som fungerat mindre bra är att verksamheterna inte lyckats nå alla barn och då särskilt de barn som inte heller deltar i andra fysiska aktiviteter. Vidare präglas aktiviteterna fortfarande av tävlings- och prestationsnormer, vilket ytterligare försvårar inträde och delaktighet för de mer inaktiva barnen. I intervjuerna med vuxna framkom en vilja hos distriktsidrottsförbund och kommuner att få föreningarna att arbeta mer hälsofrämjande och därmed mer inkluderande. Föreningar behöver till viss del ställa om sin verksamhet för att kunna ta emot barn som idag står utanför idrotten och är mindre fysiskt aktiva. Detta är av stor vikt för samhället i stort och för idrottsrörelsen i synnerhet, för att i framtiden

Introduction

Alternative sports programs, providing activities beyond the conventional sport environments has been frequently utilized to reach inactive children, not at least in areas of low socioeconomic status. However, they have not been satisfactory examined whether they constitute constructive developmental environments from the perspective of the child. We suggest that programs need to be examined as a part of the ecological landscapes of childrens everyday life.

Methods

In order to grasp the complexity of physical activity behavior in children’s daily lives we applied a bioecological perspective [1,2]. Physically active and inactive children in two rural and two suburban areas (n=63, ages 8-13) participated in 15 focus-group interviews. Inactive children (n=19) also participated in five separate focus-group interviews. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis informed by bioecological theory emphasizing interactions with the multidimensional environment. Results Findings reveal that the landscape in which children engage in daily PA consists of interconnected relations within the children’s microsystems such as peer relations, child–adult relations, and child–environment relations and how these interact with both children’s personal characteristics and factors at the mesolevel, exolevel, and macrolevel. This multileveled ecological landscape creates possibilities as well as barriers for children to engage in PA-related proximal processes. The everyday settings, such as organized activities provided by alternative sport programs, was considered as non-relevant to inactive children since participation in activities was not supported on all ecological levels. For instance, on a sociocultural level, the environments in which children were supposed to be physically active was marked by a conventional sports norm based on ideas that ‘real’ PA is the kind performed within organized sports.

Discussion

Applying the holistic perspective of bioecological theory makes visible that participation in alternative sports program activities requires supporting ecological landscapes. In order to increase physical activity levels among inactive children, programs need to be designed to fit the ecological landscapes of, not only active children, but inactive children as well. This may be achieved if social institutions cooperate and reflect on the movement cultures prevailing in these respective areas. For instance, they must accept that physical activities that inactive children may interact with might be different from the conventional ones.

1. Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making Human Beings Human: Bioecological Perspectives on Human Development. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

2. Vélez-Agosto, N. M., Soto-Crespo, J. G., Vizcarrondo-Oppenheimer, M., Vega-Molina, S., & García Coll, C. (2017). Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory Revision: Moving Culture From the Macro Into the Micro. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 900–910