Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH

Introduction: Youth participation in organized sport, a longstanding leisure-time activity in Sweden, is both popular and polarized. There are variations in levels of participation related to sociocultural aspects such as gender, socioeconomics, and demography. This ongoing doctoral project investigates young people's evolving engagement in different forms of movement culture, emphasizing and investigating young people’s taste for different forms of movement culture and their perceived reliance on digital technologies. Situated within the research school"School, sport, screens," the study primarily explores youth participation in movement culture. The project is, to some extent, a continuation of earlier studies regarding young people’s participation in movement culture (Larsson 2005, 2008, 2019; Nilsson 1998).

Aim and Theoretical Framework: This research examines young people's participation in movement culture and how it is valued and perceived in the digital era. Drawing on sociocultural and pedagogical perspectives, the theoretical framework, inspired by Bourdieu and Engström, incorporates the contextual role of digital technologies. Movement culture, defined as socially formed physical activity outside daily obligations (Engström, 2013), is used as a foundation to describe different forms of organized physical activity and is analyzed using Bourdieu's concepts of practices, logics, habitus, and taste.

Method and Selection: Using a mixed-method approach, the study combines interviews and a cross-sectional survey in four different Swedish regions. This enables a comprehensive exploration of participation influences and trends, including sociocultural factors and the participant’s own perceived reliance on digital technologies. Data collection spans from December 2023 to February 2024.

Results, Discussions, and Conclusions: Preliminary findings will be presented at the conference.

Innan 1970-talet var idrottsforskning inom humaniora och samhällsvetenskap (hum-sam) relativt begränsad i Sverige. Den idrottsforskning som bedrevs innan 70-talet var främst inom de naturvetenskapliga disciplinerna. Under 70-talet startade dock en utveckling som har lett till att det idag, 50 år senare, finns ett antal idrottsvetenskapliga forskningsmiljöer, med lektorer, docenter och professorer i idrottsvetenskap, flera nationella idrottsforskarföreningar som anordnar konferenser och ger ut vetenskapliga peer-review granskade publikationer, 218 doktorsavhandlingar med idrott som huvudfokus har försvarats, och idrottsforskarna har genomfört en stor mängd forskningsprojekt och publicerat tusentals vetenskapliga artiklar, såväl nationellt som internationellt. Bakom denna utveckling ligger naturligtvis gärningar av en mängd individuella aktörer, men det har också funnits strukturella förutsättningar som har möjliggjort och begränsat deras handlingsutrymme.

Två veteraner och giganter inom svensk idrottsforskning tillika professorer emeriti, Claes Annerstedt och Göran Patriksson, har nedtecknat sina minnen från decenniers verksamhet vid Göteborgs universitets institution för idrottsforskning, numera kallat Institutionen för kost- och idrottsvetenskap. Det blev en bok av det, Idrottsvetenskaplig forskning och utbildning vid Göteborgs universitet: Personliga betraktelser (Multicare), som här förtjänstfullt recenseras av Joakim Åkesson, som forskat en del om detta ämne i ett nationellt perspektiv.

Inom idrotten finns olika forskningstraditioner och ett växande antal akademiska utbildningar. Tanken är att de ska möta idrottens mångfacetterade arbetsmarknad. Men idrottens akademisering är en brokig process där synen på vad som är viktigt skiljer sig åt. Frågorna började komma till mig för cirka tio år sedan: Vad händer efter utbildningen? Finns det relevanta arbeten att söka? Är kunskapen och kompetensen som jag har med mig från utbildningen gångbar på idrottens arbetsmarknad? Jag var då sistaårsstudent vid Idrottsvetenskapligt program på Malmö högskola. Några år senare började jag en forskarutbildning inom vilken jag fick chansen att utveckla och fördjupa frågorna. Intresset vidgades till att inte bara gälla relationen mellan utbildning och arbetsmarknad, utan också till att inkludera forskning.

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the academisation of sport in Sweden. This is done by mapping and analysing the scientific knowledge produced in sport research which is then mediated through academic sport education and demanded on the sport labour market. The relationship between these three arenas is also analysed. Various problems, subjects and perspectives which are focused in the arenas above are analysed, as well as the various conditions under which scientific knowledge is produced, mediated and demanded. Finally, the knowledge which is produced, mediated and demanded is analysed in relation to each other. Theory: Academisation can be considered as the process by which scientific knowledge expands and grows in importance for the area of knowledge as a whole. The academic status of an area of knowledge is dependent on the role of scientific knowledge within research, education and in the field of practice. In this thesis, the focus is on the academisation of the specific area of knowledge of sport. The production of scientific knowledge in sport research, mediation of scientific knowledge in higher sport education, application of scientific knowledge in the field of practice and the relationship between the three knowledge arenas is analysed. The study also includes an institutional perspective. Methodology: The thesis consists of three empirical part-studies: sport research, higher sport education and the labour market of sport. Each part-study has its own specific empirical data and specific approach for the collection, processing and analysis of data. Various documents comprise the main source of empirical data in this thesis, and the main methodological approach is content analysis and analysis of existing data. Results: The academisation process of sport in Sweden has come a long way. Today there exists extensive sport research in a wide range of disciplines with a strong core within a few of them. Academic sport education, with two distinct branches/orientations, has been established. There are also employers in the sport labour market seeking employees with academic backgrounds, including a wide variety of organisational types and activities. The way sport is handled and where interest is directed within, however, varies between the arenas of research, education and the labour market; there are diverse traditions and interests within each one. Also, in some areas, the arenas are more in tune with each other than in other areas. As a consequence of research, education and the labour market having been established and institutionalised during different eras and under varying ideological circumstances, they possess different logics as part of their ideological structures. They reproduce specific, historically-shaped patterns of thinking and behaviour. This also explains why research, education and the labour market looks so disparate in terms of what scientific knowledge is being produced, mediated and demanded. In areas where institutionalisation has occurred for a long time, there is a clear reproduction of patterns of thought and action; actors in such areas can be said to be more “path dependent” than others. As a result of sport education being institutionalised to such a low degree, it is also more customisable and flexible compared to the thoroughly-institutionalised sport research; however, it lacks the stability and continuity of sport research. Therefore, education also has, to a larger extent, an ability to adapt to the prevailing ideas and logic of the times, such as market logic – for better or for worse. The academisation of sport can thus be seen as an uneven process or a process “out of step”. Scientific knowledge has different characteristics within sport research, higher sport education and the sport labour market due to disparate institutional conditions and different histories of the different academic arenas. They are, in other words, “children of different times”.

Introduction Sport research within social science, and sport science (sport studies) education at an academic level are relatively new phenomenon’s in Sweden. Research started in the 1970s and before the 2000s there were only a few academic sport educations. Today, research and education are comprehensive and diversified. Also, the sport labor market has been expanding and changing, with more employment opportunities, on the one hand, and a smaller proportion of these being qualified jobs, on the other. The study deals with the Sport Academization process. The purpose is to attain extended knowledge and a deeper understanding of higher sport science education and its relationship to sport research, and the sport labor market - from a perspective of knowledge. The research questions are: What knowledge is produced within social science sport research, what knowledge is mediated through higher sport education, and what knowledge is demanded in the sport labor market? How does the production, mediation and demand for academic sport knowledge relate to each other? Do they differ, and if so, in what ways and why?Four theoretical concepts are particularly central in the study: knowledge (Berger & Luckmann 1966), paradigm (Kuhn 1962), discourse and institution (Foucault 2008). Bauman’s theories about social processes and discourses of different eras are also central (Bauman 1998).MethodsThe empirical material consists mainly of various documents, such as: dissertations, journal articles, educational curriculums, job listings, and various statistical materials. The documents have been analyzed quantitatively, with statistical analysis, and qualitatively, through discourse analysis.ResultsThe study shows that there are discrepancies between produced, mediated and demanded knowledge. The largest proportion of research has been produced within the fields of pedagogy, psychology and history. At the same time, almost half of the educations are within Sport Management. Also, preliminary results show that the demand for knowledge on the labor market is mainly expressed through demands of practical knowledge, i.e. knowing how to do things, rather than having knowledge and understanding about things. DiscussionThe main interpretation of observed differences is that research, education and labor market is based on different contemporary logics (ideas and ideals). The differences between mentioned knowledge entities highlights important questions about whether and how research, education and the labor market within sport should be governed.ReferencesBauman, Zygmunt (1998). Work, consumerism and the new poor. Buckingham: Open University PressKuhn, Thomas S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr.Berger, Peter L. & Luckmann, Thomas (1966). The social construction of reality. London: PenguinFoucault, Michel (2008). Diskursernas kamp. Eslöv: Symposion

Sport research within the social sciences, and sport science (sport studies) education at an academic level are relatively new phenomenon’s in Sweden. Research started in the early 1970s and before the 2000s there were only a few academic sport educations in the country. Today, research and education are both comprehensive and diversified. The questions are: -How research and education have emerged, how they appear today, and how they relate to each other? -What knowledge is produced within research and what knowledge is conveyed through education? -Do they differ? And if so - in what way and why?The study deals with the Sport Academization process. The purpose is to attain a deeper understanding of sport science higher education and its relationship to sport research from a knowledge perspective.Four concepts are particularly central in the study: knowledge, power, discourse and institutions. The analysis is grounded in theories as: Berger and Luckmann’s sociology of knowledge, Foucault’s ideas about discourse, power and institutions, Bourdieu’s field analysis, and Baumans theories about social processes and discourses of different eras.The empirical material consists mainly of various documents. Examples of analyzed documents are: dissertations, journal articles, educational plans and curriculums. The documents have been handled both qualitatively and quantitatively. Discourse analysis has been the main method for the qualitative analysis. The study shows that there is a discrepancy between the produced and conveyed knowledge. The largest proportion of the research has been produced within the fields of pedagogy, psychology, and history. In addition - almost half of the educations were Sport Management programs. The main interpretation of the differences is that research and education is based on different contemporary logics (ideas and ideals).The difference between produced and conveyed knowledge highlights important political questions about how research and education should be governed. For example:-What role should the government take in the strategic planning and government of sport research and higher sport education?-To what extent, and under what forms, should research and education be self-governed?-What implications do different choices, in the matters above, infer (amount to)?