Book chapter
En arena för tillit och tolerans?
2016Abdelzadeh, A., Amnå, E., & Lundberg, E.I Dartsch, C., Norberg, J. R. & Pihlblad, J. (red.), Föreningen, laget och jaget: 7 perspektiv på idrottens demokratiska effekter. Stockholm: Centrum för idrottsforskning
What is this study about?
The study examines whether participation in organised sports is related to the development of social trust and tolerance among young people. The point of departure is the notion of associational life as a ”school of democracy”, in which participation can provide experiences of cooperation, community and encounters with others. The study tests whether such democratically significant effects can also be identified among young people participating in sports clubs.
What did we find?
Is the sports club an arena where young people develop greater trust and tolerance? The results give a more nuanced picture than the assumption that organised sports automatically create democratic values. Participation in sport can offer important social experiences and communities, but its associations with trust and tolerance are not unambiguous. The study thus shows that the democratic significance of sport needs to be understood in terms of what actually takes place in the social environments of clubs, rather than based solely on membership or participation.
Why does it matter?
The sports movement is one of the largest arenas for young people's organised leisure and therefore reaches many during a period when social and democratic orientations are developing. If sport is to be understood as a school of democracy, it is therefore important to examine which experiences the club environment actually creates and under what conditions these can promote trust and tolerance. The study shows why the democratic significance of sport should not be taken for granted but needs to be examined empirically.
Citation
Abdelzadeh, A., Amnå, E., & Lundberg, E. (2016) En arena för tillit och tolerans?. I Dartsch, C., Norberg, J. R. & Pihlblad, J. (red.), Föreningen, laget och jaget: 7 perspektiv på idrottens demokratiska effekter. Stockholm: Centrum för idrottsforskning 27–46
Research area
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