engleski

Sport and social inclusion of children with disabilities

INTRODUCTION The issue of social cohesion is inextricably linked to the problems of integration and discrimination, particularly by race, regional, ethnic or national origin or any other cultural diversity. I will present some results from a four-year scientific project “Sport, discrimination and integration. Sport as a vehicle of social inclusion and participation” (2019-2022). AIM The progress made in sports for people with disabilities has been largely in the integration area - providing platforms for people with disabilities which enable them to participate. One of the expected aims of the project is the contribution to models of improvements of inclusion, using sport as a vehicle of social cohesion. METHODOLOGY Different practices of qualitative and quantitative methodology will be used, with accent on discursive analysis, participant observation, ethnographic recording, free and semi-structured interviews. Children with disabilities involved in sporting activities will be main interviewees in this part of a project, while later stages of the research will include interviews with parents of children with disabilities and individuals from associations and institutions. FINDINGS Several field researches will be carried out by the methods of qualitative research, ie. interviews with stakeholders involved in various stages of sports integration, mostly involved in the work of associations, NGOs and institutions concerned with the provision of equal opportunities for children with various developmental disabilities. So far, only a few preliminary fieldwork trips have been made and these results will be presented here. CONCLUSION Integration opportunities offer children with disabilities the chance to compete in sport with an aim of reaping all benefits of sport. Although integration as such is a big and necessary step for enabling people with disabilities to enjoy sports, much more is to be done and the next step is inclusion – producing models that connect children with disabilities with their peers through sports.

integration, social inclusion, sport and disabilty

nije evidentirano