Disability and participation in physical activity and non-elite sport environments: a critical investigation of persons with disabilities experiences
type: CreativeWork
description: Sport is often praised for its capacity to alleviate social exclusion. However, for many persons with disabilities and people trapped within the poverty cycle, sport remains elusive in terms of accessible process and practice. To better understand sport's wider inclusionary and exclusionary outcomes this study explored experiences of persons with disabilities and the assumptions, distinctions and ideologies surrounding sport as a means for social inclusion. Saxton (2018) argues that we continue to hold a narrow understanding of the nature of participation for athletes with disabilities, especially non-elite athletes. Such participation often involves barriers and exclusion, denying persons with disabilities access to psychological and physiological benefits of participation. The position that sport has gained, and held, in development reflects an understanding that sport can be a steppingstone to upward social mobility, potentially providing a means for material advancement, increased social status and occupational prestige (Carrington, 1986; Hartmann & Kwauk, 2011; Spaaij, Magee, & Jeanes, 2014). My research acknowledges the influential role sport has gained in society, whether it be for the purposes of competition, enjoyment, or development (Eitzen, 2005). The significance of this exploratory study is to contribute to the gap in knowledge surrounding persons with disabilities' perspectives and experiences of sport and physical activity participation; this will add to the sports research knowledge base from a Global South perspective, nuanced with the diversity these environments provide. The study utilised a biographical narrative approach to investigate the diverse nature of non-elite sport participation by persons with disabilities. Emphasis was placed on understanding the variety of experiences of participants from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The research has generated ten narratives of participants from Cape Town, South Africa, all of whom…
abstract: Sport is often praised for its capacity to alleviate social exclusion. However, for many persons with disabilities and people trapped within the poverty cycle, sport remains elusive in terms of accessible process and practice. To better understand sport's wider inclusionary and exclusionary outcomes this study explored experiences of persons with disabilities and the assumptions, distinctions and ideologies surrounding sport as a means for social inclusion. Saxton (2018) argues that we continue to hold a narrow understanding of the nature of participation for athletes with disabilities, especially non-elite athletes. Such participation often involves barriers and exclusion, denying persons with disabilities access to psychological and physiological benefits of participation. The position that sport has gained, and held, in development reflects an understanding that sport can be a steppingstone to upward social mobility, potentially providing a means for material advancement, increased social status and occupational prestige (Carrington, 1986; Hartmann & Kwauk, 2011; Spaaij, Magee, & Jeanes, 2014). My research acknowledges the influential role sport has gained in society, whether it be for the purposes of competition, enjoyment, or development (Eitzen, 2005). The significance of this exploratory study is to contribute to the gap in knowledge surrounding persons with disabilities' perspectives and experiences of sport and physical activity participation; this will add to the sports research knowledge base from a Global South perspective, nuanced with the diversity these environments provide. The study utilised a biographical narrative approach to investigate the diverse nature of non-elite sport participation by persons with disabilities. Emphasis was placed on understanding the variety of experiences of participants from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The research has generated ten narratives of participants from Cape Town, South Africa, all of whom…
author: Brand, Dominique
keywords: Disability Studies
date published: 2022
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:46Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Division of Disability Studies

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36988