Beyond incredible: The Paralympic road to Rio - an ethnographic study
type: CreativeWork
description: The primary purpose of this ethnographic study was to understand the culture of the U.S. Paralympic Track and Field team from the 2015 World Championships through the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Secondary purposes included examination of the influence of sport in the lives of those involved in elite adaptive sport, greater examination of barriers and facilitators to participation for those involved in elite sport, issues related to and relevant to healthcare providers and coaches, and the psychosocial effects of the International Paralympic Committee Classification System within Paralympic track and field. Subjects were observed and select participants interviewed after being identified through purposeful snowball sampling. Observation notes, transcribed semi-structured interviews, social media posts, and media coverage were analyzed using theoretical frameworks to guide analyses. Feminist theory guided the ethnographic data analysis related to sport socialization. Self-determination theory was used to analyze the data relevant to healthcare providers and coaches in two separate phenomenological studies. Morgan’s practice community was used to theoretically frame the phenomenological study of classification. Rigor was established through triangulation, member checking, peer debriefing, and maintenance of a clear audit trail. Through data analysis, common themes related to the power of sport included a variety of health benefits, and increased participation in society. Barriers to participation included lack of awareness, cost, comorbidities, classification, and “doping.” Facilitators included family, sponsorships, others involved in sport, and fun. Negative aspects included injuries, illnesses, and transportation issues. Prominent negative aspects require staff to assist in managing those negative consequences, to educate athletes of the potential risk, and to allow athlete autonomy. Common themes that emerged related to socialization into and via sport included aspe…
abstract: The primary purpose of this ethnographic study was to understand the culture of the U.S. Paralympic Track and Field team from the 2015 World Championships through the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Secondary purposes included examination of the influence of sport in the lives of those involved in elite adaptive sport, greater examination of barriers and facilitators to participation for those involved in elite sport, issues related to and relevant to healthcare providers and coaches, and the psychosocial effects of the International Paralympic Committee Classification System within Paralympic track and field. Subjects were observed and select participants interviewed after being identified through purposeful snowball sampling. Observation notes, transcribed semi-structured interviews, social media posts, and media coverage were analyzed using theoretical frameworks to guide analyses. Feminist theory guided the ethnographic data analysis related to sport socialization. Self-determination theory was used to analyze the data relevant to healthcare providers and coaches in two separate phenomenological studies. Morgan’s practice community was used to theoretically frame the phenomenological study of classification. Rigor was established through triangulation, member checking, peer debriefing, and maintenance of a clear audit trail. Through data analysis, common themes related to the power of sport included a variety of health benefits, and increased participation in society. Barriers to participation included lack of awareness, cost, comorbidities, classification, and “doping.” Facilitators included family, sponsorships, others involved in sport, and fun. Negative aspects included injuries, illnesses, and transportation issues. Prominent negative aspects require staff to assist in managing those negative consequences, to educate athletes of the potential risk, and to allow athlete autonomy. Common themes that emerged related to socialization into and via sport included aspe…
author: Walters, Sheri
language: en
keywords: Paralympic track and field, Classification, Socialization, Coach development, Healthcare providers, Feminist theory, Self-determination, Morgan's practice community
date published: 8/9/2018
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:05:12Z
provider: Texas Woman's University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Texas Woman's University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11274/10726