Sport Culture & Policy

Aim: The main aim of the 'Sport Culture & Policy' research strand of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, led by Dr David Howe, is to research and disseminate knowledge of the cultural environment surrounding Paralympic sport.

Overview: This research strand is interested in how the culture of the Paralympic movement is distinct from that of the mainstream. In order to achieve this aim the Sport Culture and Policy team are interested in a wide range of social issues (e.g. class, ethnicity, gender and physicality) and how these impact upon the community involved in disability sport. Our research is undertaken using qualitative methods within the disciplines of social anthropology and sociology with special attention paid to historical and ethical issues.

Policy research within the group is primarily focused upon how legally binding policy (e.g. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other related national legislation) shapes the practice of those providing services for the disability sport community. As such we are interested in the relationship between policies, the programmes developed to implement them and the practice on the ground.

Advancing methods and frameworks for understanding gender, disability, and transition to adult life

Dr Brett Smith has been awarded a grant by the Canadian Health Research Institute (CHRI) to carry out research on 'Advancing methods and frameworks for understanding gender, disability, and transition to adult life'.

Dr Smith will be collaborating with David Abbott from Bristol University, UK, Doug Biggar from the University of Toronto, Canada and Barbara Gibson, Karen Yoshida and Sally Lindsay all from Toronto Rehabilitation in Canada.

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework and methods for analysing the intersecting effects of disability, gender, and emerging adulthood on physical, social and psychological health of disabled young men.

Critical research examining the gendered nature of men’s health is a growing field. However there is a paucity of research identifying how key life transition points may impact on men’s health and well being and even less focused on disabled male children and youth. Children with complex chronic conditions that were previously limited to childhood such as muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis are living longer, and there is unprecedented interest in designing rehabilitation programs that assist with ‘transitioning’ to adulthood.

Little if any of this work, however, has analyzed the intersection of gender, disability and generational categories of ‘childhood’ and ‘adulthood’ in mediating young people’s physical, social and psychological health. Thus, not only is there a gap in understanding, but a lack of knowledge to inform programs that assist disabled youth. The purpose of this study therefore is to fill this by developing a conceptual framework and methods for analysing the intersecting effects of disability, gender, and emerging adulthood on physical, social and psychological health of disabled young men.

For further information about Dr Smith's research please see his staff profile.

This strand undertakes research in areas which includes but is not limited to the following:

Classification, sport science and technology interface

1. The role of disability sport classification processes in shaping the Paralympic Movement.

2. How the culture of sport science research enhances technologies and impacts upon the system of classification.

3. How sporting technologies impact upon our understanding of how athletes could and/or should be classified.

Cultural history of the Paralympic Movement

1. The importance of lived histories of the Paralympic Movement.

2. Centering the history of the Paralympic Movement around voices from diverse impairment groups.

3. Exploring the hierarchy of impairment and its roots within the history of disability and the Paralympics in particular.

Disability in Sport, Physical Activity and Health

1. Understanding the well-being of spinal cord injured patients who are isolated as a result of pressure ulcers

2. Developing methods and frameworks for understanding gender, disability, and transition to adult life

3. Understanding narrative, embodiment and resilience in positive and/or negative life changes following spinal cord injury

4. The relationship between the role of sport in rehabilitation and high performance sporting cultures.

Philosophy of the Paralympic Movement

1. Exploring the relationship between the concept of normality and how it impacts upon sporting participation rates of various impairment groups.

2. The role of dependency and trust in shaping the Paralympic Movement.

3. To what extent is 'difference normal' and how can the Paralympic Movement be used to unpack these debates?

New Howe, P. D. (2009). An Accessible World Stage: Human Rights, Integration and the Para-Athletic Program in Canada. Cambrian Law Review. Vol. 40: 23-35.

O’ Brian, D., Kudláček, M. and Howe P.D. (2009). A Contemporary Review of English Language Literature on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Physical Education: A European Perspective. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity Vol. 2 (1): 46-61.

Howe, P. D. (2009) 'Reflexive Ethnography, impairment and the pub', Leisure Studies. Vol. 28.(4): 489-496.

Horne, J. and Howe, P. D. eds. (2009) 'Guest editorial'. Special issue of 'Leisure and Disability' in Leisure Studies. Vol. 28. No. 4.

David has also been appointed to the editorial board of the European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity. To find out further information about this publication please click here.

Please click here to see a full list of the Centre's publications.

If you are interested in the Peter Harrison Centre undertaking research in these (or related areas) please contact Dr David Howe at the following email address: p.d.howe@lboro.ac.uk.

Dr David Howe's staff profile can be accessed from here.