FIDES Athlete Development Programme: project background and study protocol of an embedded multiple case study.

Most sports science research revolves around male subjects. As a result, most of the knowledge and practices within sports are male-centric. Failing to take the biological, psychological and social (biopsychosocial) particularities of females into account is believed to hinder optimal sports participation, development and performance, with potential negative effects on the health and well-being of females. To close the knowledge gap and alleviate these issues, we aim to develop and evaluate a 12-video educational intervention that addresses female-specific subject matter: the FIDES Athlete Development Programme. The study is designed as an embedded multiple case study where at least 1320 Swedish female athletes aged 13-16 will participate, in addition to their parents and their coaches. The girls will be recruited through their sports clubs, with half being exposed to the FIDES Athlete Development Programme and the other half serving as control cases. The primary outcomes are well-being and sporting experience. To further increase our understanding of the intervention and its implications, interviews and focus group interviews with a reference group of girls and focus group interviews with a randomly selected subsample of coaches and parents will also be performed. The project is approved by the Swedish ethics committee (number: 2023-05264-01) and will be carried out in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results from the project will be published open access in peer-reviewed journals, at national and international conferences, in mass media, and a PhD thesis. The anonymised data will be made openly available in a data repository.

Teaching for Student and Societal Wellbeing in HPE: Nine Pedagogies for Social Justice.

We currently find ourselves living in precarious times, with old and new social inequities on the rise due to the challenges associated with an unprecedented rise of global migration and neoliberalism, amplified in our post COVID-19 world. Research has demonstrated that there is a high correlation between inequality at the societal level and the overall health and wellbeing of individuals within those societies. We believe that school health and physical education (HPE) has a significant role to play in addressing and acting on social inequities that impact on the wellbeing of both students and society as a whole. Based on the findings of an international research project called EDUHEALTH which explored pedagogies for social justice in school health and physical education (HPE) across Sweden, Norway and New Zealand, this paper aims to highlight the addressing of (in)equality and student wellbeing through HPE practice. In particular, the paper presents nine different but complementary pedagogies for social justice that we believe can improve individual, collective, and societal wellbeing. We conclude by proposing that, if adopted across a whole school curriculum, these nine pedagogies for social justice could form the basis of a holistic school-wide community approach aimed at improving both student and societal wellbeing.

Social Justice Pedagogies in School Health and Physical Education-Building Relationships, Teaching for Social Cohesion and Addressing Social Inequities.

A focus on equity and social justice in school health and physical education (HPE) is pertinent in an era where there are growing concerns about the impact of neoliberal globalization and the precariousness of society. The aim of the present study was to identify school HPE teaching practices that promote social justice and more equitable health outcomes. Data were generated through 20 HPE lesson observations and post-lesson interviews with 13 HPE teachers across schools in Sweden, Norway, and New Zealand. The data were analysed following the principles of thematic analysis. In this paper, we present and discuss findings related to three overall themes: (i) relationships; (ii) teaching for social cohesion; (iii) and explicitly teaching about, and acting on, social inequities. Collectively, these themes represent examples of the enactment of social justice pedagogies in HPE practice. To conclude, we point out the difficulty of enacting social justice pedagogies and that social justice pedagogies may not always transform structures nor make a uniform difference to all students. However, on the basis of our findings, we are reaffirmed in our view that HPE teachers can make a difference when it comes to contributing to more socially just and equitable outcomes in HPE and beyond.

Swedish Tennis Coaches' Everyday Practices for Creating Athlete Development Environments.

Finding and describing the optimal path to elite athletic performance has, for a long time, been a challenge for researchers. This study examined Swedish tennis coaches' everyday practices for creating athlete development environments and the environmental factors that promote or hinder athlete development. The study was conducted in 2018-2019 and included in-depth focus groups with 13 Swedish full-time tennis coaches. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and by drawing on models for studying athlete development environments. The results highlight how the coaches' everyday work involves a range of administrative tasks, which ultimately means that there is little to no time left for focusing on athlete development. These results also draw attention to concerns about these professional coaches' health, with increasing demands in their roles to manage administrative tasks in addition to the coaching and time spent on the court with their athletes. The results further reveal how the tennis clubs' boards are increasingly interested in sound economy and high participation levels rather than focusing on performance outcomes and developing elite athletes. Finally, the results from this study emphasize the importance of increased collaboration and communication between clubs, coaches, regions, and the national association to create common and clearer guidelines for long-term athlete development. Future studies could engage in longitudinal and ethnographic work with tennis clubs of varying size and geographical locations, involving different stakeholders (e.g., coaches, management, parents, players) in order to further explore the environmental factors that promote or hinder athlete development.