Collaborative team working on "Understanding sports activity in Scotland through data" project to capture real-life experiences of children, families and supporting organisations.
Abertay University's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences has launched a research study to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and young people's recreational sport and exercise participation in Scotland.
The study is part of a collaborative, nationwide project: “Understanding sports activity in Scotland through data: Mapping what the system looks like for young people, and how Covid-19 impacted access to sport” with the Observatory for Sport in Scotland, Data for Children Collaborative - a Specialist Unit at Edinburgh University's Edinburgh Futures Institute, and private sector organisations: Urban Foresight and Optima Connect.
The Observatory for Sport in Scotland (OSS) collaborated with the Data for Children Collaborative to build this multidisciplinary team which will combine innovative survey techniques to capture real-life experiences and data-driven approaches to identify barriers to accessing recreational sports and provide practical solutions to promote participation. The outcomes will inform and support policymakers and highlight data gaps and solutions to address them.
Fraser Macdonald, Deputy Director of the Data for Children Collaborative, on why this approach to the project creates a powerful dynamic:
"This collaboration highlights the power of academia, the private and public sectors working together, and how each of those areas brings different strengths to look at a problem in a new way. The unique aspect of this project is our focus on combining national-level data with real-life experiences, building a 360 view of how young people, families, and organisations have been impacted. We look forward to shedding new light and improving outcomes for young people across Scotland.”
The Abertay research team is capturing real-life experiences of sport and physical activity of children and families and how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted that. The study includes interviews with organisations supporting sport in Scotland, a survey for parents and guardians of 5-18-year-olds, interactive focus groups, and a digital tour for secondary school children. The study is open to anyone aged 5-18 and will be available to every school in Scotland. Participants (or their parents or guardians) will fill in an online form and choose to upload photographs and provide additional details on what sport and exercise activities might look like in Scotland in an ideal world. The study aims to establish the sports activity landscape in Scotland alongside the key challenges and opportunities families face due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Scotland currently needs more reliable data on recreational sport and exercise trends, and the work is intended to offer actionable insights to help inform future resource priorities at a national level. The study's outcomes will provide insight into the practical solutions to promote and increase participation, which can be used to inform, influence, and support policymakers to make a difference to children's lives in Scotland.
Lead researcher Dr Paula Murray, a lecturer on Abertay's Sport Development and Coaching programme and a Research Associate of the Observatory for Sport in Scotland, is leading the project in collaboration with Abertay University colleagues Dr David Scott, Dr Rhiannon Lord and teaching fellow Julia Chan.
Dr Murray said there was a need for a greater understanding of the detrimental impact Covid-19 has had.
She added:
"Scotland already suffered from holding patchy data on recreational sport and exercise participation before the pandemic, and it's really important that we begin to collect strong and reliable datasets in this area if we are to make informed choices about where the country's limited budget resources should be directed. It's impossible to overstate the essential role that promoting recreational sport participation has in tackling health and societal issues such as obesity, anti-social behaviours and crime, and by better understanding the activities that children and young people favour, we can plan a more targeted approach. I want this research to be genuinely inclusive, and that's why we will also be visiting schools across the country to engage with young people directly."
More about the project: https://www.dataforchildrencollaborative.com/projects-database/sport-scotland
Link to parents and guardians survey: https://abertay.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0TmwKi87lV3l28C
More about Young People Survey:
https://www.dataforchildrencollaborative.com/news/young-people-survey
If you or your organisation would like to participate in organisational interviews, or you would like to learn more about research taking place in schools, please contact Julia Chan, Research Assistant: J.Chan@abertay.ac.uk, or Dr Paula Murray paula.murray@abertay.ac.uk.