“I Will Make You Understand”

Using Pictures to Explore Young Boys’ Sport Experiences

in Boyhood Studies
Author:
Deborah Agnew Flinders University deb.agnew@flinders.edu.au

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Jennifer Fane Flinders University jennifer.fane@flinders.edu.au

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Murray Drummond Flinders University murray.drummond@flinders.edu.au

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Philippa Henderson Flinders University pip.henderson@flinders.edu.au

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/bhs.2017.100104
Keywords:
gender; masculinities; visual methods; organized sport; unstructured play
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ABSTRACT

This qualitative project explores the meanings young boys ascribe to sport experiences and how understandings and perspectives of sport differ between parent(s) and child. Thirteen five-year-old boys and their parent(s) (n = 17) took part in semi-structured interviews focusing on meanings associated with their sport and physical activity experiences. The boys undertook a drawing exercise as part of the interview to elicit their experiences as distinct from those of their parent(s). The seventeen parents were interviewed about their motivation for encouraging their sons to be active. The results indicated that the parents’ and boys’ constructions and understandings of the boys’ sport experienced differed in two important ways; the gendering of the sport experience, and the way in which the sport experience is conceptualized.

Contributor Notes

Deborah Agnew is a lecturer in the School of Education at Flinders University in South Australia. Her research interests include Australian football, masculinity, sports retirement, and men’s health. She is a member of the Flinders SHAPE (Sport, Health and Physical Education) Research Centre and teaches in the Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Activity. E-mail: deb.agnew@flinders.edu.au

Jennifer Fane is an associate lecturer in Health and Early Childhood Education at Flinders University, Australia, and a member of the Flinders Sport, Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Research Group. She has a diverse teaching background in early childhood settings and schools, and is a PhD candidate in the Discipline of Public Health at Flinders University. E-mail: jennifer.fane@flinders.edu.au

Murray Drummond is a Professor and Director of the Sport, Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Research Centre at Flinders University. His research interests are based around qualitative health research with a particular interest in masculinities, sport and body image. E-mail: murray.drummond@flinders.edu.au

Philippa Henderson has a Master degree in Public Health and teaches across a wide variety of health topics in the School of Education and the School of Health Science at Flinders University in South Australia. Her research interests include sport and physical activity, as well as social justice, health equity issues, and social determinants of health. E-mail: pip.henderson@flinders.edu.au

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Boyhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Boyhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
22
Keywords:
gender; masculinities; visual methods; organized sport; unstructured play
Print Publication Date:
01 Mar 2017
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2017
Copyright:
© Berghahn Books 2017

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