Suchergebnisse

The aim of this paper is to gain conceptual understanding of changes in leisure-time sports participation (LTSP) as an issue of institutional change. The study is elaborated in the LTSP research context of Flanders (Belgium) and Denmark. Data originate from the Flemish Household Study on Sports Participation (1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009), Danish National Surveys on Sports Participation (1964, 1975, 1993, 1998, 2007, 2011) and the Flemish Participation Survey on Culture, Youth, Sports and Media (2009). A theoretical framework on institutional change is outlined to frame developments in the organisation of LTSP. Next, empirical evidence on changes in LTSP is presented based on time-trend observations and an in-depth analysis of profiles of participants in different organisational settings. The developments seem to reflect post-modern and post-materialist values that are linked to the theory of institutional change. The final part of the paper links changes in leisure-time sports participation to institutional theory in a conceptual framework of 'greedy' and 'light' institutions. The dynamic character of the framework suggests that both processes of deinstitutionalisation and reinstitutionalisation occur in the field of LTSP. The interpretation of institutional logics related to processes of change may inspire LTSP research from different perspectives.

Social changes have been influencing determinants for sports participation since the introduction of the Sport for All ideology in the early 1970s. Consistent with Crum's sportisation theory, today's modes of sports practices, as well as the network of sport services, have diversified and de-traditionalised. As part of a research tradition, this contribution aims at analysing changes in sports participation styles in kinesiology students in Belgium during the past four decades (1972–2009). The distinct target group was supposed to fulfil a trend-setting role in the area of active sports participation. Data were obtained from a standardised retrospective questionnaire on leisure-time sports participation. Using standardised methods, Principal Component Analysis was used to identify patterns of sports participation. The results show a diversification of sports participation styles until the 1980s, followed by an intensification of basic style components since the 1990s. Sports participation styles between 1999 and 2009 are subdivided into multiple distinct traditional and non-traditional components, with growing emphasis on non-traditional, alternative practices. Newly observed components in 2009 are discussed in relation to previous time intervals and trends in sports participation.