User:Belindasmart1991/Indigenous Sport Participation

'Indigenous Sport Participation'

The psychological, emotional, and social factors affecting participants in sport

On a global scale, Australian cultures of sport has seen a dominant amount of Indigenous athletes. History suggests sporting opportunities as an equal right for all Australians was not always followed. Therefore psychological, emotional and social factors stem from this.

Psychological factors are based on the mental capacity of an athlete at any beginner to elite status, influencing thought process and decision making. The behavior of these individuals is also a determinant to how the sport is played and the level of enjoyment the player experiences (Grimley, 1996). A participation survey was conducted by Michael Salter including several Indigenous students, accompanied with feedback from teachers (Grimley, 1996). An important component of the literature suggested 70% of children in the school with behavioural problems seemed to experience a higher level of enjoyment as opposed to the other students (Grimley, 1996). Evidently this concludes to the idea sporting participation was a high success for them, as it was an alternate learning style incorporated by a 'doing' attitude (Grimley, 1996, p. 8). Psychologically for these students, it allows them to engage in a sense of positive achievement and momentarily surpass their struggles of the common classroom methods.

From the results, Salter suggests individual accomplishment is deemed unworthy as the Indigenous culture ideologies focus on the art of sharing (Grimley, 1996). Therefore psychologically on the sporting field, each individual is allowed to perform and display their skills. However, the strong notion not to stand out is always in their conscious mind, possibly resulting in never obtaining the chance to reach their full potential. The society in which they live and participate in sport has restricted principles, therefore psychologically this negatively influences sport participation.

Leading onto social factors, in previous years Indigenous Australians had limited opportunities to be recognized for their skill and athleticism (O'Neill, 2005). Evidenced by this is the denial of an Indigenous professional Rugby League contract in 1936, due to another athlete involved in cricket already having come from the Barambah Aboriginal reserve (O'Neill, 2005). The authorities of that time period controlled the level of success for each athlete, dependent on the colour of your skin (O'Neill, 2005). Not only this, but the remaining authentic Indigenous cultures located in remote areas, consequently secluding them from society contributing to the lack of funding, poor housing, health and sporting facilities (O'Neill, 2005). This type of historic environment has negatively affected participants in sport due to ethics of society in which they were bound in.

The connection between psychological and emotional factors can be deemed very similar. Psychology in the above paragraphs focused on the idea of behaviour and created a general gauge on basic factors affecting the sport participants. Emotional factors delve beyond this one step further, investigating the extremity of both social influence and the participants mental capacity. By initiating a previous foundation of information as stated above, will allow a greater understanding of the emotional factors influencing Indigenous sport participation.

Embodied by Indigenous men recalls the following statement on health: 'health includes the physical, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual wellbeing ... and this is not only of the individual but of the whole community' (Ricciardelli, et. al, 2012, pg. 2). This ideology reflects the immense pressure that Indigenous men place on themselves in need to obtain a feeling of respect and self efficacy. McCoy (2012) also portrays the message throughout Indigenous cultures that only a healthy person establishes a distinct connection between their inner spirit and relationship with others (Ricciardelli, et. al, 2012). It is therefore important to understand without this connection or achievement for the community, sport participation is almost deemed to be granted less of an importance. The community reflects the culture which in this case, sport is not utilised as a source to engage a whole sense of health, which means emotionally this is a strong factor causing decreased participants in sport.

Typical motivators for the Indigenous Australians and reasons why they may not participate

Following on from the psychological, emotional and social factors, leads onto the typical motivators and reasons why Indigenous Australians may not participate. This will allow a greater understanding as all areas are connected hence the purpose of this report.

A main motivator for participation in sport is the chance to express their emotions and enlighten the connection between their 'physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions within an individual' (Blodget, et. al, 2013, p. 313). This would be paramount in reflecting the culture they embody as it is a strong representation of their beliefs that delve beyond the physicality's of a person. Evidenced by this is the lack of research undertaken to understand the Indigenous culture, as Western society dominates sport research (Blodget, et. al, 2013). If an Indigenous individual is able to 'generate, interpret and communicate knowledge through methods of art, this creates a strong foundation for the

References

- Grimley, S. (1996) Sport and Aboriginal Culture in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. 24(1), 6-9.

- O'Neill, M. (2005) Indigenous sport: the Aboriginal experience in sport. Sport Health. 23(2), 11-22.

- Ricciardelli, L. Mellor, D. McCabe, M. Mussap, A. Hallford,D. Tyler, M. (2012_. Promoting fit bodies, healthy eating and physical activity among Indigenous Australian men: a study protocol. BMC Public Health, 12(28), 1-9.

Blodgett, A. Coholic, D. Schinke, R. McGannon, K. Peltier, D. & Pheasant, C. (2013) Moving beyond words: exploring the use of an arts-based method in Aboriginal community sport research, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 5:3, 312-331,

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