<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In recent years, European countries have become hosting destinations for thousands of people who have been forced to leave their home countries. Greece is one of the main European hosting countries of refugees, especially children. Thus, the pupil population is gradually changing and the need for intercultural education is increasing. Physical education (PE) and sports have been recorded as suitable contexts for this process. However, there are still many challenges present in these contexts. The following study attempts to present the perceptions of PE teachers, coaches, and academics on the inclusion of refugees in PE and sports. Fifteen PE teachers/coaches and academics involved in the field of intercultural education participated in the study. A phenomenological approach was followed through semi-structured interviews. The method of thematic analysis was chosen to analyze the data. While all the participants considered PE and sports to be the most suitable contexts for the inclusion of refugees, they emphasized certain barriers to be overcome: the lack of training for PE teachers and coaches, prejudices of the parents of both natives and refugees, and refugees’ socioeconomic status and gender issues. Participants also shared their ideas for an adequate training program to improve PE teachers’ and coaches’ attitudes and promote their knowledge and skills regarding the inclusion of refugees. The participants underlined the need for intercultural education and well-structured training programs to properly manage culturally diverse environments.</p>
</abstract>

In recent years, European countries have become hosting destinations for thousands of people who have been forced to leave their home countries. Greece is one of the main European hosting countries of refugees, especially children. Thus, the pupil population is gradually changing and the need for intercultural education is increasing. Physical education (PE) and sports have been recorded as suitable contexts for this process. However, there are still many challenges present in these contexts. The following study attempts to present the perceptions of PE teachers, coaches, and academics on the inclusion of refugees in PE and sports. Fifteen PE teachers/coaches and academics involved in the field of intercultural education participated in the study. A phenomenological approach was followed through semi-structured interviews. The method of thematic analysis was chosen to analyze the data. While all the participants considered PE and sports to be the most suitable contexts for the inclusion of refugees, they emphasized certain barriers to be overcome: the lack of training for PE teachers and coaches, prejudices of the parents of both natives and refugees, and refugees’ socioeconomic status and gender issues. Participants also shared their ideas for an adequate training program to improve PE teachers’ and coaches’ attitudes and promote their knowledge and skills regarding the inclusion of refugees. The participants underlined the need for intercultural education and well-structured training programs to properly manage culturally diverse environments.

A needs assessment study on refugees’ inclusion through physical education and sport. Are we ready for this challenge?

Department of Physical Education and Sport Science

Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In recent years, European countries have become hosting destinations for thousands of people who have been forced to leave their home countries. Greece is one...

A needs assessment study on refugees’ inclusion through physical education and sport. Are we ready for this challenge?

Published Online: Sep 13, 2021

Page range: 21 - 33

Received: Oct 10, 2020

Accepted: Apr 30, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2021-0016

Keywords
Intercultural education, physical education, sports, inclusion of refugees

© 2021 Eleftheria Papageorgiou et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A needs assessment study on refugees’ inclusion through physical education and sport. Are we ready for this challenge?

Published Online: Sep 13, 2021

Page range: 21 - 33

Received: Oct 10, 2020

Accepted: Apr 30, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2021-0016

KeywordsIntercultural education, physical education, sports, inclusion of refugees

© 2021 Eleftheria Papageorgiou et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Intercultural education, physical education, sports, inclusion of refugees