Browsing by Subject "drop-out-ilmiö"

Participation can be understood as a personal experience of belonging to something. The feeling of participation evolves within social interaction between people, and is a key factor in becoming a member of society. In environments where physical activity is being practiced, participation is generated by four different factors: feeling a sense of communality, giving a voice to everyone, having a hobby that suits oneself and having concrete factors of the environment supporting the feeling of participation. The aim of this thesis is to examine by using the viewpoint of participation, what factors contribute to teenagers continuing their organized club sports hobby. The subject is important: it is very typical to engage in a hobby via organized club sports in Finnish society. Nine out of ten children try club sports, but by the end of adolescence fewer and fewer youngsters are engaged in organized sports. As it is very common to participate in club sports, sports clubs contribute greatly to motivating children and youth to move and grow towards an active lifestyle. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach. The data used in the analysis was collected through theme interviews. Eight persons playing football in women’s football teams were interviewed. The interviews were implemented via remote accesses in fall of 2021. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis, using the viewpoint of participation as guidance. The results of the study indicated that the factors that support teenagers in continuing their organized sports hobbies are the following: feeling a sense of communality, giving a voice to everyone, having a hobby that suits oneself, having concrete factors of the environment supporting the feeling of participation and recognizing the special features of sport and exercising. Of the previously listed factors, feeling a sense of communality, giving a voice to everyone, having a hobby that suits oneself and having concrete factors of the environment supporting the feeling of participation are associated with the feeling of participation. The results highlight the importance of participation as a factor that supports organized sports hobbies of the youth. By identifying the factors that enable the action to become meaningful for the youth and by adapting the action according to the factors, it is possible to support teenagers’ hobbies, the development of the feeling of belonging and hence the well-being of the youth. Based on this study, the viewpoint of participation could be used as a tool in developing sports clubs.