Browsing by Subject "identitetsutveckling"

As a result of different on-going conflicts in Europe the refugee crisis has reached new heights. Millions of people are fleeing their homes in hope of finding safer places for them and their families. The on-going crisis has also affected our Finnish society. We need to develop strategies so that we can take care and integrate the people that seek for protection in our country. The integration of refugees is a difficult task that needs a lot of effort and planning. This thesis focuses on the integration of young immigrants. There are several ways of approaching integration, and there are many different ways of trying to enhance the integration of immigrants. Previous studies prove that sports could be a very useful tool when it comes to the integration of immigrants. The aim of this thesis is therefore to investigate if sports can enhance young immigrants integration, and if so, then how. The data was collected through individual interviews with five young immigrants. The interviews focused on the immigrants experiences within sports, and if they experienced that football somehow had affected their integration. The theoretical framework mainly consisted of Erik Erikson’s identity development theory and Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory. This study is qualitative and descriptive to its nature. The results of this study show that sports and in this case football works extremely well when it comes to integrating young immigrants. The young individuals felt that the sport gave them a bigger sense of community and acceptance in the Finnish society. Football also supported the individuals in their identity development and created new and important friendships for the immigrants. The individual’s experiences concerning sport and integration were almost all positive and the study proves that sport and especially football can be a very useful tool when it comes to integrating young immigrants.