Disability sport has been a relatively under-researched area within the fields of both sport sociology and disability studies, in particular regarding countries outside the West. This comparative research, therefore, is an attempt to rectify the situation and make sense of the experiences of elite sportsmen and sportswomen with physical disabilities in Great Britain and Taiwan, specifically those who have represented their respective countries at the Paralympic Games or the Athletics and Power lifting World Championships. Through 21 in-depth interviews with a life history approach, the aim of the research has been to gain a greater understanding and provide as authentic an account as possible of the experiences of elite male and female athletes with disabilities - in particular, how they experience their bodies and construct, negotiate, and perform their identities in relation to their involvement in elite disability sport. This research also involves a critical analysis, set within the social model of disability and using a feminist perspective, of dominant medical model ideologies and discourses associated with disability, gender and sport in British and Taiwanese societies. It investigates how dominant ideologies and stereotypes produce disabling physical and social barriers that are manifest in various oppressive practices within social institutions and thus impinge on the lives, sporting experiences and the construction of identities of the research participants. In line with the emancipatory research framework adopted in this research, the elite disabled athletes are included in the research process as active participants who are experts in their own experiences, rather than as research objects.

This thesis explores young peoples' experiences of physical education and sport and considers the ways in which these experiences contribute to identity formation and understandings of self. Ten young disabled people attending two secondary schools in the Midlands of England participated in a series of focus group discussions and completed free-time diaries. In this study, I focus on the insights of young disabled people as much physical education and sports research has failed to account for the insights of these young people. Theoretically, I draw on social and medical model understandings of disability and extend these understandings by employing Pierre Bourdieu's conceptual tools. In particular, these tools bridge the structure/agency dichotomy found within medical and social model understandings of disability. The data generated from this study reveals multifaceted relations between school, physical education, sport, the family, friends and role models. Within and between these spheres, young disabled people begin to understand themselves and the position and meaning of physical education and sport in relation to their lives. Within a school context, it is evident that a paradigm of normativity prevails and is expressed through informal and formal discursive practices. Indeed, the physical education habitus serves to affirm this normative presence and is manifest through conceptions of ability that recognise and value certain characteristics and competencies more than others. In this context, students measured themselves, and perceived they were measured by others, against a mesomorphic ideal. In addition, masculinity was expressed in a manner that valued competitive and aggressive forms of activity. Within physical education, value was also placed on high levels of motoric competence. For the focus group students, difference is embodied within physical education and serves to reinforce wider practices within school that distinguish disabled students as different from other students. Beyond a school context, this study explores students' understandings of their free-time experiences and, in particular, free-time sport. Although students had different experiences of free time, it is clear that this sphere of life is an important site for understanding and positioning themselves in relation to others. Indeed, there are similarities between free time and school (physical) education in relation to the ways in which normative values associated with the body and conceptions of performance prevail. For a small number of students, it appears that the family habitus has disrupted these normative values and constructed disability and sport positively. This study also highlights the limited extent to which different sites of participation and mediators interrelate in order to support any kind of continuity or progression in sport. Although the key mediator within multiple sites seem to be parents, their support remained isolated to specific issues within sites rather than providing support between sites. Taken together, these findings reveal a number of substantive issues that have emerged from this study, including the role schools and physical education play in reproducing social inequalities, disability as a fluid and contradictory construct and the notion of complex sporting identities. This thesis concludes by discussing the implications of this study in relation to researching with young disabled people, the practice of physical education and the provision of disability sport opportunities. This study demonstrates not only the complexities of identity formation but also the fluid position that disability has within this process.

The study of self-perceptions in the physical domain is still an underdeveloped area of research in many countries, such as Portugal. This issue is of even further interest when assessed in groups with physical impairment, whose perceptions may be formulated in different ways on different criteria as a result of their disability. The extent to which exercise and sport participation influences the development of self-perception and perceived competence in people with disabilities is also an unexplored area of research. There is a body of literature on disability and sport participation indicating that there is a great potential for involvement in sport to improve mental well-being in people with disabilities (Sherrill, 1997). Further research and wellcontrolled studies are required to support this presumption. The general aim of the present research is to develop a better understanding of the importance of exercise and sport participation in the development of self-perceptions in groups with physical disability. The present thesis involves a sequence of three studies focusing on the construction of self-perceptions in different Portuguese population groups with and without disability using a Portuguese version of the Physical Self-Perception Profile - PSPP-P (Fonseca, Fox, & Almeida, 1995). The use of this instrument in groups with physical disability requires statistical support for its validity and reliability in the Portuguese population that has not been totally achieved yet. The pattern of mean score values presented in this study was similar to the one found in the development of the instrument with USA youth population. Study one provided support for the hierarchical organization of the self-perceptions in the physical domain as well as for gender differences with males scoring higher mean score values than females for all PSPP sub-domains as well as for GSE. However, structural equation modelling (SEM) did not provide support for the original four sub-domain factor model (Fox & Corbin, 1989) and a new three sub-domain factor model was proposed combining Condition and Sport items into a new sub-dimension, the Physical Confidence. Study two provided some critical information about PSPPp structure when used in groups with physical disability. Limited support was found for the existence of PSW as a mediator. The hierarchical structure exists among PSPPp sub-scales but not with GSE. An unusual lack of relationship between Physical Self-Worth and Global Self-Esteem was found suggesting that self-perceptions in the physical domain develop in an alternative way to the one some often confirmed for different age groups without disability. This lack of relationship was confirmed in the qualitative study which identified Body Attractiveness and individual attitudes towards the body including defensiveness and denial, and growth through adversity as some of the major mechanisms involved in the process.

Despite an ever growing body of research on disability sport very little is known about its organisational dimension and the role disability sport organisations play in promoting sport and how they change and adapt to their environment. This is a critical omission and the main aim of this thesis is to fill this gap in our knowledge. More specifically, the study addresses change in disability sport organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has different culture, religion, language, and laws as compared to the Western world .The main question addressed by the thesis is what factors, processes, and mechanisms are responsible for organisational change in disability sport in the UAE? Using a contextualist approach to organisational change (Pettigrew, 1985), the study is concerned with understanding long-term processes in their context. Three in-depth case studies with disability sport organisations were conducted covering a period from 1992 to 2012. The study reveals that Islam regards disability as a social issue whereby a Muslim society has the responsibility for individuals with disability as opposed to the medical or functional models, which place the emphasis on rehabilitation, functionality and personal responsibility. This interpretation of disability in Islam has shaped organisational visions and structures concerned with providing socializing opportunities and not with long-term strategies and performance targets. Change in the UAE disability sport organisations was episodic and reflected periods of divergence between the internal structure of these organisations and the environmental demands to be more receptive to political expectations and those of people with disability. Change was triggered by specific events which were responsible for shaping organisational structures, processes and strategies. The mode of change alternated between first-order changes, such as those prescribed by law and Governmental interventions, and second-order changes or those resulting from changes in cognitive frameworks held by various organisational members. Change was concerned with transforming the three organisations from places to socialise to professional bodies with rules and enhanced performances. An important finding with conceptual and practical implications is about the role of national culture (i.e., Arab) and religion (i.e. Islam) in shaping change in disability sport organisations in the UAE, where a significant distinction between religion and culture is established. The study identifies several theoretical and policy implications.

This thesis examines the potentially restorative power of adaptive sport, based upon the experiences of traumatically injured British military personnel. It investigates how participation in adaptive sport may contribute to personnel’s adaptation of identity and the re-establishment of their meaning of life post-traumatic injury. Through a series of in-depth interviews, I attempted to gain a greater understanding of the experience of and recovery from life-changing injuries, seeking to comprehend the impact of adaptive sport in this process. In line with current research in the field of disability studies, this research adopted a social construction approach. The results of the analysis are set within the social model of disability in order to try to highlight the impacts of the perceptions of disability, embedded in the dominant medical model discourse, on the participant’s lives. Key findings highlighted by this research are i; the influence that the medical model discourse has on the British military mentality and their approach to injury, ii; the process of identity adaptation and the importance of adaptive-sport-participation to provide focus and help individuals realise their potential, iii; the experience of adaptive sport as a tool to bring back meaning of life and iv; the process of ‘normalisation’ and the way individuals are self-determined to restore some sense of normality by participating in adaptive sport and positive adaptation to trauma, whereby adaptive sport acts as a tool to set the right conditions for individuals to experience positive phenomena. Throughout this thesis, I have attempted to provide an open and reflexive account of the whole research process in order to make the reader aware of the possible effects of my own background on the research outcomes.

The aim of this study was to establish whether there is a policy community for disability sport in England. Whilst structured competitive disability sport may traditionally have been organised and run by charitable bodies, segregated from mainstream non-disabled sport, contemporary policies stress a need for disability sport to be the responsibility of mainstream organisations. However, there is a dearth of literature that considers how disability sport policy has developed, which agencies have been powerful in the organisational network, and the significance of the values of key actors in the policy process and outcome. This study; a) establishes the key characteristics of disability sport policy in England, and b) establishes the interests, resources, power and relationships between organisations involved in disability sport and determines the ideologies of key actors involved in disability sport policy. Data is generated in three phases using an analysis of policy documents, a survey of 162 sports organisations and 21 interviews with key personnel. In Phase I semi-structured interviews with key personnel combined with documentary analysis were used to establish how disability sport emerged and developed. Informed by the data from Phase 1, in Phase 2a survey of governing bodies of sport and disability sport organisations was conducted to establish which national organisations are involved in the policy network, how disability sport policy is formed, the role organisations play and ideologies of key actors. In Phase 3, informed by the data from Phases I and 2 and using interviews and documentary analysis, two case studies were carried out to examine, 1) the formation and role of the English Federation of Disability Sport, and 2) the mainstreaming of disability sport. The analysis of data is informed by theories of disability, a history of disability policy and sports policy, and three prominent theories of policy analysis: Marsha and Rhodes' policy network model, Sabatier's advocacy coalition framework and Kingdon's policy streams approach. (Continues...).

En se penchant sur l'émergence d'un nouveau sport appelé le Baskin (Basket inclusif), né en Italie au début des années 2000 dans le but de permettre la participation conjointe de joueurs dits "valides" et de joueurs ayant une déficience, l'étude entend contribuer à comprendre dans quelle mesure et de quelle manière la logique sportive et la logique inclusive peuvent cohabiter. C'est le processus d'innovation sociale que représente l'itinéraire du Baskin en Italie de 2001 à 2013 que la recherche retient comme clé de lecture privilégiée pour aborder ce rapprochement problématique entre la tendance sélective du sport à créer de l'homogénéité, et la tendance inclusive à valoriser l'hétérogénéité. Le Baskin incarne-t-il dans le champ sportif un nouveau modèle culturel, une forme de sociabilité originale, une fiction démocratique innovante se situant dans cet entre-deux paradoxal, conciliant hétérogénéité et compétition, et évitant en même temps le double écueil de la normalisation et de l'assistanat ? Fort et fragile à la fois de cette double identité, sportive et inclusive, le développement du Baskin révèle un processus ouvert et incertain, où se succèdent le processus d'ingénierie pédagogique d'un sport dont l'architecture est construite selon les principes de la conception universelle, les processus délicats d'appropriation de cette invention par le milieu social, enfin l'orientation vers l'institutionnalisation de cette nouvelle pratique afin de la faire éventuellement accéder au patrimoine culturel commun. une enquête immersive est développée en tâchant de restituer quelques fragments significatifs sur ce cas inédit au travers d'un ancrage transdisciplinaire / Baskin (inclusive Basketball) was born in Italy in the early 2000s to allow the joint participation of so-called "able-bodied" players and players with disabilities. By focusing on the emergence of this new sport, this study aims to understand how well the sports logic can co-exist with the inclusive logic. The process of social innovation, as represented by the evolution of Baskin in Italy from 2001 to 2013, provides a privileged key for reading this study, which addresses the conflict arising from the tendency of sport to generate selection and homogeneity and the tendency of inclusion to value heterogeneity. To what extent does Baskin represent a new cultural model in sport and design an original form of social interaction ? Can it be considered an innovative democratic fiction situated in this paradoxical in-between which reconciles heterogeneity and competition and avoids at the same time the twin pitfalls of standardization and charitable welfarism ? This dual identity, sport and inclusiveness, gives Baskin strenght but also fragility. That's why the development of this new sport reveals an open and uncertain process of many parts : first the educational engineering of Baskin according to the principles of Design for all, then its delicate process of diffusion into the social environment, and finally the first steps of institutionalization of this new practice, with the aim of ultimately incorporating it into the shared cultural heritage. An ethnological investigation was carried out in a effort to reconstruct significant fragments of this "unique" case, through a transdiciplinary approach

Le foot-fauteuil est la seule activité sportive collective proposée aux personnes utilisatrices d’un fauteuil électrique. Née en France au milieu des années 1980, cette pratique a connu un essor important et c’est aujourd’hui une des activités « handisport » qui compte le plus de compétiteurs. Paradoxalement, c’est également l’une des moins connues. L’objectif de cette thèse est de mettre au jour l’expérience de ces sportifs dits « lourdement handicapés ». Un regard praxéologique posé sur la pratique nous permettra de comprendre l’une des facettes de cette expérience : le corps agissant en situation sportive. Puis, dans un second temps, un regard « socio-phénoménologique » sera l’occasion de saisir le vécu « en première personne » de ces athlètes. Pour ce faire, nous avons observé et participé à la vie de deux clubs de foot-fauteuil de région parisienne pendant plus de deux ans. Nous avons également réalisé 16 entretiens approfondis auprès des joueurs et des entraîneurs. L’analyse phénoménologique de ces données nous permettra de reconstituer le « monde collectif » vécu par les joueurs de foot-fauteuil. Ainsi, des enjeux centraux seront mis en exergue. La problématique de la classification des joueurs et de la mise en jeu des différences sera interrogée. Nous porterons ensuite une attention particulière au rapport entre l’individu et son fauteuil. Nous verrons, pour finir, que la pratique du foot-fauteuil est un espace de socialisation particulier, où il s’agit parfois de questionner le genre et la dichotomie valide/handicapé. / Powerchair football is the only team sport for people using a powered wheelchair daily. Born in France in the mid 1980s, this practice expanded, and today it is one of the "handisport" activities with the highest numbers of competitors. Paradoxically, it is also one of the least known. The objective of this thesis is to uncover the sports experience of these "severely disabled" athletes. A praxeological view on this practice will enable us to understand one aspect of this experience: the acting body in sporting situation. Then, in a second step, the socio-phenomenological view will be an opportunity to capture the experience "in first person" of these athletes. To do this, we have observed and participated in the life of two football clubs of the Paris area for more than two years. We also conducted 16 in-depth interviews with players and coaches. The phenomenological analysis of these data will allow us to reconstruct the "world" experienced by powerchair football players. Thus, central issues will be highlighted. The problem of classification of the players will be examined. Then, we will pay particular attention to the relationship between the individual and his wheelchair. We finally see that the practice of powerchair football is a particular socialization place, where gender and abled/disabled relationships are questioned.

L’évolution croissante de l’obésité n’épargne pas les adolescents présentant une déficience intellectuelle. Nos travaux reposent sur le principe d’une « recherche- action » avec pour but l’amélioration de la prise en charge des personnes en situation de handicap mental. Réalisées dans 5 instituts médico-éducatifs, notre première étude montre que plus de 40% des adolescents déficients intellectuels présentent un excès de masse grasse. Plus de 30% des adolescents rapportent un faible niveau d’activité physique et seule la moitié pratiquerait suffisamment d’activité physique pour lutter contre le développement de l’obésité. De plus, les adolescents les plus actifs présentent moins de risques de développer un excès de masse grasse. Leur faible niveau de condition physique observé est un facteur de risque élevé pour la santé. Pour ces jeunes présentant un handicap mental, cela constitue un « sur-handicap » qui peut accentuer la restriction de participation sociale et altérer la qualité de vie. Etre actif au quotidien permettrait de limiter les risques pour la santé, notamment de limiter le développement de l’obésité. De ce fait, un programme d’Activité Physique Adaptée a été proposé aux jeunes repérés en situation de sur-adiposité. Celui-ci a permis d’augmenter les temps de pratique d’activité physique et de stabiliser l’évolution du poids, tout en diminuant la masse grasse et le tour de taille. L’approche interdisciplinaire de cette recherche nous a permis de considérer l’évolution du concept de soi chez ce public spécifique et de constater qu’il n’était pas altéré par cette prise en charge visant le contrôle du poids. / The growing evolution of obesity has not spared children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Ours studies based on "research-action", with the aim of improving care for people with mental disabilities. Conducted in 5 specialized schools, our first study shows that over 40% of adolescents with intellectual disabilities have an excess body fat. More than 30% of adolescents report a low physical activity level, and only half reaches enough physical activity to avoid an excess of body fat. Moreover, the most active adolescents are less likely to develop an excess body fat. Their low level of physical fitness is a high risk factor to health. For these adolescent with intellectual disabilities, this is an "extra-handicap" which may increase the restriction of social participation and impair quality of life. Being active daily would reduce the health risks, including limiting the obesity development. Thus, we proposed an Adapted Physical Activity program to over-fatness adolescents. This program has helped to increase level of physical activity and stabilize weight, while decreasing fat mass and waist circumference. The interdisciplinary approach of this research has allowed us to consider the evolution of self-concept and to note that it was not altered by this weight management program.

Cette recherche a pour but décrire les dynamiques et les résistances du développement du sport pour les handicapés en Colombie, principalement au centre du pays : Bogotá, Cundinamarca et les Forces Armées (FFAA). Nous avons interrogé les dynamiques permettant de faire fonctionner des projets sportifs pour les handicapés en Colombie, ainsi que les résistances les plus fréquentes freinant cette pratique des handicapés. 31 acteurs du sport paralympique national ont été interrogés : 14 dirigeants du sport paralympique colombien et 17 sportifs handicapés. Nous avons mis en évidence le fait que les principales dynamiques du développement du sport pour les handicapés colombiens sont les ressources économiques, les installations sportives et l’interdisciplinarité. Pour les résistances, nous avons mis en évidence le fait que les conditions de vie des sportifs handicapés ne sont pas adéquates : sécurité sociale, niveau académique de formation, conditions d’embauche et conditions d’entraînement et de compétition. Enfin, nous avons fait émerger des besoins, qui ne sont pas assimilables à des résistances, mais qui peuvent constituer à l'avenir un frein au développement du sport pour cette population. / This research to describe the dynamics and resistances in the development of sport for disabled people in Colombia, mainly in the Midwest: Bogota, Cundinamarca and the military (armed forces). We are questioned the dynamics that allow the operation of sports projects for disabled persons in Colombia, also the most frequent resistance hindering the practice for this population. Thirty one National Paralympic sports players have been questioned: fourteen leaders and seventeen Colombian athletes with disabilities. They have shown that the main dynamics of the development of sport for disabled people in Colombia are the economic, sporting facilities and interdisciplinary. Resistances: it’s evident that the condition of life for disabled athletes is not the correct: social security, the level of academic training, contract conditions, and training and competition conditions. Similarly, there have been some needs emerge, which are not considered as resistors, but the future may become an obstacle to the development of sport in this population. / Esta investigación tiene por objetivo describir las dinámicas y las resistencias del desarrollo del deporte para las personas con discapacidad en Colombia, principalmente del centro del país: Bogotá, Cundinamarca y las Fuerzas Armadas (FFAA). Se han interrogado las dinámicas que permiten el funcionamiento de los proyectos deportivos para las personas con discapacidad en Colombia, igualmente las resistencias mas frecuentes que frenan dicha práctica para este tipo de población. 31 actores del deporte paralímpico nacional han sido interrogados: 14 dirigentes del deporte paralímpico colombiano y 17 deportistas con discapacidad. Se han puesto en evidencia el hecho de que las principales dinámicas del desarrollo del deporte para las personas con discapacidad en Colombia son los recursos económicos, las instalaciones deportivas y la interdisciplinariedad. En cuanto a las resistencias, se evidencia que la condición de vida de los deportistas con discapacidad no son las adecuadas: la seguridad social, el nivel de la formación académica, las condiciones de contrato laboral, y las condiciones de entrenamiento y de competencia. De igual forma, se han hecho emerger algunas necesidades, que no son consideradas como resistencias, pero que a futuro pueden constituirse un freno al desarrollo del deporte para este tipo de población.