The aim of the dissertation was to investigate children’s views on and experiences of The Sport for All programme in school (SAP) (idrottsskolor) and the significance of the activities for children’s ”sports childhood”. The study is anchored in the so-called “new sociology of childhood”. Such a standpoint is based on that children are competent social actors with agency. Following that, childhood is constructed both by actors in specific fields and by the children in these social practices. The dissertation is based on three interview studies from three different SAPs. In study I fifteen individual interviews were conducted with: the programme manager, three school teachers, two sport club leaders and nine children (aged 9-10). Study II was based on repeated focus group interviews with 15 ten-year-old Swedish children participating in a SAP. In study III individual interviews were conducted with eight children, four years after they completed their participation in a SAP.   In all three studies the children described the SAP as a different sport practice in relation to traditional organized sport. In the SAP sport was offered in a new context with other meanings and functions compared to conventionally organized sport. But, study II showed that children with a strong performance ethos had the capacity to influence and control the practice in the SAP, which contribute to a “competitive atmosphere” in the SAP activities. Further, study III showed that children with a weak interest in sport enjoyed the activities. However, it was not something this certain group of children wanted to continue to practice outside the program. While other participants with an already established interest in sports, experienced a deepening and widening of their sport interest through the SAP. In terms of agency, the children’s individual and collective views of sport are important to consider in regard to understanding the SAP practice. The children brought prior knowledge, understanding and skills into the SAP, which can contribute to the experience of the practice. / I Sverige domineras barns idrottande av den organiserade föreningsidrotten. Samtidigt har det under senare år framkommit att idrottsföreningarna tappar medlemmar. Det finns också en kritik i samhället mot att föreningarna bedriver en verksamhet enbart för de bästa barnen och inte för barnens bästa. Riksidrottsförbundet och staten har sett ett behov av att utveckla alternativa verksamheter för att den organiserade föreningsidrotten ska behålla sin position i samhället. En del i att utveckla idrotten är att organisera idrottsskolor, där barn under lekfulla former ska få prova på olika idrotter. Det har saknats kunskap om hur barn upplever idrottsskolor. Avhandlingens syfte är att öka kunskapen om och fördjupa förståelsen för barns upplevelser av idrottsskolan och verksamhetens betydelse för barns idrottande. Studien tar stöd i vad som kallas för den ”nya” barndomssociologin, vilket innebär att barnet sätts i centrum som en aktiv agent i de sociala processerna. Avhandlingen bygger på tre intervjustudier av tre skilda idrottsskolor, innefattande individuella intervjuer med barn och deltagande vuxna, fokusgruppsintervjuer med barn och individuella intervjuer med barn fyra år efter att de avslutat sin medverkan i en idrottsskola. Resultatet från studierna analyseras och diskuteras utifrån frågan om idrottsskolor är för alla barn, och vad det kan betyda att vara med i en idrottsskola. Utmaningen i framtida satsningar ligger i att utveckla idrottsskolor utifrån barns skilda syn på och upplevelser av idrott.

Swedish sports clubs are becoming more concerned with how to attract young people to participate in organized sports. Young people with low socio-economic status and individuals with ethnic background are especially in mind as it has become clear that these individuals are excluded in the various activities of sports clubs. The aim of this study was to examine the possible obstacles for young adolescents to participate in organized sports. By identifying the visible and invisible obstacles through a gender- and socio-cultural perspective the four research questions were examined. The questions concerned within this qualitative study was how accessibility was described by the respondents; how the obstacles to participate in organized sport were experienced by the respondents; how the difference in sport participation was explained by the respondents from a cultural and socio-economic perspective and; how the differences in sport participation were explained by the respondents from a gender perspective. Through six focus groups encompassing 16 individuals between the age of 14–20 years old a Bourdieu approach was applied in order to interpret the content of the responses. The results showed that the youth experienced obstacles to participate in sport in two different ways. One was described as the physical means of being able to get access to sport which was transportation facilities, sports fees and costs for equipment. The other form of obstacle was described as underlying factors such as norms and expectations regarding participation in organized sports and a lack of perceived sense of belonging. Cultural background and gender were discussed as the two most contributing factors as to why some of the youth are not participating in organized sports. Swedish sports clubs should focus on how to include the youth needs into their day-to-day work rather than ensuring their participation in their current offered activities.

Bakgrund: De Nationella idrottsutbildningarna [NIU] utformades för att göra specialidrotten på gymnasiet mer elitfokuserad. Inom både utbildningssystemet och idrottsvärlden finns en social snedrekrytering som innebär att individer med den högsta sociala positionen gynnas mest. Något som dessutom blir tydligare om det finns en hög selektering vilket kan innebära en risk för ojämlikhet och minskad fysisk aktivitet hos ungdomar. Syfte: Syfte med studien var att redogöra för den sociala bakgrunden hos NIU- fotbollselever samt att identifiera hur representativ utbildningen är jämfört med Sveriges totala sociala bakgrundsindelning.   Metod: Kvantitativ metod, tvärsnittsdesign, valdes för att genomföra den aktuella studien. Datainsamlingen planerades att genomföras med enkäter samt inhämtande av jämförelsematerial från Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB).  Resultat: I och med samhällssituation våren 2020 på grund av Covid-19 kunde ingen data insamlas.   Diskussion: En genomgång av tidigare studier inom aktuellt område gav en i det närmaste samstämmig bild av social snedrekrytering till elitidrott. Med utgångspunkt i dessa studier diskuteras möjliga orsaker till denna snedrekrytering.  Slutsatser: Baserat på tidigare studier finns det sannolikt ett samband mellan social bakgrund och att tillhöra NIU-fotboll, där NIU-elever antas inneha mer gynnsamma sociala bakgrundsfaktorer jämfört med Sverige överlag.