The land of opportunity? Ukraine refugee parents’ reflections on their children’s sport participation in Norway

Abstract

Children's sport participation has several positive outcomes regarding physiological, psychological, and social factors. We have limited knowledge of how Ukrainian parents perceive their children's inclusion in Norwegian sports. Taking Bourdieu's (1990, The logic of practice. Polity press) three fundamental forms of capital into account (economic, cultural, and social – considered as resources needed to function in society and to enter specific fields such as sport), this study analyzes the reflections of ten refugee families regarding their children's inclusion in sports activities in Norway, based on interviews with the parents. Given the lack of knowledge about Ukrainian refugees and Norwegian sports, an inductive approach was used during the interviews, followed by a deductive design during the analysis. The analysis followed Braun and Clarke's (2022, Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage Publications) six phases of reflexive thematic analysis. The findings highlight three main points: (i) Sport as an opportunity for cultural and social capital investments. (ii) Lack of social and cultural capital related to local sports organizations. (iii) Lack of economic capital for sport participation. Overall, the parents wanted their children to participate in sports for both intrinsic and instrumental reasons: sport serves as a distraction from children's sedentary cellphone lifestyle and is considered a tool for learning the new language and integrating into Norwegian society. Some parents also had experiences as athletes themselves. However, many parents expressed uncertainty about how to navigate access to sport, which they felt was more familiar and straightforward for local families. We argue that a certain volume of each of the three basic forms of capital – economic, social, and cultural – is necessary. It also appears important for refugees to understand the doxa of Norwegian sport, and that it operates primarily through voluntary structures rather than through formal state institutions. Thus, an implication of these results for politicians and practitioners is to proactively provide information and open access to sports for all citizens.