Projects

Source: Australian Research Council

With national and international studies pointing to the declining participation of young people in sport and physical activity, it is important to develop explanations for this phenomenon. The YRC, in collaboration with the University of Wollongong and the University of Queensland, is currently investigating the meaning and place of physical activity adn physical culture in the lives of young people. This project is funded by the Australian Research Council and is expected to run into 2003.

A small cohort of students from Rushworth p-12 College and Footscray City Secondary College commenced involvment in the study in the middle of 2001. This research will complement and enhance data already gathered in NSW and Queensland.

The objectives of the project are to:

• Map young people's physical culture;
• Examine how settings influence physical activity;
• Examine how culture and location affect and influence different layers of physical activity;
• Determine how issues and events help shape young people's view of physical activity; and
• Examine contemporary literature.

The project expects to be able to identify ways in which physical education, community recreation and government health policy and planning could be improved to better meet the health needs and interests of young people.

Contact: Johanna Wyn and Gary Shaw

Email: yrc-info@unimelb.edu.au