Team sport and acculturation dynamics in

multicultural societies – A FEPSAC

invited symposium

ECSS Congress Vienna

July 8, 2016

FEPSAC

European Federation of Sport Psychology

www.fepsac.com

The BASES-FEPSAC

Conference

28 –29th November, 2017

See you in Münster 15. – 20. July 2019

FEPSAC Research ProjectSport as an Integrative Tool in Multi-Cultural Societies: An Ethnic-Cultural

Identity Approach

» FEPSAC Congress Madeira 2011

» ECSS Congress Bruges 2012

» FEPSAC Congress Bern 2015

» ECSS Congress Vienna 2016

Invited Symposium

Team sport and acculturation dynamics in

multicultural societies

Team sport and acculturation dynamics in multicultural

societies – The theoretical framework

Team sport and acculturation in multicultural societies:

The perspective of the dominant culture

Team sport interventions promoting inclusion of migrants in the school setting

Team sport and acculturation dynamics in multicultural

societies – The theoretical framework

Xavier SANCHEZ, Eleftheria MORELA

& Antonis HATZIGEORGIADIS

Team Sport and acculturation dynamics

in multicultural societies

Xavier Sanchez, Eri Morela & Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis

ECSS 2016

- In the present symposium we discuss latest studies carried out within our ongoing research programme on team sports and integration (process of acculturation)

- In this first (introductory) talk

- why sport can be an effective socializing agent is addressed

- literature that examines the role of sport as an integrative tool is reviewed

- central frameworks used in the sport context are presented

Overview

Cultural sport psychology – Acculturation

Acculturation of migrating athletes challenges for sport migrants

Sport as acculturation context acculturation of migrants through sport

Introduction: Migration (I)

• The integration of migrants is of vital importance for maintaining social cohesion and well as economic growth

• e.g. migrants’ effective integration critical in EU

• Challenges associated with the migration phenomena have been examined from different perspectives including anthropological, educational, sociological and psychological

Introduction: Migration (II)

• The idea that sport participation can potentially be a socializing agent that facilitates integration of people from different cultural backgrounds in the communities where they live has received attention lately

• E.g. White paper on Sports: promotion of sport as an intervention strategy for the integration of migrants (European Commission, 2007)

Sport – team sport (1)

- Sport is accepted as an important socialising agent given the large number of participants that it attracts

- Team sports bring together individuals from different backgrounds and thus can, potentially, smooth social and cultural barriers

• Sport is a social activity globally recognised as a vehicle for bringing people together (Sage, 2003)

• Large number of children and youth involved

• Volitional behaviour (sport participation)

• Mixed demographic and socioeconomic background of participants

• Interactive and highly communicative in nature

Sport – team sport (2)

Team sport: Social and Moral Aspects

• Social perspective; development of

• social skills such as cooperation and socialisation (Wuest & Lombardo, 1994)

• intergroup relations (Wankel & Berger, 1990)

• citizenship (Elley & Kirk, 2002)

• Personal and moral development perspective

• sport participation enhances morality and leads to positive character building (Bredemeier & Shields, 2006)

- However, sport participation is not necessarily, per se, an effective instrument towards the goal of integration

- In fact, team sport may reinforce existing ethnic/cultural identities

- individuals may not seek to socialise with other ‘group’ members but rather find shelter within a group of similar ethnic/cultural background, strengthening their own identity

Sport – team sport (3)

Equivocal findings

Improve language skills,

become familiar with the

culture of the host country,

socialize with people of the

dominant culture (Ito et al, 2011)

Overcome racial & cultural

differences (Walseth, 2008)

Sense of belonging (Ollif, 2007;

Stack & Iwasaki, 2009)

Cultural maintenance-

difficulties to interact with the

dominant culture (Lee et al, 2011)

Inability to develop social

networks-marginalization (Walseth, 2008)

Highlight cultural differences-

evoke tensions (Krouwel et al, 2006)al

Theoretical Frameworks (I)

• Conceptual model of assimilation

(Gordon, 1964)

• Migrants’ acculturation ranges in a continuum from maintaining one’s original culture to adopting the culture of the host society

• Midpoint of continuum is biculturalism: maintaining features of original culture while adopting key elements of the host society

• However, this phase considered transitory as it is assumed that successful acculturation is achieved through full adoption of host culture

Theoretical Frameworks (II)

• Gordon’s (1964) model of assimilation viewed as a one-way process aiming at the absorption of the acculturating group into the dominant group of the hosting society

• Not commonly used in sport literature

Theoretical Frameworks (III)

• Model of integration-multiculturalism (Berry, 1980, 1997)

• a two-dimensional model of acculturation for pluralistic societies based on the principles of

Acculturation

Contact & Participation

Cultural maintenance

cultural maintenance: individuals’ wish to maintain their cultural identity

cultural interaction: individuals’ desire to interact with other cultures (contact participation)

Intercultural strategies

Maintenance of heritage culture & identity

+ -

Relationships +

sought among

groups

-

Integration Assimilation

Separation Marginalization

Minority groups strategies

(acculturation attitudes)

(Berry, 2001)

Berry’s (1980, 1997)

• Integration: most effective acculturation strategy as desire to maintain cultural heritage while at the same time interacting with host culture

• Assimilation: high tendency to adopt host culture and at the same time relinquish one’s cultural background

• Separation: avoiding attempts to interact with host culture and remaining attached to one’s cultural background

• Marginalisation: low interest in both host and one’s original culture

Intercultural strategies

Maintenance of heritage culture & identity

+ -

Relationships +

sought among

groups

-

Integration Assimilation

Separation Marginalization

Minority groups strategies

(acculturation attitudes)

(Berry, 2001)

Intercultural strategies (II)

Maintenance of heritage culture & identity

+ - + -

Relationships +

sought among

groups

-

Integration Assimilation

Separation Marginalization

Multiculturalism Melting pot

Segregation Exclusion

Minority groups strategies Host community strategies

(acculturation attitudes) (acculturation expectations)

(Berry, 2001)

Outputs..