How youths’ with physical disabilities experience social participation in physical activities is a subject that has not been extensively researched in Greece. Asking youths can give a deeper insight of their perceptions related to their social participation and how their contexts contribute to that. The family Participation Related Construct (fPRC) framework was used under the umbrella of the Systems Theory to guide the whole procedure of this study. A qualitative approach was conducted by five in-depth interviews with Greek youths (mean age 23) with physical disabilities using online video-call applications. A deductive content analysis was applied for this study, including four themes: 1) the construct of participation in the context of physical activity, 2) Intrinsic factors that influence social participation, 3) Intrinsic factors that are influenced by social participation, and 4) extrinsic factors that influence social participation. Results showed that youths overall described their social participation as a sense of belongingness and social connection with others. They perceived that attending the physical activities that were meaningful to them strongly influenced their social involvement. They also described that social participation in those specific contexts increased their self-confidence. Admittedly, family and activities were contextual aspects that positively influenced youths’ social participation. Results also showed the negative influence of the environment, such as the accessibility, state support and the COVID-19 pandemic, either directly or indirectly influenced youths’ social participation. Findings of this study support the need for future practical interventions in the Greek community, considering all aspects of the fPRC framework. Finally, collecting a broader number of perspectives will benefit the presented topic in order to create a more holistic view of what needs to be done to bring balance into the system. 

Background: Self-efficacy predicts school achievement. Participation is important for life outcomes. Functioning affects to what degree you can participate in everyday life situations. Participation-related constructs such as self-efficacy and functioning work both as a means of participation and as an end outcome. Learning takes place in this interrelationship. How relationships between participation and these constructs vary, depending on whether impacted by disability or not, how they develop over time and outcomes of these processes need to be explored.

Method: In this three-year longitudinal study developmental processes of student self-efficacy (PE specific and general), aptitude to participate and functioning were explored. The context is school-based Physical Education (PE) in mainstream inclusive secondary school in Sweden. Data was collected from student and teacher questionnaires and observations of PE lessons. Students self-rated their perceived self-efficacy, aptitude to participate and functioning in school years seven and nine. Teachers self-rated their teaching skills. Student engagement, teaching behaviors, interactions and activities in Swedish school-based PE were observed in year eight. Relationships between the constructs and how they develop over time were studied in a total sample of 450 students (aged 12,5-15,5). Specifically focusing on three student groups, students with diagnosed disabilities (n=30), students with low grades in PE (n=36), and students with high grades (n=53) in PE.

Results: Adapted instruments to measure self-efficacy (PE specific and general), aptitude to participate in PE, and functional skills (physical and socio-cognitive were developed and validated. PE specific self-efficacy is closely related to the aptitude to participate and has effects on student engagement and general self-efficacy. Over time PE specific self-efficacy increase in adolescents, but students with disabilities initially responded negatively if their PE teachers rated their teaching skills high. They were also more sensitive to the social environment, which was associated with PE grades over time. During this time the relationship between perceived physical functional skills and PE specific self-efficacy accelerated for students with disabilities. They were observed to be equally highly engaged in PE lessons as their peers. However, students with disabilities were observed to be closer to their teacher and tended to be less social and alone than their peers. Observed teaching skills as measured by level of alignment with syllabus, and affective tone when giving instructions showed differences in complexity and efficiency. Students in the study sample were more engaged in high-level teaching and were more frequently in communicative proximity to their teacher. In conditions of high-level teaching, teachers gave more instructions and used more materials for teaching purposes. Lessons were more often structured into whole group activities and lessons were more focused.

Conclusion: PE specific self-efficacy measures students’ perceived knowledge and skills in PE and is related to students’ aptitude to participate, general self-efficacy and functioning. The overall findings imply that the developmental processes of perceived self-efficacy (PE specific and general), aptitude to participate and functioning differ between the student groups. PE specific self-efficacy and socio-cognitive functioning improve over time in all groups. Stronger associations of PE specific self-efficacy with aptitude to participate and functional skills, and weaker with general self-efficacy were found in students with disabilities compared to their typically functioning peers. Individual factors are vital to learning, but students with disabilities seem to be more sensitive to environmental factors than their peers. The aptitude to participate declines in students with disabilities, probably due to their experience of having physical restrictions. However, while participating in PE, they were similarly relatively highly engaged as their typically functioning peers. Instructions in PE indicate differences in complexity and efficiency of PE teaching. More complex lesson content requires more  instructions and more purposeful materials. Time was used more efficiently in high-level teaching conditions. Lessons were more focused and had more flow, leaving students with less time to socialize. Space was also used more efficiently, and teachers were closer to their students. Indicating that more individual support, feed-back and feedforward was provided. Students with disabilities were more frequently close to their teacher than their typically functioning peers. The use of more whole group formats indicate that teaching is more differentiated in high-level teaching. When activating students physically, teachers may choose simpler self-sustaining activities, i.e. sports games. Small group formats may be used for individual development of motor skills or drills.

Syfte: Att undersöka lärarnas erfarenheter av implementeringen av utomhuspedagogik avseende förutsättningar, genomförande samt påverkan på undervisningen och elevers lärande. Studien avser att vara ett bidrag till forskning om implementeringsarbete i skolan, mer specifikt avseende implementering av utomhuspedagogik fyra timmar per vecka vid en F-6 skola i en mellanstor svensk stad.

Metod: Datainsamling har utförts med hjälp av två fokusgruppsintervjuer och fyra enskilda intervjuer. Databearbetning har genomförts genom kvalitativa innehållsanalyser av intervjuerna i fyra arbetslag, där två representeras av arbetslag för ÅR F-3 och två av arbetslag för ÅR 4-6. Analys av data sammanfattas i en fallstudie över olika förutsättningar och utmaningar, men också gemensamma drag med att implementera utomhuspedagogik.

Resultat: Resultat visar överlag att implementeringen av utomhuspedagogik inte motsvarade förväntningarna. Faktorer som framhålls haft negativ inverkan på implementeringen handlar främst om dess förutsättningar. Bestående positiva effekter märks framför allt i matematik där undervisningens innehåll uppfattas som mer meningsfull och i att enskilda lärare har utvecklat ämnesområden lämpliga för utomhuspedagogik.

Slutsats: Större framgång med implementeringen av utomhuspedagogik skulle kunna ha nåtts om syftet tydligt förklarats och fördelarna klarlagts. Koppling mellan teori och praktik saknas. Lärarens intresse är avgörande för om undervisning sker utomhus. Resurser skulle ha avsatts för att stötta personalen i planering, genomförande och reflektion, samt för dokumentation, utvärdering och återkoppling.

Physical activity in children is associated with several positive health outcomes such as decreased cardiovascular risk factors, improved lung function, enhanced motor skill development, healthier body composition, and also improved defense against inflammatory diseases. We examined how high physical activity vs a sedentary lifestyle in young children influences the immune response with focus on autoimmunity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, collected from 55 5-year-old children with either high physical activity (n = 14), average physical activity (n = 27), or low physical activity (n  = 14), from the All Babies In Southeast Sweden (ABIS) cohort, were stimulated with antigens (tetanus toxoid and beta-lactoglobulin) and autoantigens (GAD₆₅, insulin, HSP60, and IA-2). Immune markers (cytokines and chemokines), C-peptide and proinsulin were analyzed. Children with high physical activity showed decreased immune activity toward the autoantigens GAD₆₅ (IL-5, P < 0.05), HSP60 and IA-2 (IL-10, P < 0.05) and also low spontaneous pro-inflammatory immune activity (IL-6, IL-13, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and CCL2 (P  < 0.05)) compared with children with an average or low physical activity. High physical activity in young children seems to have positive effects on the immune system by altering autoantigen-induced immune activity.

Children with disabilities need physical activity in order to correctly develop, however, finding an adequate type of physical activity for children with disabilities can be a very complicated issue. Furthermore, trying to include them in an ordinary physical education class is even more difficult. We come across several barriers that impede their proper inclusion in physical activity. In order to enhance children with disabilities´ participation, it is important to know the barriers and facilitators that exist and take them into account. Therefore, the aim of the study is to explore what facilitators and barriers children with all kinds of disabilities can come across in order to get involved in physical activity. By doing a systematic review of articles that explain perceived barriers and facilitators, this paper is addressed to find out the barriers and facilitators children with all kind of disabilities can have. The results show that each kind of disability has different barriers and facilitators. While some disabilities focus more on physical facilitators and barriers, others find more important the logistical ones or the psychological aspects. Answers given from professionals, children and parents are very different and therefore shows a lack of communication between them as well as a need for cooperation and working.

Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur lärare och elever värderar ämnet hem- och konsumentkunskap (HK) jämfört med idrott och hälsa (IDH) i grundskolan. Undersök-ningen görs ur ett genusperspektiv och resultatet kommer även att jämföras med politikers värdering av ämnet. De frågeställningar jag utgått ifrån är följande:

 Hur värderarlärare och elever HK i förhållande till IDH?

 Finns det några skillnader mellan kvinnliga och manliga lärares syn på HK och IDH, och vilka är dessa i sådana fall?

 Finns det några skillnader mellan flickors och pojkars syn på HK och IDH, och vilka är dessa i sådana fall?

För att få fram elevers och lärares värderingar kring skolämnena har en kvantitativ under-sökningsmetod använts. Resultatet visar att HK varken har hög eller låg status bland lärare och elever då ämnet i genomsnitt placerar sig i mitten bland alla ämnen. Värt att notera är att IDH, som är den manliga motsvarigheten till det kvinnliga HK-ämnet, får hög status i skolan då det ses som ett viktigt hälsoämne. Hälsoaspekten, som har en framträdande roll även i HK-ämnet, uppmärksammas dock inte av deltagarna i studien.

Children with unilateral Cerebral Palsy (uCP) experience problems performing tasks requiring the coordinated use of both hands (bimanual coordination; BC). Additionally, some children with uCP display involuntary symmetrical activation of the opposing hand (mirrored movements). Measures, used to investigate therapy-related improvements focus on the functionality of the affected hand during unimanual or bimanual tasks. None however specifically address spatiotemporal integration of both hands. We explored the kinematics of hand movements during a bimanual task to identify parameters of BC. Thirty-seven children (aged 10.9. ±. 2.6. years, 20 male) diagnosed with uCP participated. 3D kinematic motion analysis was performed during the task requiring opening of a box with their affected- (AH) or less-affected hand (LAH), and pressing a button inside with the opposite hand. Temporal and spatial components of data were extracted and related to measures of hand function and level of impairment. Total task duration was correlated with the Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function in both conditions (either hand leading with the lid-opening). Spatial accuracy of the LAH when the box was opened with their AH was correlated with outcomes on the Children's Hand Use Experience Questionnaire. Additionally, we found a subgroup of children displaying non-symmetrical movement interference associated with greater movement overlap when their affected hand opened the box. This subgroup also demonstrated decreased use of the affected hand during bimanual tasks. Further investigation of bimanual interference, which goes beyond small scaled symmetrical mirrored movements, is needed to consider its impact on bimanual task performance following early unilateral brain injury.

In this study, we define a new way of representing football player roles based on passing and receiving interactions. We develop a definition of player roles consisting of a linear combination of 12 common and interpretable passing/receiving patterns. Linear combinations are derived from the decomposition of players’ pitch passing and receiving networks using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). Our model shows that 43 % of the 1491 players studied in this paper had a maximum weight of less than 50 % in each of the 12 common passing/receiving patterns. This suggests that a substantial percentage of players do not follow the specific passing/receiving patterns typically associated with their conventional role. The model also reveals the underlying differences in passing/receiving patterns amongst players who hold the same conventional role. It shows the intricacies of player patterns optimally when tasked with analyzing the most complex conventional roles such as midfielders, wingers, and forwards. Lastly, we show that the combinations of the 12 common passing/receiving patterns can be used as a footprint to find players with similar passing/receiving styles. For instance, our model found that Shaqiri and Fabinho had the highest similarity in passing/receiving styles to Oxlade-Chamberlain and Henderson. This is consistent with Liverpool FC’s transfers of Shaqiri and Fabinho to replace Oxlade-Chamberlain and Henderson’s positions respectively in the summer of 2018.