Participation in Sport and Recreation by Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Women 

• Focus Group Design
• Recruitment
• Questioning Route
• Questionaire
• Analysis

In total, 94 women from various CALD backgrounds participated in this study. The women lived in regional and urban locations in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, and were sporting and recreation participants or non-participants. Six of the twelve focus groups were participants from a single cultural background and the remaining groups were mixed. The single ethnicity groups were with women from India, Japan, Somalia, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East (two groups). The focus groups included 19 women from urban NSW, 24 from regional NSW, 14 from regional Victoria, and 37 from urban South Australia. Four focus groups included sport and recreation participants, three were of sports and recreation non-participants, and the remaining five were comprised of a mix of participants and non-participants.

Focus Group Design

Urban and regional sites

The groups were conducted in three states and in regional and metropolitan areas in order to capture the perspectives of women from a diversity of geographic, socio-economic and cultural contexts. The areas were: urban New South Wales (western Sydney); urban South Australia (central Adelaide); regional Victoria; and regional New South Wales. Table 3 lists the numbers of participants in each group by location and focus group number.

Mixed and single ethnicity groups

The twelve focus groups were designed to include groups of women from a single cultural background, as well as women from a mix of cultural backgrounds, across three states. Six of the groups were conducted with women from a common cultural grouping. We targeted women for whom cultural background and English proficiency may influence decisions to participate or not participate in sport and recreation. Two of these were with Islamic Arabic speakers (primarily Iraqi and Afghan women)². One group was held with women from Somalia. This was to ensure the research captured issues pertinent to women from Middle Eastern and African backgrounds, as Stages One and Two of the research showed they have particularly low rates of participation. In addition, separate focus groups were conducted with Japanese, Indian, and Pacific Islander women.

While the single ethnicity groups allowed deeper exploration of the motivators and barriers affecting different cultures, the six mixed ethnicity groups ensured the research captured the multiplicity of views across a range of cultures. While three of the six mixed-ethnicity groups included CALD women of any background and of all ages, three were designed to capture the perspectives of CALD women of particular age groups. We conducted two groups with women aged 50 and over in western Sydney, and one group with women aged under 30 in Adelaide.

Members of the project team facilitated the twelve focus groups, with assistance from a bilingual moderator for Groups 2, 3 and 9 (with Arabic speakers and Somalian women). However, this was either not requested or required in the other single ethnicity groups.

Sport participants and non-participants

As shown in Table 4, four of the focus groups included sport and recreation participants only, three were with women who were not currently participating in sport and recreation activities, and the remaining five consisted of a mix of sport participants and non-participants.

The groups containing a mix of sport participant and non-participants proved beneficial, as those who were involved in organised activities could share information and experiences of different facilities and activities. This helped to develop some of the women's knowledge of activities and opportunities available in their local community.

[ Top ]

Recruitment

To recruit the participants, we firstly obtained advice from peak multicultural organisations, then followed local advice about how to recruit participants in each site. In western Sydney, our recruitment strategy consisted of community radio notices, and recruitment through a health and recreation organisation. In Adelaide and regional New South Wales, we recruited through a mix of cultural and sporting organisations, educational institutions (TAFE, English language schools, and universities) and non-government organisations. In regional Victoria, participants were recruited through cultural networks and the local TAFE.

Groups in metropolitan areas were designed to include eight participants each, with six participants targeted for groups in the regional sites. In line with focus group protocols, we over-sampled slightly to account for possible no-shows. However, we found participants to be overwhelmingly enthusiastic about attending. As a result, some of the groups were slightly larger than anticipated, which made for more lively discussion and more diverse representation of views.

The research methodology was approved by the University of New South Wales Ethics' Committee. The rights and privacy of the focus group participants were respected throughout the recruitment, focus groups and in this report. The identities of the participants are confidential. As such, all names have been changed, and any identifying information has been altered or removed. Participants' cultural background and age groups have been retained, as this information helps to understand participants' experiences and perceptions, but does not identify individuals.

Questioning Route

The full questioning route is listed in Appendix B. Each participant was firstly asked to introduce herself by stating her name, cultural background and by speaking briefly about her current involvement in sport and recreation activities (or how she had been involved in the past). Participants were asked why they chose their activities, and anything they liked or disliked about sport and recreation. Participants were then asked to reflect on the role of sport and recreation for women in their culture, and their experiences of sport as they were growing up. Those who did not grow up in Australia were asked to discuss differences in how they felt about sport and recreation after arriving in Australia.

To explore the barriers to participation, the focus group facilitators asked the women how, if at all, they would like sport and recreation to play a different role in their lives, and the factors preventing them from participating more. Finally, the groups discussed the barriers to participation they perceived women from their cultural backgrounds might experience, and strategies for overcoming these. At the end, the women were invited to add any further thoughts they had on the topic, and, for reasons of quality assurance, to comment on whether the questioning route had covered the issues they deemed relevant.

Questionnaire

 In addition to participating in the discussion, the women were asked to fill in a short questionnaire (Appendix C). This was designed to capture relevant demographic characteristics which may not be discussed in the group but which were likely to impact on participants' experiences and perspectives, such as age, country of birth, cultural identity, religion, education level, family type and income source. The questionnaire also collected information about frequency of moderate to vigorous physical exercise, levels of interest in sport overall, and all the sport and recreation activities the women had participated in. In most cases, this was completed as a written questionnaire. In some cases, participants preferred to complete the questions verbally or with assistance from the group facilitator, interpreter or another woman in the group.

Analysis

With participants' consent, focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed. They were then analysed thematically. The initial coding framework was drawn from issues arising from Stages One and Two of the research, for example, the barriers to CALD women's participation identified in the literature review and in the consultations with stakeholders (such as dress codes, facility design, family responsibilities etc). However, the framework was adapted to incorporate themes and issues that arose in CALD women's accounts, to ensure their perspectives were fully captured without being forced into pre-existing categories.

The focus group findings show how CALD women perceive the health and social benefits of sport and recreation, the barriers to their participation and strategies for overcoming these barriers. It is important to recognise however, that while the responses of interviewees and focus group participants reflect perceptions present amongst CALD women in the sample, their responses are also tied up with personal attitudes, perceptions and beliefs, and may not be nationally representative.

2. Separate groups were held with older and younger women.