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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the First Special Issue of our Double Special Edition on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Health, Wellbeing and Education. This special issue focuses on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Physical Education. We introduce the Special Issue by describing the sociopolitical backdrop around the world more broadly and specifically in relation to LGBTQIA+ rights. Afterwards, we reflect on the process of choosing "Sport, Education and Society" as the journal to publish the Special Edition. Moving forward, we briefly summarise the different streams of LGBTQIA+ research in physical education and how this special issue extends our knowledge in these areas. Lastly, we contend that this Special Issue adds a new stream of research on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Physical Education. We conclude the introduction by considering how future research may continue to capitalise on the momentum that LGBTQIA+ research has built in the field.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Second Issue of our Double Special Edition on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Health, Wellbeing and Education. This special issue focuses on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Sport, Human Movement and Education. We introduce the issue by outlining the debate about the 'inclusivity' of queer bodies in sport. We then introduce each article and explain how they fit into these larger debates in sport and education. We conclude the paper by outlining key takeaways from the issue. We also provide recommendations for future LGBTQIA+ research in sport, human movement and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article was to develop a theoretical framework to aid the current understanding of social change practice. Drawing on concepts from institutional theory, the authors proposed and applied a theoretical framework to investigate social change at the intersection of gender and sexuality inclusion in Australian cricket. Qualitative techniques (interviews and document analyses) were utilized to investigate the trajectory of lesbian inclusion in Australian cricket over time. Starting from the perspective that institutional arrangements can be exclusionary (or biased) toward certain groups in society, this research investigated how the actions of institutional entrepreneurs can create more inclusive institutional arrangements. Theoretical and practical implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings from five recent studies related to gender and sexuality in Australian sport. It offers a challenge to widespread claims that exclusionary practices such as homo/bi/transphobia have been reduced or eliminated within sport settings. We suggest there remains much to be done towards 'inclusion', and that the concept itself is perhaps an illusion. Drawing on 'diversity work' theory we suggest inclusion is yet to be fully realised in sport-based research circles, and we argue that claims about the advanced progress in inclusion for LGBT+ people are problematic. Structures of language, institutional organisation and misaligned practices act as blocks to inclusion and fuel discrimination. We conclude by offering suggestions about where these can be addressed in sport and in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual commitment to diversity and its link to organizational commitment and change amongst community sport volunteers, is a key debate in the scholarship of sport (Cunningham 2008; Spaaij 2011; Spaaij et al. 2013; Spaaij, Magee, and Jeanes 2014; Melton and Cunningham 2014; Jeanes et al. 2018). Yet details about driving factors and processes which influence volunteer commitment to diversity are relatively unknown (Storr et al. 2020). This article critically examines the attitudinal commitment of volunteers engaging with participants who have intellectual disabilities. Extending the work of Herscovitch and Meyer (2002), the author analyses the attitudinal commitment of 21 volunteers in a community cricket club in Victoria, Australia. Approximately half of the sample showed a mind-set committed to diversity, with the remainder holding indifferent or resistant attitudes. The author concludes that by identifying resistant or indifferent attitudes, clubs can improve inclusion practices amongst volunteers. By changing organizational structures, the link between individual volunteer and whole of organization commitment to diversity can be strengthened, guaranteeing better participation outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question : This paper aims to provide new insights into why community sports volunteers engage with intellectual disability as a form of diversity, and how these drivers impact on the opportunities and activities provided for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Research methods : The authors use a critical diversity management framework, combined with theoretical tenets of ableism, to explore volunteers' engagement with disability. The paper draws on a ten-month ethnographic study undertaken in a community sports club in Melbourne, Australia, that had recently introduced two specialist teams for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Results and findings : The findings indicate the business case for diversity as a driver for the club to engage with sport for people with intellectual disabilities; this, in turn, created tension and conflict amongst volunteers, resulting in a separation of the disability team from the main club activity. Implications : Ableist discourses underpinned the business case for diversity held by some club volunteers, resulting in the disability team not being integrated into the club as part of its core business. Policy makers and advocates of diversity must critically consider the drivers of clubs for engaging in the different areas of diversity, and how this might impact on provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research has begun to take a more ecological view of eating behaviour, examining multiple levels of influence: personal, social and environmental. The food environment is a major influence on eating behaviour, attracting the attention of researchers who have measured it in a number of ways. The present paper examines the short-form version, in comparison to the long-form version, of the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) - an observational food outlet audit tool.Design: Both the short-form and long-form were examined to qualitatively appraise the dimensions of the food environment assessed by each measure. Data from 135 food outlets in Australia were then used to compare results obtained using the short-form with the results from the long-form method, to consider the utility of the short-form measure.Setting: The retail food environment in Australia.ParticipantsOne hundred and thirty-five food outlets in Australia.Results: Results indicate that the short-form predominantly assessed availability of healthful foods (one aspect of the food environment). Several critical dimensions of the food environment known to influence eating behaviour were not assessed. For this data set, the short-form produced scores inconsistent with the longer version of the measure, delivering inflated estimates for stores and deflated estimates for restaurants.Conclusions: Scores between the long-form and short-form versions were not comparable in this Australian study. Further development of food environment measures is recommended and must balance instrument brevity with the need to accurately capture important aspects of the food environment known to influence eating behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity is a key term used in a range of public and private organizations to describe institutional goals, values and practices. Sport is a prominent social institution where the language of diversity is frequently and positively used; yet, this rhetoric does not necessarily translate into actual practice within sport organizations. This paper critically examines diversity work in community sports clubs. Drawing upon qualitative research at 31 amateur sports clubs in Australia, the findings show that diversity work in community sport organizations is often haphazard and accidental, rather than a strategic response or adaptation to policy. This paper concludes that while individual champions are critical to the promotion of diversity, persistent tensions and resistance arise when they seek to translate the language of diversity into institutional practice and culture change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy and research portray sport volunteering as a means by which young people can develop skills and perform active citizenship. This paper draws on qualitative research with participants in a UK sport volunteering programme to critically examine young people’s volunteering journeys and how these are shaped by their formation and mobilisation of capital. The results show how programme structures and practices, such as selection criteria, privilege young people with higher levels of cultural and physical capital, and afford these youth additional opportunities to accumulate and mobilise cultural and social capital. The paper argues for a more critical understanding of youth sport volunteering; one that recognises that sport volunteering can reserve the practice of active citizenship for privileged youth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: This study aimed to assess participation rates of transgender and gender diverse (trans) people in sport/fitness activities, compare mental health outcomes for trans people participating in sport/fitness with those who do not and explore internal/external barriers and bullying experiences faced by trans people in sport/fitness contexts., Methods: A cross-sectional online survey open to trans people aged ≥16 years living in Australia was conducted between February and April 2023 and it assessed rates of sport/fitness participation, barriers to participation and bullying experiences through multiple-choice questions. Mental health measures comprised the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and self-reported history of self-harm and suicidality. Covariate-adjusted binary logistic regression models tested associations between interpersonal factors, sport/fitness variables and mental health outcomes., Results: Of 664 respondents (median age 32 years), around one-third (32.8%) regularly participated in sport/fitness. Common internal barriers to participation included anxiety about others' reactions (63.9%), body dissatisfaction/dysphoria (56.5%) and fears about feeling accepted/affirmed by others (54.7%). Respondents commonly reported experiencing inadequate bathroom/changing facilities (44.4%), exclusionary rules and regulations surrounding gender (36.7%), and invasive or uncomfortable policies or procedures (23.3%). Over one-third (34.4%) of trans people had experienced gender-based bullying or exclusion. Regular sport/fitness participation was associated with significantly lower K10 scores (mean difference=-4.4, 95% CI-5.8, -2.9, p<0.001) and a 40% reduction in odds of recent thoughts of self-harm and suicide (aOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.9, p=0.01; aOR 0.6, 95%CI 0.4, 0.9, p=0.02)., Conclusion: Trans people face significant barriers to sport/fitness despite experiencing significant mental health and personal benefits from participation. Affirming and including trans people in sport and fitness should be a key priority for sport and fitness federations, organisations and policy-makers., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)