Influential factors in physically active leisure for international students at the University of Windsor: A qualitative study (Ontario).

摘要

The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain deeper insight into different factors for international students at the University of Windsor that influence involvement in and enjoyment of physical activity programs organized by Campus Recreation Services.; The main source of data for this qualitative study were 12 semi-structured interviews with six male and six female international students from the University of Windsor, who represented a variety of cultural backgrounds. Three groups of four students were selected based upon their involvement in Campus Recreation Sport Programs during the Winter term of 2004: no involvement, involvement in recreational classes, and involvement in intramural leagues. To study the problem in a systematic way, factors that impact sport behaviour of international students were categorized into three types: intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural (Crawford & Godbey, 1987). The NUD*IST software program for qualitative research was used as a tool to manage and structure the transcribed data.; The results of the study indicated that Campus Recreation Services play an important role in the provision of physically active leisure for international students. However, sport administrators should keep in mind that international students have a different cultural sporting background, which means that they are used to different methods for satisfying their sporting needs. The study results suggest that these differences in sporting traditions are easier to overcome for exchange students than for other international students. The most important obstacles to overcome that were identified are: low priority on sport, small social network, unavailability of favourite sports, lack of time, lack of financial resources and lack of experience or skill. The most important facilitators were the need to meet new people and the desire to experience a new culture. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)