Developing physical activity interventions for children with a visual impairment:lessons from the First Steps initiative

Children with a visual impairment are less active than their sighted peers. Yet they are born with the potential to match their sighted peers’ motor skill competency and levels of physical fitness. Environmental barriers are one of the main causes of inequities. This paper provides insight on these issues, drawing upon a physical activity intervention called ‘First Steps’, a British Blind Sport initiative that aimed to get more children with a visual impairment more active.Physical activity packs were delivered to 53 children aged 5-15 years old with a visual impairment. Of these participants, 62% had additional impairments or medical conditions. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather participants’ experiences of physical activity prior to receiving this pack and canvas opinion on how the pack changed their activity levels. The findings revealed inequitable experiences of physical activity. The First Steps pack made considerable progress in developing children’s physical activity levels. Participants’ motor skills, social interactions and confidence improved. Organisations working with this population might look to adopt a similar concept. Recommendations for those wishing to do so are provided.<br/

Employability and graduate outcomes for sports students with widening participation characteristics – an analysis of a data derived from 2000-2015

The advent of the Teaching Excellence Framework has placed increased focus on graduate outcomes, widening participation and learning gain within the Higher Education sector. However, it is acknowledged that there is an ‘unequal playing field’ with regard to graduate employment with socio-economic background viewed as the primary determinant of the graduate’s future (UUK, 2016). The authors conducted a study tracking career trajectories for those students graduating from an Abertay sports degree programme in the time period 2000-2015. These programmes were originally only offered as advanced entry routes for students with further education awards enabling them to extend their qualifications and access graduate employment. The programmes have evolved over the study period and now offer a range of entry points. This presentation will consider employability outcomes for those completing studies from ‘first in family homes’, from lower socioeconomic households, and for those who enrolled with a further education qualification

An investigation into the comparative learning gain and ‘value added’ for students from widening participation and non-widening participation groups:a case study from sports degrees

Increasingly universities are expected to demonstrate the impact of students’ higher education experiences; learning gain is one of the metrics that can evidence this. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) agrees Widening Participation (WP) objectives with the universities with an implicit expectation that Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs) work within their communities to enable those who could benefit from a university education to enrol. The Abertay sport programmes have historically supported students from diverse backgrounds. This case study focuses specifically on the graduate outcomes of WP and non-WP students graduating from these programmes in the years 2000–2015. An e-mail survey and departmental database of graduate destinations were linked with the student record. Analysis confirmed that those from WP backgrounds were equally as likely to gain a good degree as their non-WP counterparts and to be in graduate and/or sports employment. Longitudinal graduate outcomes are considered in the context of pedagogic strategy

Tracking career destinations of sports graduates 2000-2015:a longitudinal exploration of destinations and preparedness for the workplace

The advent of the TEF means that universities will be expected to evidence the impact of curriculum interactions on graduate destinations and social mobility. Over a third of sport employees are graduates but little data charts their career journeys. Key objectives: • track all Abertay sport graduates from the programmes’ inception • compare Honours and non-Honours graduates’ destination data • examine career trajectories • explore preparedness for the workplace • utilise demographic data to contextualise findings. 452 graduates were e-mailed.123 responded to the survey, 84% being in identifiable graduate level jobs. Across time, increasing proportions of students were Honours' graduates. Social class, gender and disability did not impact on this but articulation from FE was a significant factor (χ2 =84.68, p&lt;0.01). Very few respondents (n=13) felt that their degree had not equipped them for working life. 'Placement' and 'research methods skills' were of most benefit in preparing for the workplace