Sociology of Sport: Finland

Abstract

Compared with the history of many other countries, sport has had an exceptional role in the Finnish transformation from a young to a mature nation. Finland has a relatively long tradition in the sociology of sport. The interest has been focused on a wide range of physical activities. At the same time, the parent discipline of sociology has been a “mother” science in the field; as such the more representative term in Finland for this area is the “social science of sport and physical activity.” Finnish sociology of sport is strongly concentrated in Jyväskylä and most of the scholars in the field have been educated at the University of Jyväskylä. Recently the research in the field has spread to other universities and new perspectives have enriched the research. The critical mass of Finnish sociology of sport is not very big. Approximately 400 students have graduated in the field during its history and approximately 60 have worked in the field as professional researchers. Most of the publications in the field are for a domestic audience. The group of internationally active scholars is relative small. The variety of research themes is nevertheless wide. However, interest has continued in a few of them, and has focused on several researchers. In this respect, the most central themes have included changes in sports culture, socialization into sport and physical activities, gender and physical activities, the social significance of sport and physical activity, and organized sport movements.

Citation

Koski, P. (2016), "Sociology of Sport: Finland", Sociology of Sport: A Global Subdiscipline in Review (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 133-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420160000009012