Silence on the field

This master thesis is the final research product as part of the master’s in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at the University of Leiden.

The thesis focuses on the experiences of inclusion and participation of deaf and hard of hearing people in team sports, considering their own perspectives towards their reduced hearing, then translating this to their experiences on the sports field.

Attributes that either support or obstruct inclusion are brought forward by sports policies and programs, the participants themselves, and literature research.

While the research has given directly observable examples and tools of how inclusive practices in sports can be enabled, it has also shed light on indirect and structural issues that somehow impact sports experiences: general participation in the deaf or hearing world; the sense of belonging one has in each; the ability of sign language as an influencing and communicative tool; and the interaction or lack thereof with other deaf or hard of hearing people.

Thus, a distinction is made between physical participation and social participation in team sports, where each pertains to a different side of what it means to achieve inclusion.