Objectives: To develop a sustainable and accessible educational programme on biopsychosocial female-specific topics, for young female athletes in organised sport, their parents and coaches for future testing and evaluation in a full-scale intervention study.

Methods: A digital educational programme, along with its methodology, was developed in four steps: First, content validity of female-specific topics was identified through (a) literature reviews by an interdisciplinary research team and (b) an online survey of 1323 female athletes (aged 16–24 years) assessing perceived knowledge and knowledge needs regarding biopsychosocial topics. Second, film scripts based on identified topics were written, internally reviewed and evaluated by a pilot group of six 13–16-year-old female athletes. Third, online surveys assessing main and secondary outcomes were developed and tested in the pilot group. Finally, digital format and production were developed collaboratively with a film scholar and film technicians.

Results: The intervention development yielded 12 videos of 5–7 min, featuring sports science researchers and female elite athletes sharing their perspectives on biopsychosocial topics specific to women. The protocol development produced a quasi-experimental, modified staircase cluster trial design, including bi-weekly assessment of main (ie, well-being and sporting experiences) and secondary outcomes (eg, perceived support) at baseline, pre-, post-intervention and post-post follow-up.

Conclusion: This study outlines the development of a digital educational intervention for young female athletes, their parents and coaches, emphasising that interdisciplinary collaboration and user engagement are key to identifying intervention components and relevant outcomes.

Female athletes encounter biological challenges, such as puberty and hormonal health, embedded within psychosocial coaching environments. Despite their relevance, these topics remain insufficiently integrated into coach education programmes. This study surveyed 779 coaches in Norway and Sweden to examine perceived knowledge versus the importance of female-specific topics through a biopsychosocial perspective. Results revealed a consistent discrepancy: coaches rated these topics as highly important but reported limited knowledge. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct profiles: “High-Performance but Resource-Limited”, “Aware but Underprepared”, and “Confident but Unaware,” with no significant differences based on coach sex or education. Across profiles, coaches reported limited resource access and a strong need for education regarding how these factors impact communication, training, and well-being. These findings indicate persistent gaps in coach preparedness, highlighting the need for context-sensitive education. Integrating biologically grounded content within a biopsychosocial perspective may strengthen coaching practice and thus enhance female athletes´ long-term development.

This paper draws on critical discourse analysis to examine how health and physical education (HPE) curricula from Sweden, Norway, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand may influence possibilities for the enactment of social justice in schools. The findings highlight the presence of social justice intentions across the five curricula as related to embodied movement experiences, social cohesion, and activism. That said, the findings simultaneously suggest that the language used to orient teaching towards social justice objectives is often elusive. In this paper, we contend that despite the presence of social justice intentions in these five HPE curricula, the articulation and function of the language within the curriculum documents do not necessarily support the enactment of this in practice. To conclude, we therefore suggest that more work is needed to ensure that curricula and other supporting artefacts and resources can better support both teachers' practice and students' learning in raising awareness of, and addressing, social justice outcomes in HPE.

Introduction: Puberty has been identified as one of the main contributing factors for girls dropping out of sports during adolescence. Knowledge and social support can, however, help athletes navigate the biopsychosocial (BPS) puberty-related changes associated with this period. Yet, research on female athletes' knowledge about BPS puberty-related topics is lacking. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine female athletes' perceived knowledge and knowledge needs of BPS puberty-related topics during adolescence, explore interconnections across BPS domains, and investigate differences between athletes in team and individual sports.

Method: A total of 1,323 Swedish and Norwegian female athletes (M age 18.7 ± 2.3 years, range 16–24) from ten sport disciplines [n = 657 (49.7%) team sport athletes; n = 656 (49.6%) individual sport athletes] completed an online survey in 2024 on perceived knowledge and knowledge needs regarding BPS puberty-related topics during adolescence.

Results: Findings revealed low perceived knowledge and high knowledge needs among female athletes. A Mann–Whitney U test revealed higher perceived knowledge among team sport athletes regarding individual differences, social cohesion, social comparison, acceptance within the group, and recovery, compared to individual sport athletes. Additionally, team sport athletes reported higher knowledge needs regarding social comparisons, sports nutrition and recovery, while individual sport athletes reported higher knowledge needs regarding changes in sex hormones, individual differences, and changes in body composition. A network analysis identified clusters of biological, psychosocial, and behavioral topics in perceived knowledge and knowledge needs, indicating that knowledge is concentrated within domains.

Discussion: The findings highlight gaps in knowledge among female athletes regarding BPS puberty-related topics across various sporting contexts. The results also underscore the urgent need for holistic and interdisciplinary educational programs addressing these knowledge gaps in the sporting context of female athletes.

BackgroundIn recent years, the traditional age limit for starting to learn horse riding has dropped from seven years to the ages of 4-6 years and, just like other sports, several riding schools offer activities for younger children. Riding school activities for younger children constitute an established practice today. This practice has gained popularity, yet there is a lack of knowledge about teaching younger children in many sports. The primary focus of these activities is safety.AimThe aim of this study is to explore, using frame factor theory, the possibilities, and limitations of riding teachers in planning and conducting riding lessons for younger children at riding schools in Sweden and Norway.MethodsA total of 11 interviews were conducted, 6 in Sweden and 5 in Norway. The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and were recorded and transcribed. The method was interviews analyzed through content analysis (Graneheim and Lundman 2004). The codes were filtered and categorised under four descriptive headings: Content of the activities, Purpose and goals, Prerequisites for the activities, and Challenges and solutions. The result was analysed using Imsen's (1999) five frame factors.ResultsThe findings indicated that younger children require a different form of pedagogy than what is traditionally provided in riding schools. The teachers express that there are several challenges involved in conducting activities with young children. Lessons with the young children can be eventful and require patience, creativity, and flexibility, according to the teachers. The teaching must be fun and playful, which is not really what a traditional riding lesson is based on, and variation is needed to prevent the children from being bored. Although there must always be a plan, teachers underline that it is necessary to adjust lessons based on how the children react. The teachers use their imagination to make riding lessons more interesting. The temperament of the horse is especially important in these activities as young children have difficulties controlling their needs and emotions.Discussion and conclusionsWith the help of frame factors, it became evident that there is a lack of knowledge about and guidelines for how this pedagogy should be carried out. This study demonstrates that riding teachers, within the framework of traditional riding instruction, have transformed exercises into a more playful approach through creativity and imagination. Riding teachers have also adjusted their teaching, making use of outdoor environments and available facilities. To further advance riding school activities for younger children, more knowledge based on adapted pedagogy is needed. The voices of the children themselves should also be given more space to facilitate learning through communication and exploration without compromising safety aspects.

Research continues to show that school physical education and health (PEH) is complicit in the reproduction of inequities related to, for instance, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion and social class. In this paper, we present findings from a participatory action research (PAR) project with 11 PEH teachers at two upper-secondary schools in Sweden, aimed at enhancing understandings and enactments of social justice pedagogies. Data generated through observations, interviews, focus groups, workshops and teacher reflections were analysed through a thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022) and informed by the concept of teaching for equity and social justice (Freire, 1970). The findings highlight how the teachers associated social justice pedagogies in PEH with an emphasis on: (1) ‘inclusion’; (2) ‘equity/equality’; (3) ‘adaptations to teaching and assessment’; and (4) ‘relationships’. The findings also demonstrate how, based on the importance they placed on relationships, the teachers developed pedagogies that aimed to create: (1) ‘conditions for building relationships’; (2) ‘continuous engagement from teachers and students’; (3) ‘student involvement and reflection’; and (4) ‘connections with and within the subject’. Although the findings draw attention to productive understandings and enactments of social justice pedagogies, we also argue that the teachers, to some extent, conflated equality of opportunity with equity of outcome and continued to focus on managing inequities within the framework of taken-for-granted practices and knowledge within the subject. We conclude that more work is needed to support teachers in not only addressing the inequities students bring to the classroom, but also in challenging the norms that make these inequities matter.

This study aimed to formulate the characteristic features of Scandinavian successful high-performance coaching. We took our point of departure in the works of C & ocirc;t & eacute; and Gilbert (2009, 2013) concerning the knowledge possessed by high-performance coaches. We interviewed 18 successful Scandinavian coaches who were deeply committed to their respective coaching assignments and had achieved great success through the performances of their practitioners at major championships. We then conducted a thematic analysis of the interview data, identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes). Our results show that Scandinavian high-performance coaching is a value-based and sensitive balancing act between four knowledge dimensions: analytical and systematic, authority and stability, relational and communicative, and innovative and creative development. The four dimensions, together with an ethical core, form the link between C & ocirc;t & eacute; and Gilbert (2009) categorisation of high-performance coaches' knowledge base and how this knowledge is put into practice.