Dana Young

Thesis title

Sports participation and social capital development for migrant women and adolescent girls

Description of PhD Project

Globally, research has shown that sports participation has had a role to play in the inclusion and integration of people from migrant and minority ethnic groups in their destination country. Therefore, it is often assumed that participation in community-based sport can facilitate the development of social capital through the mechanism of diverse social interactions and subsequent access to resources and opportunities.

Elements of social capital (i.e. social trust, reciprocity, engaged citizenship) are experienced differently however, depending on age, gender, race, ethnicity and class. Taking a mixed methods approach, this PhD research seeks to explore the experiences of women and adolescent girls from migrant and minority ethnic groups in Melbourne, Australia participating at local sport clubs, the characteristics of any social capital developed and the contextual factors that influence social capital generation.

Supervisors

Associate Professor Karen Block
Professor Lisa Gibbs

Biography

Dana is an early-career research fellow and PhD Candidate within the Gender & Women's Health Unit at the Nossal Institute of Global Health. Dana’s research uses mixed-methods to explore the social and environmental influences on health and the impact of community-based interventions in efforts to reduce health inequity.

Her interests lie in migration research and the sociology of sport, particularly advocating for equity for women in sport through an applied intersectional lens, and has been involved in conducting an anti-racism intervention in community sport titled STARS (Standing Together Against Racism in Sport). Dana holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Human Nutrition.

Funding/scholarships

NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship