The personal factors (gender, age, socio-economic group, ethnicity, disability) that affect participation rates, and the interpretation of participation data.

What this dot point is asking

Edexcel wants you to explain how personal factors (gender, age, socio-economic group, ethnicity and disability) affect participation rates in physical activity and sport, and interpret participation data.

The personal factors

How a factor becomes a barrier

For each factor, the exam wants you to explain how it reduces participation. Cost (a socio-economic barrier) means some cannot afford club fees or equipment. A lack of suitable facilities or transport (a disability barrier) means some cannot physically get to or use a venue. A lack of visible role models or media coverage (affecting gender and ethnicity) means some do not feel sport is for them. Naming the mechanism, not just the factor, is what earns the marks.

Raising participation

Strategies target the specific barrier. To raise participation among older adults, provide low-impact sessions (walking football, aqua-aerobics) at accessible times and prices. To raise women's participation, increase media coverage, role models and women-only sessions. To raise participation among disabled people, improve access, provide adapted equipment and run inclusive clubs. The pattern is to identify the barrier from the data, then match a strategy to it.

The main types of barrier

It helps to group barriers under a few headings, because the exam often asks for them. Access barriers include the cost of fees, equipment and travel, a lack of suitable local facilities, and poor transport, all of which stop people getting to or using a venue. Time barriers come from work, study or caring responsibilities that leave little leisure time. Personal and social barriers include low confidence or self-esteem, a lack of visible role models, stereotyping that a sport is not for someone like them, and few friends or family who take part.

The solutions mirror the barriers. National campaigns such as the drive to get more women active, and providers such as schools, local councils and sports clubs, tackle these by offering cheaper or subsidised sessions, better access and transport, taster and beginner sessions to build confidence, and more coverage of role models. Identifying which barrier a group faces, then naming a strategy that removes that exact barrier, is what turns a list into the explanation the marks reward.