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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
1. This report presents the findings of a survey of secondary school children in Scotland, carried out for the Europe, External Affairs and Culture Directorate of the Scottish Government. The computer tabulations can be found in a separate volume.
2. The survey was conducted using IpsosMORI Scotland's Schools Omnibus, an annual survey of secondary school pupils. The overall aim of this study was to provide a picture of children's participation in culture and sport, to complement the forthcoming findings of the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS), which will provide data on adult participation.
3. Topic areas covered in this report include:
- Frequency of participation in culture and the arts outside of school, including library usage and visits to historical sites, museums and galleries;
- Participation in culture and the arts in school time;
- Attendance at cultural and sports events outside of school time and as part of school trips;
- Participation in sports and physical activity outside of school time, including club membership;
- Involvement in physical recreation both in PE classes and other types of physical activity organised through school;
- Young people's involvement in volunteering.
Methodology
4. The sampling universe comprised 369 secondary state schools throughout Scotland with and without special education units in all but one educational authority, and excluded special schools. This sampling frame was stratified by education authority and within each stratum, schools were selected proportional to the size of the school register, thus producing a nationally representative sample of secondary schools.
5. Fieldwork was carried out between 14 February and 1 April 2008. Of the 213 schools approached, fifty agreed to participate in the survey, giving a response rate of 23%. Fully completed questionnaires were obtained from 2,221 pupils, with an average of 23 pupils per class. The age groups included in the survey were 11-18 year olds in curriculum years S1 to S6 and each school was randomly allocated two of these curriculum years. The survey was intended to complement the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) of adults aged 16+ and it was therefore decided to analyse the findings based on 11-15 year olds to guarantee no overlap with the SHS. The survey was administered using self-completion questionnaires in a mixed ability class such as Personal Social Education or Religious Education during one classroom period.
Main findings
Participation in cultural activities inside and outside of school
6. Outside of school, 96% of young people say they have participated in at least one cultural activity in the last 12 months, while 89% say they have attended at least one cultural event.
7. Young people have a wide range of constructive cultural activities open to them, though lack of interest and wanting to do other things in their spare time is a primary factor for non-participation in cultural activities, irrespective of the type of activity or service.
8. Around half of young people have visited a library at least once in the last 12 months, with most doing so to borrow or return books or use computers or the internet. Among non-users, more than half say they have no need to use the facility and two in five prefer to do other things in their spare time or say they have no interest in libraries.
9. More than half of young people say they have been to a historical or archaeological site in the last 12 months, with most going as part of a trip with their family or friends. Slightly fewer have been to a museum or gallery in the last year, though again, visiting with family and friends is the most common reason why they have done so. As with using libraries, young people say they haven't been to a historical site or museum because of a lack of interest and having other things to do, though concerns are also raised about perceived cost and feeling out of place in such an environment.
10. Young people take part in a broad range of activities outside of school, with more than half stating that they have done four or more of the activities listed in the survey in the last 12 months. There are a number of differences between boys and girls, with girls significantly more likely to have read for pleasure, taken dance lessons and rehearsed for a performance in the last month than boys. Boys, however, are significantly more likely to have used a computer to create original artworks and to have done crafts such as textile, wood or pottery.
11. More than half of young people say they have done four or more of the activities listed in the survey whilst at school, with girls more likely to have participated in a greater range and number of activities than boys and differing levels of participation most evident in relation to involvement in dance lessons and rehearsing/practicing for a performance. There are a couple of exceptions to this, however, with boys more liable to have used computers to create artworks of animation and to have done crafts such as textile, wood or pottery. There are also significant differences relating to the type of area where young people live. Those living in the least deprived areas of the country are more likely to have participated in a range of activities than their peers living in the most deprived areas, including dance lessons; playing an instrument or writing music; painting, drawing or sculpture; and reading for pleasure. Overall, those living in the least deprived areas are 1.5 times more likely to have done four or more of the activities listed in the survey whilst at school than those living in the most deprived areas of Scotland.
Attendance at cultural and sports events inside and outside of school
12. Young people are most likely to have been to see films and live sports events outside of school on a regular basis in the last year, with girls likely to have gone to a greater number of events than boys.
13. During school time, around three quarters of young people have been to at least one of the events listed in the survey, with watching a film the most widespread activity. Girls are more likely than boys to have been to events as part of a school trip, particularly exhibitions and collections relating to the arts; performance street arts; theatrical performances; and dance events.
Participation in sports and physical activity inside and outside of school
14. Outside of school, around one in seven young people are doing four or more activities at least once a week, with boys and 12 and 13 year olds most likely to be doing so. Boys and girls aged 15 are most likely to participate in only one sporting activity at least once a week outside of school. Overall, 96% of young people participate in one type of sporting activity outside of school PE lessons and not organised by school.
15. Football is the most popular activity for boys to participate in outside of school, with nearly half playing at least once a week. Girls are most likely to do some form of dancing at least once a week.
16. Just over a quarter of young people are a member of a club through which they participate in sports outside of school, with boys most likely to be a member of a club through which they play football and girls more likely to belong to a club or organisation relating to dance.
17. Boys tend to spend significantly more time taking part in physical activity outside of school than girls (around seven hours v. four and a half hours in a typical week), though for both boys and girls, there is a steady decline in the amount of time spent doing physical recreation outside of school as they get older.
18. Young people are most likely to say they have not done any sport or recreational activity outside of PE lessons because they prefer to do other things in their spare time. This is the most common explanation given by boys, but for girls, the main reason they give for their lack of participation is that they don't have anyone to do it with.
19. During school time, young people tend to spend an average of 2.5 hours in PE classes every week, with boys doing around 20 minutes more than girls. S3 and S4 pupils are also more likely to do 20-30 minutes more in PE classes than their peers in S1 and S2.
20. Young people spend an average of 1 hour 17 minutes doing some form of sport or physical recreation organised through their school but outside of PE classes every week, with boys spending significantly more time doing activities outside of classes than girls. However, more than a third of young people do not do any physical activity organised through school, with 14 and 15 year olds least likely to do so. Moreover, whereas time spent in PE lessons tends to increase with age, there is a steady fall in the amount of time young people spend doing physical activity outside of PE as they get older.
Volunteering
21.Around a third of young people have given up their time to volunteer in the last 12 months, with 12 year old and 14 year old girls most likely to have done so. Among those who have volunteered, young people are most likely to have helped with sports activities such as raising money, organising events, coaching and score keeping.
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