Playing for wellbeing: A scoping review of students with disabilities and tertiary sport

Muya Koloko (1), Joseph Mukasa (2), Theresa Lorenzo (3)
(1) University of Cape Town , South Africa,
(2) University of Cape Town, South Africa,
(3) University of Cape Town, South Africa
https://doi.org/10.20372/dcidj.994

Article Sidebar

Issue
Vol. 37 No. 2 (2026): Summer Issue
Keywords:
    recreation, sports, physical activity, higher education, social inclusion, wellbeing, disability
Download PDF

Abstract

Aim: Students with disabilities at tertiary institutions do not have guaranteed opportunities for recreational sport and physical activity (RS&PA). This scoping review synthesized evidence on the contribution of RS&PA towards improving the social inclusion and wellbeing of these students to inform implementation of policy into practice.


Methods: EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and ProQuest were searched before two reviewers screened studies based on the following inclusion criteria: social inclusion and/or wellbeing; recreational sport and physical activity; students with disabilities; tertiary institutions. Studies published in English from between 1995 and 2025 were included.


Results: From 349 studies from the search, 10 were included. An additional 10 studies were included from screening the reference lists of the selected studies. Most studies were qualitative and from the Global North. Evidence supports RS&PA facilitating students with disabilities’ social inclusion and wellbeing through enabling health outcomes, physical accomplishment, academic persistence, empowerment and a sense of belonging.


Conclusions: More evidence from the Global South is needed. Equitable policies that facilitate implementation of inclusive sport and physical activity practices can be achieved through engaged research about students’ experiences.


Implications: Addressing the gap in research from the Global South will provide evidence to influence disability inclusion on policy and practice. Institutional leadership needs to be intentional about increasing the participation of students with disabilities in RS&PA.

Full text article

Generated from XML file

Authors

Muya Koloko
University of Cape Town
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1079-2713
m.koloko@uct.ac.za (Primary Contact)
Joseph Mukasa
University of Cape Town
Theresa Lorenzo
University of Cape Town
Author Biographies

Muya Koloko, University of Cape Town

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Disability Studies, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.

 

Member of the Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS) Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.

 

Muya Koloko holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Cape Town (UCT). His research focused on children’s responses to representations of violence in video games. He is now pursuing research interests in the social inclusion potential of sports for people with disabilities, particularly in university spaces. Having recently begun a postdoctoral fellowship in Disability Studies at UCT, Muya has also recently been appointed the South African Sports Association for the Physically Disabled and Visually Impaired (SASAPD) Goalball Convenor (interim) and also serves as the Secretary of ParaVolley Western Cape. He is also the founding member of UCT's ParaSports Club which aims to promote sporting opportunities for people with disabilities.

Joseph Mukasa, University of Cape Town

Mukasa Joseph is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Community and Disability Studies, Kyambogo University, Uganda. He’s currently a Ph.D. student in Disability Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His thesis focuses on “Disability Inclusive Local Government Development Planning and Implementation: Exploring the Inclusion of Youth with Disabilities in South Western Uganda”.

Theresa Lorenzo, University of Cape Town

Professor in the Division of Disability Studies, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.

 

Member of the Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS) Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.

 

I am passionate about the economic development of people with disabilities towards disability inclusion.  My PhD investigated the opportunities available to disabled women for social and economic development. Through this, I realised that it is important to focus research on youth economic development, and empowerment specifically. Through this we will be able to determine the support disabled youth need as children and looking forward, ascertain the support structures they need as adults with families. I believe shifting focus from the person with a disability to (often poor) development and support structures, in both rural and urban contexts, holds potential to influence policy development and change.

My other research interest is concerned with developing a disability inclusive workforce that will promote disability inclusion and access to schooling, health, social activities, and livelihood opportunities. This involves research and training of community-based workers that is focused on developing their capacity to link disabled people to projects and family and community support systems. Lastly, I am interested in research dissemination that centres training and practice to influence, policy, and curricula rather than vice versa and I am supervising several postgraduate students with this focus.

1.
Koloko M, Mukasa J, Lorenzo T. Playing for wellbeing: A scoping review of students with disabilities and tertiary sport . DCIDJ [Internet]. [cited 2026 Jun. 10];37(2):84-100. Available from: https://dcidj.uog.edu.et/index.php/up-j-dcbrid/article/view/994
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Article Details

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC