Social impact of programs – Deakin University 2017 Research
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Deakin University surveyed e.motion21 families, volunteers, teachers and staff, YMCA centre managers/staff and YMCA members on the social impact of partnering with community leisure centres. This research explored the potential for e.motion21 to partner leisure centres such as the YMCA, to use their facilities as a sustainable model for replication across Victorian communities.
Main findings:
- Most parents viewed holding classes in a community leisure centre as a positive experience for their child and for the parents themselves.
- But some parents and volunteers preferred a more exclusive environment where they felt the focus was on their child and not always on advocating for inclusion
- The social connections established through e.motion21 were considered extremely important for the children and their parents
- On the whole, parents were satisfied with the venues, although a strongly recurring theme was a desire for a location for parents to sit together and socialise while their child was engaged in classes
- The views of parents about access to community leisure centres was mainly favourable, but this was not a consensus
- Dance instructors, volunteers and community leisure centre members and managers were mainly positive about the use of community leisure centre facilities by e.motion21 participants.
