The Future of Education

The promotion of women's health has gained increasing significance in Austria, often focusing on gender-specific differences in health risks and outcomes. Despite growing interest, the available data on women's health remains fragmented and insufficient. [1] This paper presents findings from a segment of a doctoral dissertation exploring the self-perception of female tennis players in Austrian recreational clubs. The study examines how female tennis players perceive themselves and connects these insights with current understandings of women's health. The goal is to analyze the societal, cultural, and social conditions, as well as the informal learning processes experienced by women in tennis clubs.

Key research questions include: How do women perceive and shape their tennis clubs? What dimensions evoke informal learning processes and foster an understanding of women’s health? To what extent do tennis clubs provide space for informal health learning, and what social practices support or hinder these processes?

The study is grounded in a sociological understanding of educational processes, which are viewed as social actions carried out by individual and collective actors in specific contexts. Learning processes are understood as reflexive expansions of action possibilities, while educational processes aim to transform self- and world-perceptions. The research also emphasizes the importance of locally rooted learning and educational processes in fostering individual agency.

A qualitative, exploratory research design was employed. Data collection occurred over multiple investigative cycles, emphasizing openness, flexibility, and circularity. In the first and second cycles, key research questions were developed through literature reviews and historical context analysis. Six semi-biographical interviews with female tennis players provided the basis for empirical analysis. Data were analyzed using  qualitative content analysis to identify typical thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in the participants' life contexts.

Findings reveal that gender-specific, socioeconomic, and cultural factors significantly shape women’s experiences and learning processes in tennis. Informal learning fosters not only a deeper understanding of health but also the development of a distinct female self-concept. The study highlights the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion in tennis clubs to reduce structural barriers and sustainably advance women’s health.