PEPAYS Ireland Research Centre Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
This statement captures the Physical Education, Physical Activity and Youth Sport (PEPAYS) Ireland Research Centre’s commitment to creating a research environment in which all can participate and thrive. The statement serves the Centre’s researchers by guiding culture and practice, and demonstrates the Centre's values and accountability to collaborators, research participants and the wider community.
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) refers to the commitment to ensuring fair access, opportunities and participation for all individuals (equity), recognising and valuing human differences (diversity), and creating environments in which all people feel respected, supported and able to contribute fully (inclusion).
The PEPAYS Ireland Research Centre is committed to advancing EDI in all aspects of physical education, physical activity and youth sport. We recognise that meaningful participation and positive experiences in movement and sport are shaped by social, economic, cultural and structural factors. We therefore strive to create research, partnerships and environments that challenge inequities and expand opportunities for all involved in PEPAYS spaces.
We acknowledge the historical and ongoing barriers that many groups face in accessing and thriving within movement spaces, and we work to address these through evidence informed inquiry, ethical practice and collaborative engagement. Subsequently, PEPAYS Ireland Research Centre is committed to:
Conducting research that foregrounds diverse voices and lived experiences, particularly those historically marginalised in movement spaces.
Creating an inclusive, respectful and accessible environment for researchers, partners and participants. This includes involving multiple populations within movement spaces as active partners in shaping the Centre’s research.
Embedding equitable practices in our methodologies, recruitment and community partnerships.
Challenging bias, discrimination and exclusion wherever they arise in our work.
Reflecting on, and evaluating our policies, practices and partnerships to continually improve equity, diversity and inclusion across our work.
Members of PEPAYS Ireland Research Centre are encouraged to critically examine their own positionalities in relation to EDI, recognising that the Centre and its members are themselves situated within the structures and practices they seek to explore, understand and transform.
Through these commitments, we aim to contribute to a more just and inclusive landscape of physical education, physical activity and youth sport—one in which all can participate, flourish and lead.
This statement will be reviewed annually to ensure it reflects current evidence, best practice and the evolving needs of the communities we work with.
