FEATURE ARTICLE 4: MIGRANT ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL AND SPORTING ACTIVITIES, BY PROFICIENCY IN SPOKEN ENGLISH


ON THIS PAGE

Introduction

Information on surveys used in this article

Total population

Country of birth

Proficiency in spoken English

Year of arrival in Australia

Types of cultural venues and events

Participation trends for children who are migrants

Children's participation by parents' country of birth

List of References


INTRODUCTION

According to The United Nations 2002 Migration Report, Australia has the ninth largest migrant population. The continued migrant intake has made Australia one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2002). In 2007, overseas migration contributed more than half (56%) of Australia's population growth for the year, with one-quarter of Australia's population born overseas (ABS 2006). Although the largest proportion of migrants to Australia in 2007 was from the United Kingdom and New Zealand, there is an increasing proportion of the population who are from non English-speaking countries, such as China, Italy and India (Costantoura and Saatchi and Saatchi 2000, ABS 2006).

According to a Productivity Commission report, Economic Impacts of Migration and Population Growth (2006), the impact of migrants (particularly skilled migrants) has a positive effect on the Australian economy. Settlement policies for migrants recognise that migrants not only need opportunity to settle into their new life, but for them to be 'equal and active participants' in the Australian community (Commonwealth of Australia 2003, National Multicultural Advisory Council 1999). This includes having equal access and opportunity to participate in cultural and sporting activities.

It is widely accepted that sport and physical activity are an essential part of living a physically healthy life and can reduce health risks ranging from obesity to heart disease, while the social benefits of participating in sport include providing an avenue for social inclusion and often reducing 'high risk' or antisocial behaviours (DoHA 2003, Keogh 2002).

In addition, several research studies have shown that participation in the arts can also have positive effects on people and society (Staricoff 2004, Mills and Brown 2004, Costantoura and Saatchi and Saatchi 2000). Health benefits have been reported to include positive physiological effects (Staricoff 2004), as well as creating a pathway for socialising. The arts can also benefit the wider society, by engaging the community and developing cultural awareness (Mills and Brown 2004, Costantoura and Saatchi and Saatchi 2000).

This article provides an overview of attendance and participation of migrants in selected cultural activities and venues, in comparison with people born in Australia. One of the key factors in determining the success and ease of settlement in a new country is the ability to speak the official language of the new country. This can affect many aspects of a migrant's life, such as gaining access to information and job prospects. Consequently, the ability to speak English can affect migrants' satisfaction with their settlement in Australia as well as their emotional well-being (Richardson, Miller-Lewis, Ngo and Ilsley 2002, Productivity Commission 2006). Therefore, this article also looks at migrants' proficiency in spoken English to establish whether this impacts on attendance or participation. A comparison with attendance and participation in sports and physical recreation is provided to see whether there are similar patterns for these activities, based on country of birth and proficiency in spoken English.


INFORMATION ON SURVEYS USED IN THIS ARTICLE

The data used in this article is sourced from the 2006 General Social Survey (GSS), the 2005-06 Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) and the 2006 Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities Survey (CPCLA).

The 2005-06 MPHS collected data on attendance at cultural venues and events, sporting events and sports participation during the 12 months prior to interview, for people aged 15 years and over. The 2006 GSS also asked questions regarding participation and attendance in these activities for people aged 18 years and over. The GSS collected information on proficiency in spoken English, however this was not collected on the MPHS. While both surveys provide estimates of attendance at cultural venues and events, results from the GSS and MPHS are not directly comparable due to differences in the survey methodology.

For the purpose of these surveys and this article, cultural venues and events include art galleries; museums; zoological parks and aquariums; botanic gardens; libraries; music concerts; cinemas; and performing arts such as dance, music and theatre performances. For the purposes of this article, sport and physical recreation includes participation in all capacities, including coaching.

The April 2006 CPCLA collected information about children's participation in four cultural activities - playing a musical instrument, dancing, singing and drama - as well as the child's and the parents' countries of birth. This article analyses the data to investigate whether any patterns in adults' attendance and participation data is reflected in the children's participation.

More information on the surveys used in this article is available from the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au). Summary results from the 2005-06 MPHS are available from the publications Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4114.0), Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4174.0) and Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4177.0). For the 2006 GSS, summary results are available from General Social Survey, 2006 (cat. no. 4159.0). Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, 2006 (cat. no. 4901.0) provides a summary of the 2006 CPCLA results.

Unless otherwise specified, differences between figures highlighted in this article are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.


TOTAL POPULATION

In the 12 months prior to interview in 2005-06, 13.6 million (or 85%) Australian adults aged 15 years and over attended at least one cultural venue or event. In comparison, 7.1 million adults (44%) attended at least one sporting event, while two thirds (10.6 million or 66%) participated in sport or physical recreation activities.


COUNTRY OF BIRTH

Some 86% of people aged 15 years and over and born in Australia attended a cultural venue or event in the 12 months prior to interview, compared with 81% of Australians who were born overseas. The discrepancy in attendance rates is even more apparent when migrants are split into two groups: those born in main English-speaking countries (MESC) and those born in other (non-MESC) countries. Main English-speaking countries include the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand (MPHS 2005-06). For ease of reading, main English-speaking countries will be referred to as MESC with a main language other than English will be referred to as non-MESC.

When comparing migrants born in MESC to migrants born in non-MESC:

• 90% of migrants born in MESC reported attending a cultural venue or event during the 12 months prior to interview in 2005-06, compared with 76% of migrants born in non-MESC.
• Some 42% migrants born in MESC attended at least one sporting event in the 12 months prior to interview. This was twice the proportion of attendees born in non-MESC (21%).
• Almost three quarters (73%) of migrants born in MESC participated in sport or physical recreation activities, compared with 52% of migrants born in non-MESC.

When comparing migrants born in MESC with people born in Australia, migrants born in MESC had a higher attendance rate at cultural venues or events (90%), than people born in Australia (86%). People born in Australia were more likely to attend at least one sporting event (50%), than migrants born in MESC (42%) and migrants born in non-MESC (21%).

PROFICIENCY IN SPOKEN ENGLISH

The 2006 GSS asked all respondents how proficient they were at speaking English. All respondents born in Australia and all migrants born in MESC reported being proficient in spoken English. However, whilst the majority of migrants born in non-MESC (82%) reported being proficient in English, 16% reported that they spoke English "Not well" and 2% "Not at all". For the purposes of this article, people who reported speaking English "Not well" or "Not at all" have been combined into one group; not proficient in spoken English.

Attendance and participation rates for migrants born in non-MESC were further analysed, based on proficiency in spoken English. Results show that in the 12 months prior to interview in 2006:

• 88% of migrants born in non-MESC who were proficient in spoken English attended at least one cultural venue or event, compared with 59% of migrants born in non-MESC who were not proficient in spoken English.
• Around one third (34%) of migrants born in non-MESC who were proficient in spoken English attended at least one sporting event. Of migrants born in non-MESC and not proficient in spoken English, less than half that proportion (14%) attended.
• More than half (57%) of migrants born in non-MESC and proficient in spoken English participated in sports and physical recreation, compared with 38% of those not proficient in spoken English.

Results suggest that proficiency in spoken English is a significant factor in attendance and participation.

To investigate further, attendance and participation rates were compared for migrants born in MESC (where 100% of respondents reported being proficient in English) and migrants born in non-MESC who reported being proficient in English. Results showed that in the 12 months prior to interview in 2006:

• A higher proportion of migrants born in MESC attended at least one cultural venue or event (92%), than migrants born in non-MESC and proficient in spoken English (88%),
• The attendance rate at sport events was higher for migrants born in MESC (52%) than for migrants born in non-MESC and proficient in spoken English (34%), and
• The participation rate in sport and physical recreation was higher for migrants born in MESC (65%) than for migrants born in non-MESC and proficient in spoken English (57%).

These results suggest that it is not only proficiency in spoken English or whether a migrant came from a MESC or non-MESC country which affects attendance and participation rates, but rather a combination of both.

YEAR OF ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA

According to MPHS results, recent migrants (those that arrived in Australia between 2001 and 2006) were more likely to have attended at least one cultural venue or event in the previous 12 months (92%), compared with migrants who arrived in Australia prior to 2001 (80%). However, there were no significant differences between recent migrants and less recent migrants when comparing attendance at sporting events or participation in sports and physical recreation.

Recent migrants born in MESC were more likely to attend at least one cultural venue or event, and to attend at least one sporting event than migrants born in MESC who arrived prior to 2001. Interestingly, there was no significant difference between these groups for participation in sport and physical recreation.

Similarly, there was a difference between recent migrants born in non-MESC and those who arrived prior to 2001, when comparing attendance at cultural venues and events. Recent migrants born in non-MESC reported significantly higher attendance rates at cultural venues and events (88%), compared with less recent migrants born in non-MESC (74%). There was no significant difference between the two groups when looking at attendance at sporting events or participation in sports and physical recreation.

A larger proportion of recent migrants born in MESC attended at least one cultural venue or event (99.6%) than people born in Australia (86.3%). There were no significant differences between attendance rates at sporting events and participation rates in sport and physical recreation for these population groups.

These results indicate that recent migrants are more likely to attend cultural venues and events than migrants who have been in Australia for a longer period of time.

TYPES OF CULTURAL VENUES AND EVENTS

Results from the 2005-06 MPHS show that migrants born in MESC had a higher attendance rate for at least one cultural venue or event (90%) than people born in Australia (86%), and migrants born in non-MESC (76%). This section investigates whether there is a similar pattern in attendance rates for each of the twelve selected cultural venues and events.

Results show that people born in Australia had significantly higher attendance rates than migrants for seven out of the twelve selected cultural venues and events (Art galleries, Zoological parks and aquariums, Popular music concerts, Theatre performances, Dance performances, Musicals and operas and Cinemas). Migrants reported higher attendance rates than people born in Australia for Botanic gardens, Libraries and Classical music concerts, while there was no significant difference for Museums or Other performing arts.

Migrants born in MESC were most likely to attend the Cinema, than any other cultural venue or event, with 67% reporting attendance in the 12 months prior to interview in 2005-06. Other activities that had a large proportion of attendees born in MESC were Libraries (42%), Botanic gardens and Zoological parks and aquariums (both 41%).

Similarly to migrants born in MESC and people born in Australia, migrants born in non-MESC were more likely to attend a Cinema than any other cultural venue or event, with 51% of migrants born in non-MESC attending in the 12 months prior to interview in 2005-06. Other popular activities with migrants born in non-MESC included visiting Botanic gardens 33%, Libraries 32% and Zoological parks and aquariums (30%).

PARTICIPATION TRENDS FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE MIGRANTS

In contrast to adults, the settlement process can be quite different for children and young people. Children usually attend a mainstream school which can assist them to learn the new language faster. This can therefore assist in an easier integration into their new life. School also offers opportunities to make friends and often gives young people a broader social network, through opportunities to participate in sports teams and other recreational activities (Wilson 1998).

As previously mentioned, results for people aged 15 years and over show that migrants born in MESC had a higher attendance rate for at least one cultural venue or event (90%) than people born in Australia (86%), and migrants from non-MESC (76%). The following section of the article looks at children's participation in cultural and sporting activities to investigate whether participation rates for children show a similar pattern to adults.


Children's participation by country of birth

In the 12 months prior to April 2006, around one-third (33%) of children born in Australia took part in at least one of four selected cultural activities (playing a musical instrument, singing, dancing or drama). Of children born in a main English-speaking country (other than Australia), 35% took part in these cultural activities, a significantly higher participation rate than for children born in non-MESC (26%).

About half (49%) of children born in non-MESC participated in organised sport during the same period, which was significantly less than the participation rate for children born in MESC and Australian born children, with almost two thirds participating (both 64%).

There was no significant difference in participation rates for children born in Australia and children born in MESC for either cultural activities or sport.

Children's participation in selected cultural activities

In 2006, the most popular cultural activity for children to participate in was playing a musical instrument, with 20% of all children participating in this activity in the 12 months prior to interview in April 2006. Dancing was the second most popular activity, with 13% of all children participating.

When comparing cultural participation of children born in MESC and children born in non-MESC, it was found that children born in MESC had significantly higher participation rates than children born in non-MESC in three out of four selected activities (there was no significant difference for Playing a musical instrument).

Interestingly, children born in MESC had significantly higher participation rates for Singing and Drama (8% and 6% respectively) than Australian born children (6% and 5% respectively), however there was no difference found for Playing a musical instrument or Dancing.

Children born in Australia showed significantly higher participation rates for Dancing (13%) in comparison to children born in non-MESC (5%), with no significant differences shown for the other activities (Playing a musical instrument, Singing and Drama).

CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION BY PARENTS' COUNTRY OF BIRTH

For children born in Australia, those with both parents born in non-MESC were less likely to participate in either cultural or sporting activities compared with those children whose parents were both born in Australia and those whose parents were both born in MESC. There was no significant difference between participation rates for Australian-born children whose parents were born in MESC and those whose parents were born in Australia. Therefore, it is not only the child's country of birth which impacts on participation rates, but also whether their parents were born in MESC or not. Similarly to adults, children born in non-MESC, or children born in Australia whose parents were born in non-MESC are less likely to participate in cultural and sporting activities.

LIST OF REFERENCES

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2006, Migration, Australia, 2006-07, cat. no. 3412.0, ABS, Canberra.

Commonwealth of Australia 2003, Multicultural Australia: United in Diversity (Updating the 1999 New Agenda for Multicultural Australia: Strategic directions for 2003-2006), Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Costantoura, P, Saatchi and Saatchi Australia 2000, Australians and the arts: A report to the Australia Council from Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, Australia Council, Sydney.

Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) 2003, Healthy Weight 2008: Australia’s Future - The National Action Agenda for Children and Young People and Their Families, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed August 2008,http://www.healthyactive.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/Content/publications-1

Keogh, V 2002, Multicultural Sport: Sustaining an Even Playing Field, Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Melbourne.

Mills, D and Brown, P 2004, Art and Wellbeing, Australia Council, Sydney.

National Multicultural Advisory Council 1999, Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness, April 1999, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Accessed August 2008, http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/nmac

Productivity Commission 2006, Economic Impacts of Migration and Population Growth, Final Report, April 2006, Productivity Commission, Melbourne.

Richardson, S, Miller-Lewis, L, Ngo, P, Ilsley, D 2002, Life in a New Land: The Experience of Migrants in Wave 1 of LSIA1 and LSIA2, Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA), Canberra. Accessed August 2008, http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/lsia

Staricoff, R 2004, Arts in health: a review of the medical literature, Arts Council England, London.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division 2002, International Migration Report 2002, United Nations, New York. Accessed August 2008, http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ittmig2002/ittmigrep2002.htm

Wilson, S 1998, Sport: Creating a Level Playing Field, Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Melbourne.