The functions of Sport and Physical Education for Iran's Sustainable Development (A Grounded Theory model)

The purpose of the present study was to develop a comprehensive model of sport and physical education functions for sustainable development in Iran.

This research was a qualitative study. In the qualitative part, the sample was consisted of 21 expert persons in the field of sustainable development in sports who were selected using both theoretical and snowball sampling methods. Exploratory interview were used for data collection. In the process of analysis, the interviews data were analyzed in three stages of open, axial selective coding.

According to the research findings, 729 conceptual labels were written out of which 81 were identified as functions of sport and physical education for sustainable development. In the next step, this cods also summarized in 17 categories. These categories ultimately formed the four concepts of social, cultural, political and economic development functions

Sport and physical activity can be viewed as a powerful and effective lever in Iran's sustainable development and the model derived from this research can serve as a guiding framework for macro planning and policy making which would be used in the field of sustainable development, especially in the formulation of development programs at both the macro and national level.