Sprake, A., Wynne, N. and Wynne, L. (2014). ‘Why do so many girls drop out of sport and physical activity after compulsory education?’ in C, Plamer (Ed) The Sports Monograph: Critical perspectives on socio-cultural sport, coaching and Physical Education, pp. 265-274. SSTO Publications, Preston. (original) (raw)
Why such a large proportion of females aged 16-19 seem to drop out of sport and physical activity following compulsory education has been the curiosity for writing this chapter. It is clear from the outset that this is a multidimensional issue and that the reasons for disengagement may stem from broad range of influences. The first step towards increasing female participation in sport and physical activity, therefore, is to acknowledge the complex and varied barriers which they face; doing so may help create an informed platform from which to develop strategies to overcome them. In an effort to streamline this complex issue, Roberston (2011) identifies fundamental reasons as to why so many girls turn away from sport, these include; a lack of support from schools, the absence of opportunities, competing social interests, conflicting commitments, the transition between junior and senior leagues, poor coaching, a lack of other players and finally, the desire to try something new (a reaction to what may be offered to them normally).
This paper presents a literature-based discussion of girls‟ participation during physical education lessons in the USA conducted using the Sport Education model developed by Daryl Seidentop (see Seidentop, 1994). First, a review of the literature about girls‟ experiences within traditional physical education is provided and following a short historical account of the model itself. Then paper focuses more specifically on the similarities and differences of the PE experience when girls participate in “seasons” of Sport Education (Seidentop, 1994). A conclusion drawn from this review of literature is that Sport Education has the potential to involve girls in physical education more meaningfully who may have previously been disinterested or disengaged from that kind of educational experience.
Developing sport for girls and adolescents
2020
according to many factors, including gender, age and residential location of participants; they also vary in terms of the types of sport programmes and other sport and non-sport activities that are available. Women and girls are consistently reported to participate in sport at lower rates than men and boys across the lifespan (Eime, et al., 2016a; Eime, et al., 2018c; Somerset & Hoare, 2018). Girls are also less likely than boys to start participating in sport at a very early age (Eime, et al., 2016b), with a higher proportion of boys than girls participating among children aged 4-7 (Eime, et al., 2016a). Recent research suggests that there are optimum ages of entry into sport that facilitate continued sport participation. In a four-year study of 13,760 girls, the optimal age of entry into junior modified sport programmes for continued participation and transition into club competition was found to be 7-9 years (Eime, et al., 2018b). Another study, which included boys and girls participating in modified sport programmes, reported that the majority of children withdrew from participation in the sport during the four-year period, rather than transitioning from the modified sport programme to club competition (Eime, et al., 2015a). Across the ages 4-12, 24.5% of girls and 13.6% of boys transitioned to club sport competition within the four-year period. Furthermore, two-thirds of children (67.4%) withdrew from participation in their sport after the first year/season of the study (Eime, et al., 2015a). Beyond childhood, many changes occur in participation in sport throughout the lifespan, beginning with a sharp decline during adolescence (Crane & Temple, 2015; Eime, et al., 2016a). While participation in sport is popular amongst young girls, particularly those aged 5-14, after this age, girls often drop out of competitive sport and choose to be physically active in non-competitive forms of leisure-time physical activity, such as going for a run or to the gym, or they become inactive (Eime, et al., 2016c). Girls' participation rates in sport peak at ages 10-14 and then drop by half in the ages of 15-19 years and drop by half again during the ages of 20-24 years (Eime, et al., 2016b). Internationally, girls and boys are more likely to play team sports, whereas adolescents are more likely to participate in non-sport activities such as walking, running and athletics (Hulteen, et al., 2017). Several factors contribute to this drop-off in sport participation. The competitive nature of sport is not attractive to many adolescent girls and some indicate a preference for more social options (Rowe, et al., 2018). Furthermore, some feel that they do not have the necessary sport skills to gain a position in a team (Casey, et al., 2009; Eime, et al., 2015b). The increasing importance of other life priorities may also decrease the capacity or inclination of some to fit in with the organised structures and time commitments imposed by many sports (Eime, et al., 2010). Girls report that increasing levels of school education pressure, socialising with peers, part time work, as well as body image concerns, make engaging in sport more difficult (Rowe, et al., 2018). Some recommendations for retaining adolescent girls in sport include the provision of social sport options, having female-only sessions, keeping friendship groups together, devising strategies to develop sport specific skills, and identifying and promoting women role models (Rowe, et al., 2018). There are also regional differences in participation in sport, with higher rates of participation observed in regional and rural areas compared to metropolitan areas, 20 R. Eime, et al.
2010
This thesis deals with issues of sport, gender and identity within schooling. It focuses on six physically active girls as they made the transition to secondary schools in London and considers the social and educational contexts that framed their involvement in physical activity and sport over this period. The research involved in-depth interviews with the girls, and their parents, teachers and friends, over a period of four years, beginning when the girls were in Year 5 and finishing when the girls were aged 13 and in Year 8. Over this period I also carried out ongoing observations at physical education lessons, after-school sports activities and a local youth running group. The analysis explores the social and emotional processes and identifications that made girls’ participation more or less sustainable over this period of time. It considers how girls who had once found immense pleasure and joy from physical activities came to feel disinvested in the PE curriculum, unsure of thei...
The game within the game: girls' underperforming position in Physical Education
Gender and Education, 2012
Since 1980 the Swedish compulsory school curriculum has stipulated that Physical Education (PE) should be taught co-ed and schools are legally required to promote gender equality. The latest evaluation of PE in Sweden shows that more boys than girls ranked the subject highly and that they had a higher level of activity during the PE lessons. Drawing on a case study, the aim of this article is to illuminate how games placed girls and boys in different subject positions. The logic governing the observed lessons was 'proper game', i.e. playing according to the official rules. Combined with hegemonic masculinity and the passivity of the teacher, this kind of logic resulted in the game being dominated by several dominant boys and by the ball-playing girls either being positioned or allowing themselves to be placed in situations in which they consistently underperformed. A gender category in late modernity, resting on hegemonic masculinity, can be seen as a cultural flashpoint that reflects problems in society rather than problems in the gym.
A Study on Sports Performance of Physical Education Trainee Females
2016
Because of traditional cultural and social attitudes toward women in sports, some women have been limited in their opportunities and their outlook. Many girls have not reached their full potential in sports simply because they have been defeated psychologically before they even competed. The participation of women in competitive sports has been hampered by myths and superstitions. Today however, because we are becoming aware of the fact that women have a much greater capacity for physical activity and a much greater desire for sports programme, more women are developing their talents in this field. Women‟s role in society has changed greatly in the last few decades. This change has been accompanied by a change in the public's attitude towards the women athlete and sports programme. Our sports programme for women must of course be geared to women's abilities, both as performers‟ coaches and leaders. Being a physical education professional the investigator wanted to elicit the...
European Physical Education Review, 2008
Despite receiving an unprecedented level of government funding to ensure young people have two hours of high quality physical education (PE) and sport, physical educators in the UK continue to decry poor motivation levels and disengaged youth in PE. The major purpose of this paper is to achieve a greater understanding of the factors that motivate young girls' engagement in PE. Throughout this paper we foreground the perspectives of 13 white pre-adolescent girls through an ecological analysis of naturally occurring talk and interviews with pupils in year 7 (aged 11 to 12 years) of a suburban town in the UK Midlands. The discussion that follows attempts to provide new vantage points for contemplating what motivates pre-adolescent girls' engagement in PE. This paper examines the ways that this group of girls position themselves around available discourses in a wider physical and popular culture.
Young People's Voices in Physical Education and Youth Sport
2010
The purpose of this study was to work with a group of disengaged teenage girls to understand and help them transform their self-identified barriers to their physical education engagement and physical activity participation. This study was premised on a conviction that young people have unique perspectives on learning and life, that their voices warrant not only to be heard but to be acted on, and that these young people (disengaged teenage girls in this case) should be partners in any efforts at reimagining physical education. Declaration I hereby declare that: My submission as a whole is not substantially the same as any that I have previously made or am currently making, whether in published or unpublished form, for a degree, diploma, or similar qualification at any university or similar institution. I am the author of this thesis and the principal author of the four articles which form its core.
2014
With over 120 contributors across 60 chapters, their ages ranging from 6 months to 60 years, the Sports Monograph represents a compendium of voices; telling experiences and rich perspectives, all stimulated by personal involvement in sport, Physical Education and sports culture. Consequently, the volume has a broad remit but a common theme. This has permitted a refreshing degree of freedom for people across a wide spectrum of education to register their thoughts and feelings about physical culture as they may have experienced it. Chapters are generally of two styles; first, academic essays of sporting interest with critical and factual discussion, and second, creative stories, poems and other biographical reflections which bring to the fore the realities of sport and PE. The latter conspicuously holding up a mirror to those theorised experiences, revealing quite vividly the primacy, sensuality and emotional importance of being physically educated, but through the medium of literature.
Girls Getting Active: Exploring a Physical Education Program Tailored to Young Women
Les adolescentes ne sont pas assez actives pour profiter pleinement des bienfaits possibles de l'activité physique (AP) sur la santé. Même si les cours d'éducation physique (EP) offrent une solution partielle à ce problème, les filles tendent à les abandonner dès qu'ils ne sont plus obligatoires. Cette étude de cas qualitative s'inspire de la théorie de l'autodétermination pour explorer l'attitude des filles envers l'activité physique dans le cadre d'un cours facultatif d'éducation physique 10-12 conçu sur mesure pour répondre à leurs intérêts et besoins. Un objectif secondaire consiste à déterminer si les prérequis et les résultats de leur motivation sont conformes aux prémisses qui sous-tendent la théorie de l'autodétermination. Des thématiques émergentes reflètent les prémisses de la théorie de l'autodétermination. Les élèves disent que le contenu du cours d'éducation physique et le contexte d'apprentissage répondent à leurs besoins. Elles se sentent motivées parce qu'elles aiment maintenant l'éducation physique. Entre autres résultats positifs, mentionnons la participation à l'activité physique, Pfaeffli & Gibbons Girls Getting Active 2 une attitude positive envers l'éducation physique et l'activité physique, un apprentissage valable et un sentiment de bien-être. Cette étude propose aux enseignants des façons d'améliorer la motivation des élèves à l'égard de l'activité physique et la participation des filles aux cours d'éducation physique facultatifs.