Transcript Sociological Foundations of Physical Education and Sport

Sociological Foundations
1
CHAPTER 8
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sociological Foundations
2
 How is sport a socializing
force in American culture?
 What is the nature and
scope of sport?
 What are some problems
that we see today in sports
and how are they
addressed?
Sociology
3
 Study of people, groups,
institutions, human
activities in terms of
social behavior and social
order within society.
 Concerned about
institutions in society
such as religion, family,
government, education,
and leisure.
Sociology
4
 Influence of social institutions on the
individual, the social behavior and human
relations that occur within a group or an
institution, and how they influence the
individual, and the interrelationship between
various institutions within society, such as
sport, education, religion, and government.
Goals of Sport Sociology
5
 Factors underlying the creation and the organization of
sports.
 Relationship between sport and other aspects of society.
 Influence of sport and sport participation on individuals’
beliefs relative to equity, gender, race, ethnicity, disability,
and other societal issues.
 The social dynamics within the sport setting.
 The influence of cultural, structural, and situational factors
on the nature of sport and the sport experience.
 The social processes associated with sport.
Coakley
Historical Development
6
 Veblen wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899),
critiquing sport practices.
 Sports in American Life (1953) and Man, Play, and
Games (1961) analyzed the role of play in culture.
 1964: International Committee of Sport Sociology which
later became known as International Sociology of Sport
Association (ISSA) in 1994.
 1980 – North American Society for the Sociology of
Sport (NASSS) established.
Historical Development
7
 Journals

International Review of
Sport Sociology became
known as International
Review for the Sociology
of Sport (1984).

Journal of Sport and
Social Issues (1977)

Sociology of Sport
Journal (1984)
Historical Development
8
 Topics that have gotten the most attention are those
related to social inequalities:

Gender, race, ethnicity, wealth, sexual orientation, and
culture.
 1970s – focused on socioeconomic inequalities and
class relations in sport.
 1980s - focused on class and gender inequities.
 1990s - focused on exercise and societal
conceptions of the body, racial and ethnic
inequities, and the impact of the media and politics
on sport in different cultures.
What does a sport sociologist do?
9
 Studies the behavior of
individuals and groups
within the sport milieu.
 Influence of social
relationships, past social
experiences, and the
social setting of sport
activities on the behavior
of groups and individuals
in sport.
Sport Sociology Questions
10
 Does sport build character?
 Does sport help minorities become more fully
integrated into society?
 How do the mass media affect sport?
 How does youth sport influence children’s lives?
 How are politics and sports interrelated?
 How does sport influence athletes’ academic
achievements?
What is SPORT ?
11
 “Sports are well-established, officially governed
competitive activities in which participants are
motivated by internal and external rewards.”
-Coakley
 Do you agree with this definition of sport?
Why or why not?
Characteristics of Sport
12
 What kind of activities can
be classified as sport?
 Under what circumstances
can participation in
activities be considered
sport?
 What characterizes the
involvement of
participants in sport?
Sport in Educational Institutions
13
 Rapid period of growth starting with the first
collegiate athletic event in 1852, a crew race between
Harvard and Yale.
 Introduction and growth of sports at collegiate and
interscholastic levels.
 Concerns voiced about the educational value of sports.
Is athletics more important than academics or vice
versa? What factors contribute to this conflict?
Interscholastic Sports
14
 Sports contribution to educational goals.
 Arguments for and against interscholastic sports.
 Concerns:







Overemphasis on winning
Specialization at early age
Restriction of opportunities for students
Drug abuse
Soaring cost
Quality of leadership
Losing sight of educational goals
Intercollegiate Sport Issues
15
 Educational Sport -vs.- “Big Business”
 Governance
 NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA
 Pressure to Win
 May result in the abandonment of sportspersonship,
character and social development.
 Academic Achievement of “Student-
Athletes”

Graduation rates
Graduation Rates - Federal
16
Federal Graduation Rates for Division I Student-Athletes
Entering in 2003 (Percentages)
Student-Athletes
General Student Body
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
Black
38
50
44
49
63
63
Hispanic
51
58
55
47
70
73
White
62
67
65
62
74
84
Total
60
65
62
57
72
79
From: NCAA: 2009 NCAA Graduation Rates Report (www.ncaa.org).
Graduation Success Rates
17
Graduation Success Rates (GSR) for Division I Student-Athletes
Entering in 2003 (Percentages)
Overall
Male
Female
Football
Men’s
Basketball
Women’s
Basketball
Black
63
57
76
58
56
75
Hispanic
73
66
83
63
62
87
White
84
79
90
79
81
89
Total
79
72
88
67
64
83
From: NCAA: 2009 NCAA Graduation Rates Report (www.ncaa.org).
Intercollegiate Sport Issues
18
 Exploitation of
athletes
 Gambling
 Retention of Coaches
 Drug abuse
 Spiraling costs
 Media
Intercollegiate Sport Reform
19
 In 1990, athletes’ graduation rates were required
to be monitored.
 Elimination of athletic dormitories.
 Reduction of time allowed in practice/week, and
the length of the season.
 Can we fix the resemblance to the professional
model of sports or is it too late?
Girls and Women in Sport
20
 Title IX of the
Educational Amendment
Act 1972

“no person ... shall on the
basis of sex, be excluded
form participation in, be
denied the benefits of or be
subjected to discrimination
under any educational
program or activity receiving
federal assistance.”
 Challenges to Title IX.
 1988 Civil Rights
Restoration Act.
Girls and Women in Sport
21
 Compliance with Title IX – 3
Pronged Test



Proportionality
History and continued practice
Accommodation of interests and
abilities
 Impact of Title IX
 Interscholastic sports
 Intercollegiate sports
Physical Activity and Sport
in the Lives of Girls (1997)
22
 Exercise and sport
participation ...


Contributes to the development
of the “complete” girl ...
Impacts her social, physical,
emotional, and cultural
environment -- rather than to
one aspect of the girl’s life.
 Therapeutic and preventive
intervention.
 Enhancement of mental health
through opportunities to
develop positive feelings about
their body, improved selfesteem, tangible experiences of
competency and success, and
enhanced self-confidence.
 Sports contribute to
educational goals.
 Poverty substantially limits
many girls’ access to physical
activity and sport.
 Potential for girls to derive
positive experiences from
physical activity and sport is
limited by lack of opportunity
and stereotypes.
Girls and Women in Sport
23
 Expansion of opportunities due to:
 increased visibility of women athlete role models
 fitness movement
 women’s movement
 legislation
 Factors limiting participation:
 financial constraints
 societal constraints
 discrimination
Girls and Women in Sport
Female Coaches
24
 Since passage of Title IX,
the number of female
coaches has declined.


In 1970, 90% of intercollegiate
coaches of female teams were
women.
In 2006, only 42.4% of
intercollegiate coaches of
female teams were women.
 Reasons for under-
representation are varied:





Lack of well qualified women
coaches and administrators.
Lack of visibility of women as
role models in these careers.
Persistence of traditional
stereotypes.
Reluctance of those in power
to provide opportunities for
women.
Role demands and conflict.
Minorities in Sport
25
 Racism and prejudice in
sport...

Is sport “color blind”?
 Integration of sports

1946, Jackie Robinson
became the first AfricanAmerican to play
professional baseball for
the Dodgers.
 Underrepresentation of
minorities in certain sports
and sport administration.
Minorities in Sport
26
 Stacking - players from certain racial or ethnic
groups are disproportionately represented at certain
positions.

A reflection of stereotypical beliefs about racial and ethnic
groups?
 Other problems:
 Disparity in treatment by coaches
 Sacrifice of educational goals for athletic goals
 Social isolation
 Prejudiced attitudes held by coaches and teammates
Native Americans
27
 Limited participation in sports.
 Factors that serve to limit participation:
 Poverty
 Poor health
 Lack of equipment
 Concern for loss of cultural identity
 Use of Native-Americans as mascots is often a
reflection of stereotypical beliefs.
Sport for Children and Youth
28
 Youth sports have grown tremendously.
 Widespread concern about the nature and outcomes
of programs.
 Benefits associated with participation have long been
heralded.
 Many of the criticisms stem from the overemphasis on
winning.
 National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)
Sport for Children and Youth
29
 Leadership is critical factor
in governing the outcomes
associated with youth
sports.
 Need to structure youth
sports to include elements
that children find enjoyable
within their own games.
 Training of volunteers.
 Developmental vs.
Professional model.
Violence in Sport
30
 Overextension of physical and psychological
intimidation of opponents.
 Bench clearing “brawls” in sports.
 Use of “enforcers” on some teams.
 Violence at the upper levels of sports influences actions
of children and youth at lower levels of sport with the
help of the media glamorizing it.
 Spectator and parental violence.
Dealing with Violence in Sport
31
 How violent is too violent?
Where do you draw the
line?
 Are stricter penalties
imposed at all levels of
sport the solution?
 Will playing within the
spirit of the game and rules,
and respecting opponents
reduce violence?
Performance-Enhancing Substances
32
 Quest for excellence – “better performance through
chemistry”.
 Why do athletes use drugs?
 Is drug use a result of over conforming to the high
power and performance ethic in sport?
 How can the use of illegal performance-enhancing
substances in sport be controlled?