actively engaging women and girls: addressing the...

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Actively Engaging Women and Girls:Addressing the Psycho-Social Factors

A Supplement to Canadian Sport for Life

New Resource Launch!

Vicki HarberLouise HumbertLori JohnstoneSydney Millar

Penny WerthnerCS4L Summit, 2012

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Resource Development and Overview

Sydney Millar

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It is time to create optimal

conditions and systems that

support women and girls

to be active at all

stages of participation and

competition, and in all roles.

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Advisory Committee

• Sylvie Beliveau, Canadian Soccer Association

• Vickie Harber, University of Alberta

• Louise Humbert, University of Saskatchewan

• Penny Werthner, University of Ottawa

• Karin Lofstrom, CAAWS

• Sydney Millar, CAAWS

• Lori Johnstone, Project Manager

• With leadership by CAAWS and funding from

Sport Canada

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Premise

• Gender-based differences and qualities

related to psycho-social factors affect the

development and sustained involvement

of a participant/athlete/leader.

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Psycho-social factors

• Affect an individual psychologically or

socially

• Interactions between people and their

social environments, involving

psychological processes

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Purpose

• Increase awareness about the

experiences of women and girls

• Provide recommendations that address

the psycho-social factors influencing

female athlete development, leadership

and lifelong participation in sport and

physical activity

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Desired outcomes

Are lifelong active participants who transition through relevant participation LTAD stages as their life commitments,

responsibilities and goals evolve

Are engaged and valued leaders in sport, physical activity,

recreation, education, health, research, business, government,

etc.

Experience the benefits of optimal health and positive development

Are successful athletes and competitors who experience the

benefits and positive development gained through

competitive sport

Environments that support the development of physically

literate, active and healthy women and girls who:

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This resource is for everyoneDecision makers, myth breakers & action takers

• Sport and physical activity organizations• Leaders, coaches and officials• Educators and school administrators• Health promoters• Parents and family members• Community decision makers• Governments• Corporate Canada• Academics and researchers• Media

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Actively engaging women and girls~Scope of resource~

I. Intro to CS4L and LTAD

II. Benefits and barriers, need for a

comprehensive approach

III. Psycho-social factors

IV. CS4L/LTAD through the gender lens

V. Recommendations for action

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Everyone has a role to play

1. Effective policies to ensure gender equity

2. Promote and demonstrate the value of

women and girls in the system

3. Develop and strengthen capacity to

support the active engagement of women

and girls

4. Strengthen partnerships and collaborative

action to influence environments for

women and girls

5. Support, conduct and disseminate gender-

specific research and evaluation.

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Targeted recommendations

• National and Provincial/Territorial Sport and Multisport Organizations

• High Performance Coaches and Leaders • Community Program Leaders and

Coaches • Educators and School Administrators • Families and Caregivers • Recommendations to Make Sport and

Physical Activity More Welcoming to Sexual and Gender Diversity

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Additional Resources

From CAAWS…• Women & Leadership Workshops

�Aboriginal Women & Leadership• Women & Leadership Network• Women on Boards Resource• On the Move – getting girls active!

�Aboriginal, Newcomer, Racialized/Minority• Mothers in Motion• Sport & Physical Activity for Women 55-70+• Addressing Homophobia in Sport

Other…• The Female Athlete Perspective (CS4L)• Coaching Female Athletes (CABC)

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Overview of the Socio-Ecological Model

Psycho-Social Factors and PE

Dr. Louise Humbert

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Think of a woman of any age engaging in physical activity

or sport . . .

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The Relevance of an Ecological Approach

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“There is nothing so practical as a good theory”

Kurt Lewin (1951)

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Social-ecological model of influences on physical activity and

sport participation

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If we use such an approachwe can . . .

• Improve our understanding of the

complex and multi-dimensional factors

that facilitate and constrain women's

and girls’ activity decisions and

behaviours. (Froehlich-Chow, 2010; Gyurcski et al., 2006)

• Shift from a “focus on single issues, risk

factors, and linear causality, towards a

holistic concern to develop supportive

contexts . . .” (Dooris et. al., 2007)

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Intrapersonal: Characteristics of the individual

• Competence

� Do I have the skills I

need to participate?

• Confidence

� Will I stand out, will I

fit in

� Will I be “exposed”

• Autonomy

� Will I be able to

make choices?

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“It feels so good to be good enough”

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Interpersonal: Formal and Informal Social Networks

• Importance of

“attachment” and

relationships

� Friends

� Adults

• Family interest, Role

Models

• The “challenge of

competition”

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“If I could go with my friends, I would be so there”

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Environmental: Within and between organizations, where and

when, social climate

• Safe spaces-

� What is it like to be in

this place?

� Protected from harm

• Genuine Opportunities

• Where

� Proximity to their home

• When

� After school, care-giving

may be an issue

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“I belong here”

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Policy: Local, provincial and federal, guidelines, regulations,

laws . . .• Addressing barriers

� Access: opportunities,

facilities, scheduling

� Space

� Learn to opportunities• Allocation of resources

� Financial, Equipment,

Human, Media attention• Attractive to girls

� Girls only options

� Images

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In physical education . . .

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Many of them have a dream . . .

“I wish that everyone could go to phys-ed,

do the best they can, have fun and feel

comfortable. I know that sounds like a

dream, but I think feeling comfortable is

so important. If you don’t feel

comfortable you can’t be yourself, you

can’t do as well, you probably won’t join

in”

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Intrapersonal: We must teach . . .

• A strong foundation of movement

expertise will open up many doors . . .

� Physical Education

� LTAD model

• Increased opportunities to practice skills

with high rates of success

• Many girls may need to “catch up”

• A balanced program is key

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“At this age they start to avoid phys-ed; when

you are out in the middle of a game and you

don’t have the skills, you get laughed at because

everyone is watching. This does not happen

anymore because everyone is in partners or by

themselves, everyone has a piece of equipment,

everyone is working on their own skills,

everyone is getting the ball. I teach the skills

they need to participate. If we do play a game, it

is in small groups. The changes have been so

positive with the girls, they feel so much better

about what they are doing”

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Feeling exposed

• The impact of societal expectations regarding the female body are crippling for many . . .

• Physical activity settings often put girls and young women into situations in which they feel “exposed”

• Understand the importance of body image and “social physique anxiety”

How do I feel in and about my body

in a physical activity setting?

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Interpersonal:

• Positive social

atmosphere– Focus on fun &

friends

– Welcome new

students

– Cooperative games

and teambuilding

– Switching groups

regularly

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The importance of fun . . .

“If I was the one in charge

of phys-ed you know the

one that makes all of the

decisions, I would tell

them to make physical

education fun. The best

thing we could promise

someone is that they

would have fun. Fun is

the most important

thing.”

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Environment

• Who belongs in the

physical education

class and how do

they know?

• What content is

valued?

• Are their

opportunities for

choice of content,

challenge?

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Environment . . .

“This year our teacher respects us and

treats us better than anyone ever did. She

doesn’t treat us like we are lazy and not

good at stuff. She has respect for us, she

teaches us so many things, and she is so

friendly and everything. You know what it

is? She acts like she is excited about what

we are doing . . . and we are not on a team

or anything---- for the first time I feel like I

belong here”

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Policy: An all girls option

Teachers of the “all female courses”

attributed the positive environment to the

absence of boys: “It was so nice to see the

girls relax and enjoy without feeling

pressure from the boys…behaviours like

giggling, helplessness, placating to the

boys immediately returned when we had

to join with a boys’ class one day…almost

instant change…the girls themselves

noticed…”

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The future . . .“For as long as I can remember I have

hated phys-ed, but this year has been

really different. I hope that every person

has the opportunity to participate in a

program like this. Because of this program

I have had the chance to learn new

activities, I had fun, I made friends and I

am way more active. I doubt that I will take

PE after grade 10, but at least I won’t have

a memory of how much I hated it like my

mom does.”

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Psycho-Social Factors and High Performance Sport

Dr. Penny Werthner

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Psychological and Sociological Factors

Psychosocial factors - an interaction

between an individual and her social

environment, involving psychological

processes:• Autonomy and control

• Involvement and participation

• Cohesion, trust, belonging

• Diversity and tolerance

• Social support, positive feedback

• Safety, security

• Role conflicts, life demands

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Psychological and Sociological Factors

These factors affect girls and women of all

ages, their health, their participation, athletic

development, performance, and leadership

• OUR VALUES – What do we value about

women’s sport? What do you believe is

appropriate and inappropriate for female

participation ? Yes to women athletes?

What about women as national coaches?

• SKILL DEVELOPMENT - Are women athletes

getting the best coaches? The best teachers

of physical skills?

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Psychological and Sociological Factors

• Body image issues, at the competitive/high

performance levels – disordered eating, need to

look a certain way, wear certain types of clothing

• Social influences of teachers, peers, coaches? – Are

we creating an environment where girls learn how

to be competitive in a healthy way?

• Competitive settings – travel – safety issues,

vulnerability of young women athletes

• Homophobia

• Policies – resource allocation (financial and human)

discrepancies between women’s teams and men’s

team? Coach training? Androcentric sport system?

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Psychological and Sociological Factors

To create a more inclusive world of sport

and physical activity – for young female

participants, women athletes, older

women, women coaches - what do we do?

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Psychological and Sociological Factors

• Must understand the impact of these factors

• Create programs that work for young women who want

to become competitive athletes - physiological/

psychological/sociological considerations

• Coaches must understand how to coach women athletes

being aware of the differences in maturation, skill

development, communication (gender and still

individualize)

• Create new ways of looking at coach education – formal

and informal ways of learning – specific to coaching

women

• Increase involvement of women as leaders - as coaches,

as national coaches, as leaders of sport programs

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Key Themes and Findings from the Resource

Sydney Millar

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Calling all decision makers, myth breakers & action takers:

• Comprehensive approach is required to

create optimal conditions

• Many psycho-social factors are common

across the lifespan

• Untapped potential of on and off ramps

• Women leaders need to be recruited,

retained & supported in ways that

matter

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Calling all decision makers, myth breakers & action takers:

• Powerful influences of family, cultural

roles and expectations

• Critical role of physical education

• Urgent need to create and align well -

designed programs, classes, delivery

systems

• Value of competition and goal setting

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Calling all decision makers, myth breakers & action takers:

• Willingness to accept diversity and

create welcoming environments

• Need more gender-specific research &

evaluation

• Role of media and marketers

• CS4L/LTAD is a catalyst for change,

fuelled by kaizen

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Organizations have to demonstrate

a willingness to provide support to

women [and girls] during various

stages of the life cycle, and

differently than they may for men.

(Marshall, Demers & Sharp, 2010, p.197)

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CS4L/LTAD’s 10 Key FactorsThrough a Gender Lens

Dr. Vicki Harber

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FUNdamentals

• Physical Literacy

• opportunities to experience a wide

range of FMS within a wide range of

environments is limited

• particularly for young girls

• free play and deliberate

play is needed

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Specialization• early specialization

associated with

numerous negative

outcomes

• young girls attracted to

some sports (e.g. figure

skating, gymnastics,

synchro swimming,

dance/ballet)

• provide transfer/

transition opportunities

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Developmental Age

• wide range of impact of early or late

maturation on young girls

• influence on self-esteem, peer

acceptance, unwanted attention

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Trainability

• windows of trainability

• opportunities for appropriate exposure

to speed, stamina, strength, skill

acquisition, etc

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Physical, Mental, Cognitive & Emotional Development

• holistic approach to athlete

development

• age- and developmentally-appropriate

programs

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Periodization

• annual training, competition and

recovery plan

• beyond the physiological, what are the

best ways to support our female

athletes?

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Calendar Planning for Competition

• what is the right amount and kind of

competition for our developing female

athletes?

• balancing growth & development with

becoming physically literate, preferred

sport, school, friends, family…..

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The 10 year rule? Excellence Takes Time

• the search for talent

• talent identification

• talent development

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System Alignment and Integration

• within sport (athletes, coaches,

administrators, PSO’s, NSO’s,

regional/municipal sport clubs)

• outside sport (schools/education sector,

recreational sector, health sector)

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Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)

• what works today may not work

tomorrow

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Questions, Discussion

New resource will be available on the

CAAWS and CS4L websites!