Module 3

Sociological foundations of physical education and sports

Introduction
Sport and physical activity are deeply embedded in American society. People routinely
According to Jamie Ballard (2019), over half of Americans watch the contest, and one-in-seven attend
parties related to the event. Many people skip work the following day, likely as a form of recovery from
the previous night’s activities.
As this example illustrates, sport and physical activity represent some of the most pervasive
cultural phenomena in North America, and they represent the focus of this book. Specifically, we adopt
a sociological focus to critically examine the role of sport and physical activity in society and the role
they play in people’s lives. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a foundation of that discussion. In
doing so, we define key constructs, outline the utility of adopting a sociological lens to study sport and
physical activity, and close by discussing the ways in which sport and physical activity represent a
microcosm of society.

Learning outcome
At the end of the module, you will be able to:

 Discuss the nature and scope of sport

 Explain how sport is a socializing force in the Filipino culture.
 Discuss the sociological implications of educational sport

Learning content
Sociology Defined:
 It is concerned with a study of people in a group or social context, not as isolated
individuals. It promises to help man understand what is happening to him in relation to
his environment.
 It is a science that is involved in developing a better social order characterized by good
happiness, tolerance and racial equality.

NATURE AND SCOPE OF SPORTS

"It is a structured physical activity, usually competitive, that requires complex skills and a high
level of individual commitment and motivation”

 Structured physical activity-structured means it is organized. All sports have governing

bodies that set rules and arrange events. It also requires physical preparation to some
extent.

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  Competitive-all sports have a competitive element, either between individual and team.
 Requires complex skills – skills have to be learned for an individual to become a performer.
Basic skills have to be learned first, which are later developed into more complex skills.

 High level of individual commitment and motivation - top athletes get to where they are by
training for long hours for many years and often have to make sacrifices. This of course leads
to rewards, such as winning, a sense of achievement, prize money or wages, which make all
the hard work worthwhile explains.

SPORTS FOR PEOPLE

 Physical sports- aim to use maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing
enjoyment to participants.

 Mind sports-requiring little or no physical exertion or agility.

 Athletics (track and field) is a term encompassing the human competitive sports and games
requiring physical skill, and the systems of training that prepare athletes for competition
performance.

 Endurance sports- a sports activity which key muscles are exercise at submaximal intensity
for prolonged periods of time

WHAT DOES SPORT DOES FOR PEOPLE

Wilkerson and Dodder have conducted research to determine what sport does for people they
found that sport has the following seven functions in society:

1. Emotional release. Sport is a way to express emotions and relieve tensions, it acts as a safety
valve and a catharsis to relieve aggressive tendencies.

2. Affirmation of identity. Sports often opportunities to be recognized and to express one's

individual qualities.

3. Social control. Sport provides a means or control over people in a society where deviance is
prevalent.

4. Socialization. Sport serves as a means of socializing those individuals who identify with it.

5. Change agent. Sport results in social change, new behavior patterns, and is a factor that changes
the course of history. For example, it allows for interaction of all kinds of people and for upward
mobility based on ability.

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 6. Collective conscious. Sport creates a communal spirit that brings people together in a cohesive
manner in search of common goals.

7. Success. Sport provides a feeling of success both for the participant and the spectator when a
player or a team with whom one identifies achieves success. To win in sport also is to win in life.

SPORTS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Sports plays an important role in educating students as it teaches them to become strong inside
and also develop a fit and sound body. Combining sports in education can help students to develop a
self -motivating spirit to do things on their own and having ownership of these. Day to day practice in
sports can help students imbibe leadership skills qualities like tolerance, patience and tips to handle
pressure as well though by sports it also teaches the value of team spirit and proficiency to share victory
and defeat.

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. What’s more important: the
academics or the athletics?

INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS
1. Sports contribution to educational goals.

 Participation in sports help students develop a high level of physical fitness and attain high
degree of proficiency in selected sport skills and knowledge of various aspects of the game.
 Other frequently cited benefits of participation include the development of sportsmanship,
cooperation, leadership, and loyalty.
 Sport can provide opportunities for growth, pave the way for the development of
friendships, develop decision-making and thinking skills, teach self-discipline and
commitment.
 Enhance one's self-esteem and personal status and promote the acceptance of others
regardless of race or ethnic origins.

2. Arguments for and against interscholastic sports.

Arguments For
 Involves students in school activities and increases interest in academic activities
 Builds the responsibility, achievement orientation, and physical vigor required for adult
participation in society
 Stimulates interest in physical activities among all students in the school
 Generates the spirit and unity necessary to maintain the school as a viable organization
 Promotes parental, alumni, and community support for all school programs

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Arguments Against
 Distracts the attention of students away from academic activities
 Perpetuates dependence and immaturity and focuses the attention of students on a set of
values no longer appropriate in industrial society
 Relegates most students to the role of spectator rather than active participant
 Creates a superficial, transitory spirit subverting the educational goals of the school
 Deprives educational programs of resources, facilities, staff, and community support

Concerns
 Overemphasis on Winning
 Pressure to specialize in one sport and win instead of participating in many.
 Restriction of Opportunities for Students
 Only limited number of students can participate due to limited resources.

INTERCOLLEGIATE SPORT
Educational Sport -vs- “Big Business”
Governance
NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA
Pressures to win
Usually result in the abandonment of sportsmanship, character and social development
Academic achievement of “student-athletes”
Graduation rates
Proposition 48 and subsequent rulings
Exploitation of athletes
Athletes can make millions for their school, and only receive a full scholarship in return.
INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Gambling
$2.5 billion was illegally wagered on the NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Championship.
Retention of Coaches
 Drug abuse
-Pressure to win and the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
 Media
-Had brought to light many illegal recruiting practices.

Intercollegiate Athletics Reform

In1990, athletes’ graduation rates were required to be monitored.

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Elimination of athletic dormitories.
Reduction of time allowed in practice/week, and the length of the season. Fix the resemblance
to the professional model of sports or is it too late.

Concerns in Sports Today

1. Discrimination against girls and women.
2. Children’s programs place too much emphasis on winning.
3. Children engaged in highly competitive sport at too early an age.
4. Money spent by “big-time” collegiate sport is excessive.
5. Recruitment of high school athletes is often scandalous.
6. Television threatens to destroy many of sports’ values.
7. Violence in sports is excessive.
8. Public support of professional sport is questionable.

Girls and Women in Sports

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.”

1. Challenges to Title IX (narrow interpretation)

Grove City College vs. Bell
2. 1988 Civil Rights Restoration Act (broad)
 Demanded equal opportunity for both sexes in all programs in any organization that
received federal funds.
3. Compliance with Title IX
 Proportionality
 History and continued practice
 Accommodation of interests and abilities
4. Impact of Title IX
 Interscholastic sports
 Intercollegiate sports Increases in number of teams, scholarships offered, and qualified
coaches hire

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Physical Activity and Sports in the Lives of Girls

1. Exercise and sport participation ...

 contributes to the development of the “complete” girl ...
 Her social, physical, emotional, and cultural environment -- rather than to
one aspect of the girl’s life.
 A therapeutic and preventive intervention to enhance the physical and mental health.
 enhances the mental health of girls through opportunities to develop positive feelings
about their body, improved self-esteem, tangible experiences of competency and success,
and enhanced self-confidence
2. Sports contribute to educational goals.
3. Poverty substantially limits many girls’ access to physical activity and sport.
4. The potential for girls to derive positive experiences from physical activity and sport is limited by
lack of opportunity and stereotypes.
Girls and Women in Sports
Expansion of opportunities for girls and women due to:
 increased visibility of women athlete role models
 fitness movement
 women’s movement
 legislation

Factors limiting participation

 financial constraints
 societal constraints
 discrimination

Women in the Olympics

 Women have fewer events and participants than men.
In 1972, U.S. team 342 men and 96 women.
In 1996, U.S. team 382 men and 280 women.
 1996 women made up 36.5% of the athletes.
 IOC slow to approve new events for women even though women are participating in world
competition in these events.

Female Coaches
 Since passage of Title IX, the number of female coaches has declined.
 Decline of female intercollegiate coaches
 In 1970, 90% of coaches of female teams were women.

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  In 2000, 42.2% of coaches of female teams were women.
 Reasons for underrepresentation are varied.
 Lack of well qualified women coaches and administrators.
 Lack of visibility of women as role models in these careers.

Media
1. Trivialization of females’ accomplishments
2. Lack of coverage
3. Reinforcement of traditional stereotypes

Myths
1. Participation leads to complications in childbearing.
2. Women more likely to be insured.
3. Participation threatens one’s femininity.

Minorities in Sport
1. Racism and prejudice in sport...
Is sport “color blind”?
2. Integration of sports
1946, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play professional baseball for
the Dodgers.
3. Participation patterns of minorities
Black athletes’ participation concentrated in a few sports.
Underrepresentation of minorities in certain sports and sport administration.
Stacking is the phenomenon where players from certain racial or ethnic groups are
disproportionately represented at certain positions.
A reflection of stereotypical beliefs about racial and ethnic groups?
No consensus as to the causes of stacking.
Other problems:

1. Disparity in treatment by coaches

2. Sacrifice of educational goals for athletic goals
3. Social isolation
4. Prejudiced attitudes held by coaches and teammates

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 Native Americans
 Limited participation by Native Americans 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 Individuals with Disabilities

Prior to the 1970s, individuals with disabilities had limited opportunities for participation in sport.
Expansion of sports opportunities
Changing societal attitudes
Use of sport for rehabilitation
Federal legislation
Federal legislation
PL 94-142 Education for All Handicapped Children Act
PL 93-112 Section 504 Rehabilitation Act
Amateur Sports Act of 1978 PL 95-606
USOC Committee on Sports for the Disabled
Recognition of amateur sports organizations for the disabled
Paralympics 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney involved more than 4,000 athletes,
competing in 18 sports for 550 medals.

Sport for Children and Youth

1. Youth sports have grown tremendously.

2. Widespread concern about the nature and outcomes associated with the programs.
3. Benefits associated with participation have long been heralded.
4. Many of the criticisms stem from the over emphasis on winning.
5. National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)
6. Leadership is a critical factor in governing the outcomes associated with youth sports.

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 7. Need to structure youth sports to include elements that children find enjoyable within their own
games.
8. Training of volunteers
9. Developmental vs Professional model
10. National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS)

International Sport: The Olympics

Olympic ideals are lofty goals due to:
 Olympics used to further political goals by some
 Media coverage
 Nationalism undermining the goal of unity
 Increased commercialization of the Games
 Amateurism vs professionalism
Restructuring of Games to attain goals in the future? How?

Amateur Sport

1. Amateur Athletic Union

2. State Games
3. US Olympic Festival
4. Amateur competitions for adults
 Senior Games
 Master’s competitions

Violence in Sport
1. Overextension of physical and psychological intimidation of opponents.
2. Bench clearing “brawls’ in sports
3. “Enforcers” on some teams
 Individuals on a team charged with protecting their own players by intimidating the
opponents.
4. 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.
5. Spectator violence and parental violence

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References
Internet
https://www.google.com/search?
q=sociology+foundation+of+physical+education+and+sports&rlz=1C1CHBD_enPH853PH853&oq=sociolo
gy+foundation+of+physical&aqs
https://www.academia.edu/26066135/
PPG_Nature_and_Scope_of_Physical_Education_Exercise_Science_and_Sport

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