Girl Athletes in Ethiopia Finding Voice Empowerment Through Sport

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Kathleen Ralls Kathleen Ralls Limited Liability Corporation, USA kathleen.ralls@gmail.com

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5246-8244
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2022.150209
Keywords:
academic support; adolescence; emotional support; equity; life skills; quantitative analysis
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Abstract

Since sport extends well beyond the routine of practice and competition and leads to the development of skills that affect other areas of life, my study explored whether girl athletes experience greater voice empowerment as a result of playing sport. The term voice empowerment is unique to traditional leadership and character programming; it emerged from recent scholarship in the fields of education, sport, and psychology. In this study, 30 Ethiopian girl athletes aged 13 to 18 completed a 24-item questionnaire that focused on the constructs of sport, voice, and gender equity. My findings suggest that sport along with emotional and academic support, coupled with an effective life skills program, does affect voice empowerment.

Contributor Notes

Kathleen Ralls (ORCID: 0000-0001-5246-8244) is an award-winning public educator and sport coach in Massachusetts, US. She is the founder of Kathleen Ralls Limited Liability Corporation (KR LLC) that promotes female leadership. Her first book, Take Her Word for It: Sports Cultivate World-Class Leaders, came out in 2022. Email: kathleen.ralls@gmail.com

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Girlhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Girlhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
20
Keywords:
academic support; adolescence; emotional support; equity; life skills; quantitative analysis
Print Publication Date:
01 Jun 2022
Online Publication Date:
01 Jun 2022
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022

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