|
...previous studies regarding gifted females females' attitudes toward sport and physical activity highlighted four key themes worthy of further investigation: self-perceptions of ability, relationship issues, outside expectations and pressures, and future plans. Through questionnaires and a focus group interview, it was found that participants did nor perceive themselves as significantly talented or special in any way. However, the study also reveals that, on the whole, the participants enjoyed being athletically talented and would nor wish to be any different. Both positive and negative aspects of being considered athletically talented were acknowledged, with the positive factors being mainly in regards to increased confid ence and self-esteem and opportunities to meet new people, while the negative problems were predominantly centered around friendship issues, gender problems, and outside pressures. The limitations of this research are recognized and implications for future practice and research are given.
**********
New Zealand's female athletes have a long history of "bringing home the gold": Yvette Williams was an Olympic gold medal winner for the long jump in 1952; Barbara Kendall has yachted her way home with gold, silver, and bronze medals; Sarah Ulmer, cyclist, wows the crowd; and Anna Lawrence has shown her stuff on the hockey field. The first female trainer behind a Melbourne cup winner was Shelia Laxon, another Kiwi gal. The New Zealand Women's Rugby Team is a two-rime winner of the Women's Rugby World Championship, and the Silver Ferns, the women's netball ream, were the 2001 winners of the Tri-Nations series. Most recently, New Zealand women have won gold, silver, and bronze medals in over 30 events of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In a sporting nation where giftedness is conceptualized from a multicategorical, multicultural perspective and is inclusive of athletics, these women serve as national icons--heroines who have achieved nor only in their sport, but also the respect, praise, and admiration of their fel low countrymen, women, and children.
While one might assume that New Zealand would have advanced and effective processes for identifying and harnessing such talent, a process that should begin in the formative years of one's education, the reality is that little has been done to cater appropriately to talented young sportswomen. A major concern to educators of gifted and talented students is the underachievement of females, and while New Zealand women have demonstrated their sporting prowess and athleticism, one cannot help but wonder how many more gold medals could be brought home if educators had insight into the experiences of young talented sportswomen. The ability to obtain this insight is restricted by the lack of research and literature surrounding the development of athletic talent. Most of the research related to gifted and talented females has concentrated on intellectual and academic giftedness. It is, however, a widely accepted view that many of the issues would be similarly evident regardless of the area of talent.
Examining talent development amongst adolescent female athletes requires "marrying" two very different fields of education: physical education and gifted and talented education. For some, this could prove a rather contentious partnership, for it must be acknowledged that sports have often been considered by advocates of gifted education as anti-intellectual. Analogies of coaches, equipment, starting line-up teams, and trophies are often used in arguing the case of equity. Indeed, there may be "imbalance" in the recognition given to athletic versus academic excellence within the education system and society at large. However, if, as in New Zealand, concepts of giftedness are inclusive of athleticism and the assumption is made that females with a range of talents are faced with internal and external hurdles to leap in the race toward excellence, an examination of the experiences of being athletically gifted is warranted. This partnership could potentially contribute to educators' understandings of the female p syche and its role in their achievement.
To understand this relationship, concepts of giftedness must be explored with particular focus on those inclusive of athletic talent development. From there, theory and research regarding females' participation in and attitudes toward sport and physical activity, as well as that of gifted and talented education, must be sifted in a search for parallels between what we know about gifted females striving for success in academic areas and those on the playing field or in the sports arena. This article provides a review of that literature, which acts as a catalyst for the case study research described. The perceptions of a small group of young, talented female athletes regarding their talent and its impact upon their views of themselves, their relationships, outside expectations, and future plans were sought via a questionnaire and follow-up focus group interview. The findings begin to answer the question, are our talented female athletes going for gold?
The Players
Giftedness has been conceptualized within the New Zealand education system using multicategorical, multicultural, inclusive approaches (Ministry of Education, 2000.). Giftedness is defined contextually and includes abilities, or potential, in one or more areas, be they academic, intellectual, creative, cultural, physical, or social (i.e., leadership). It is recognized that the way in which giftedness is conceptualized is dependent upon and shaped by cultural beliefs, attitudes, and customs and is sensitive to time and place. There is no national definition of giftedness, but there is a call for each school to develop or adapt one, which mirrors the abilities and qualities of importance to their population. Rather than defining giftedness, the Ministry of Education conceptualizes it as follows:
All individuals have strengths relative to their other capabilities; some individuals have exceptional abilities relative to most other people.
Individuals with exceptional abilities have certain cognitive, creative, and affective characteristics which give them the potential to achieve outstanding performance in one or more domains.
Children with such characteristics have learning needs which are different from those of other children in some significant aspects. They therefore require differentiated learning opportunities and may require emotional and social support if they are to realize their potential (Working Party on Gifted Education, 2001, no page given).
This broad, liberal approach, potentially inclusive of those students with exceptional sporting capabilities, differs from other parts of the world in which athletics remains outside the arena of gifted education. With sport undoubtedly playing a major role in the lives of many New Zealanders, it also has a part in our education of gifted and talented youth.
One of the earliest multicategorical definitions of giftedness that also addressed physical abilities was the Marland (1972) definition. However, the inclusion of "psychomotor" ability was short-lived, "primarily because society and communities already support the development of gifts and talents in this area" (Rogers, 2001, p. 26). This removal of physical coordination and athletic skill was nor an act of denying or devaluing an important domain of ability, but a recognition that, financially, athletics is the rich cousin to other areas of talent development. As Rogers stated "Because athletes and athletic events serve to entertain the public, the public gladly pays for the development of those gifts" (p. 26). In 1986, the New Zealand Department of Education drafted a similar definition to that of the Marland Report (1972), but inclusive of several differentiating cultural factors: psychomotor skills; cultural traditions, values, and ethics; and aesthetics (Ministry of Education, 2000). Though this definiti on has never been mandated, it has served as guidance in the development of school-based concepts.
Another guiding factor is the holistic view of special abilities valued by the indigenous Maori culture, as described in the research of Bevan-Brown (1996). She described a "multitude" of different abilities and qualities, including sporting prowess. In prioritizing the abilities and qualities valued by Maori culture, it should be recognized that physical ability was cited by only 1.25% of those interviewed in Bevan-Brown's research, but was included amongst the 10 most outstanding, nonetheless. The bicultural nature of New Zealand necessitates recognition of physical talent.
Other contemporary theories that have influenced New Zealand educators are those of Gagne (2000) and Gardner (1983), both of which recognize athletic talent. Gagne differentiates between giftedness as aptitude and talent as achievement, with the fruition of perceptual/motor abilities into athletic talents. Gardner describes the ability to use the body in performing certain tasks as bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Ramos-Ford and Gardner (1997) explicitly included athletes in explaining this intelligence, describing the child with "keen athletic ability in organized sports or on the playground" (p. 57).
While watching a young girl successfully leap hurdles, score goals in soccer, or defend the hockey goal, one begins to observe gifted behaviors, another facet of conceptions of giftedness, which has impacted upon the thinking of New Zealand educators. Clem Hill (1977), a New Zealand advocate of gifted education, described the behaviors of those with talent in the title of his paper: "Gifted is as gifted does." Renzulli (1978) took this a step further in his definition of giftedness, describing the interaction of three basic human traits: above-average ability; task commitment; and creativity. He believes gifted and talented individuals are those who possess, or are capable of developing, these three clusters of behavior and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance."
In New Zealand, where sport is valued as an area of human endeavor, Renzulli's behavioral definition can be applied. The observable, physical characteristics that surround athletic ability include: "excellent control of body movement; excellent handeye co-ordination; ability to manipulate objects with ease; ability to learn new physical movements with ease; and a strong sense of rhythm" (Moltzen, 1996, p. 52). The abilities maybe displayed and applied across a wide range of sports, but it is the demonstration of these through the interaction of above-average ability, task commitment, and creativity that manifests itself as gifted behavior. For the purposes of...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos
have been removed from this article.
Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication
name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company
analysis or best practices in managing your organization,
Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business
professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible,
authoritative information they need to support their business
goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting,
company research or defining management best practices -
Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
|
