THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AS 25
Joe: In terms of lads (boys), I think there's a sense of competitiveness and
sense of achievement which they really love. So games, competition, it's a big
motivating factor. For girls probably less so, probably more potential
insecurity issues in terms of PE so try and find ways where they won’t be
humiliated or won’t be shown to be rubbish at something.
Above, Joe provides an example of a classically patriarchic physical education class,
where competitiveness is seen as a male standard and females are expected to be passive
participants (Satina, Solmon, Cothran, Loftus & Stocking-Davidson, 1998). According to
Satina and colleagues, this is typical of PE classes in Western cultures and often alienates and
silences female students.
As with age, teachers seem to stereotype according to gender. Students who do not fit
with their teacher’s stereotypes will therefore suffer motivationally. Yet, there is no empirical
evidence to suggest that an ego-involved climate is more adaptive to boys than girls. This is
another example where the teaching context, in the form of the students, manipulates
teachers into utilizing maladaptive strategies.
Future Directions
The present study has shed light on a number of issues and has also highlighted
several potential avenues for future research. First, the majority of the sample in the
present study was of White ethnicity and worked in state-funded, mixed-gender schools.
It may be productive to conduct further investigation with PE teachers from private and
single-sex schools, as well as non-White PE teachers. A theme that ran throughout the
interview with Steven, a teacher in a private, boys-only school was how little he had to
focus on student motivation: “The majority of them (students) don't need motivating. The
nature of this school, the nature of the pupils, they are, not everyone, but by enlarge, the
majority are very well motivated towards their all round education”. Interestingly, despite