This article was downloaded by: [University of Leeds]On: 10 November 2014, At: 05:25Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Race Ethnicity and EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cree20

Race and Gender Differences in theSources of Students’ Self‐schematafor Sport and Physical ActivitiesLouis Harrison Jr a , Amelia M. Lee b & Don Belcher ca Louisiana State University, Department of Kinesiology , 112Long Fieldhouse, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA E-mail:b Louisiana State University, Department of Kinesiology , 112Long Fieldhouse, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USAc University of New Hampshire, Department of Kinesiology ,Durham, NM 03824, USAPublished online: 22 Feb 2011.

To cite this article: Louis Harrison Jr , Amelia M. Lee & Don Belcher (1999) Race and GenderDifferences in the Sources of Students’ Self‐schemata for Sport and Physical Activities, RaceEthnicity and Education, 2:2, 219-234, DOI: 10.1080/1361332990020204

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1361332990020204

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information(the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor& Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warrantieswhatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions andviews of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. Theaccuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independentlyverified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liablefor any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly inconnection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race Ethnicity and Education, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1999 219

Race and Gender Differences in theSources of Students' Self-schemata forSport and Physical ActivitiesLouis HARRISON, JRLouisiana State University, Department of Kinesiology, 112 Long Fieldhouse,Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA (e-mail lharri@.lsu.edu)

AMELIA M. LEELouisiana State University, Department of Kinesiology, 112 Long Fieldhouse,Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA

DON BELCHERUniversity of New Hampshire, Department of Kinesiology, Durham, NM 03824, USA

ABSTRACT The most recent United States Surgeon General's report underscores the needfor increased levels of regular physical activity in the US population in general, and inminorities and women in particular. Insight into variations in participation patterns inparticular sports and physical activities may provide insight into the differing activity levelsin women and minorities. Resent research, utilizing self-schemata conceptual framework,indicates that particular physical activities are viewed as self-defining for race and gendergroups. This study investigated the sources of self-schemata and whether these sources varyby race and gender. Questionnaire data and subsequent factor analyses revealed four stablefactors: TV/modeling, expectations, parental influence, and effort. Multivariate analyses ofthese factors revealed gender and racial differences. Understanding the dynamics of self-schemata development and the influences of race and gender holds potential for improvinggeneral health, teacher education programs and pedagogical practices for meaningfulintervention.

Sources of Differences in Students' Self-schemata for Sport and PhysicalActivities

Findings suggest that preferences for, and active involvement in, specific sport andphysical activities differ according to gender, social and economic status, ethnicityand race (Greendorfer, 1994). In a recent survey (Harrison, in press) respondentsoverwhelmingly indicated that certain racial groups were predisposed to partici-pation in particular sport and physical activities. For example, most indicated thatAfrican-Americans were better suited for activities such as basketball, boxing, and

1361-3324/99/020219-16 ©1999 Taylor & Francis Ltd

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

220 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

sprinting while European-Americans were considered better suited for activities suchas golf and hockey. Other studies (e.g. Lee & Austin, 1986; Lee et al, 1988;Brustad, 1996) point to a clear distinction between activities deemed appropriate formales, and those appropriate for females. While inquiry into issues concerninggender and sport participation is by no means exhaustive, empirical examination ofracial influences on sport and physical activity participation is even more sparse. Fewattempts have been made to explain relationships between feelings of competence,performance, and appropriateness of activities across the parameters of race, ethni-city, and/or gender even though these constructs are known to mediate behavior.

Emerging evidence and theoretical perspectives indicate that people of differentgenders, races, and ethnicities vary with respect to their physical activity choices,their persistence, and affective reactions during participation (Heath et al., 1991;Harrison, 1995, in press). The explanation for these choices and motivational beliefsmust extend beyond traditional anthropometric, physiological and social constructs.This research provides a first step toward explaining an alternative perspective usinga multidisciplinary theoretical framework found in psychological literature. Thistheoretical model focuses on the organized bits of information that make up theself-concept. These units of information are called self-schemata (Markus, 1977).While the self-concept is considered a comprehensive accumulation of ideas, images,feelings and preferences and individual holds about the self (Jenkins, 1982), self-schema refers to the individual cognitive structures that come together to form theself-concept. Self-schemata form networks of interconnections that categorize anddirect a person's perception. These self-schemata search for and incorporate in-coming information in schema relevant terms (Bem, 1981). Self-schemata also serveto organize knowledge. Self-schemata are derived from repeated evaluations of one'sbehavior by the self and others and direct the processing of incoming informationabout the self that in turn summarizes, explains past behavior, and guides futurebehavior (Markus, 1977). Schematic processing is highly selective, thus allowing theindividual to impose his or her own structure and meaning onto the immenseassortment of incoming stimuli. Self-schemata become elaborated and differentiatedwith each new experience and provide a frame of reference for the individual and aspecific guide for social behavior (Markus, 1983).

Self-schemata develop with respect to characteristics or attributes of the self thatare distinctively salient and obviously available for social evaluation. Some charac-teristics of the self may be so salient that many individuals with similar characteris-tics develop similar schemata called universal or core schema (Markus et al., 1982;Markus & Nuris, 1986). Universal self-schemata are always available for socialcomment and distinguishable early in life. Gender and race are salient characteristicsthat satisfy these universal schema criteria.

Gender as a Self-schema

Several studies argue convincingly for the existence of gender as a self-schema (Bem,1981; Markus et al., 1982). Evidence supporting the concept of gender self-schemata is apparent in research showing how children's and adult's concepts of

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 221

appropriateness (Csizma et al, 1988; Lee et al., 1997) and success estimations (Lee& Austin, 1986; Lee et al, 1988) for sport and physical activities differ by gender.While some authors (e.g. Hall, 1996) argue for recognition of a gender continuumas opposed to a dichotomy, one must acknowledge the prevailing social tenet.

Brustad (1996) suggests that from a relatively early age vigorous physical activityand exercise is regarded as more appropriate for males than females. These precon-ceptions are apparently remnants of what Anthrop & Allison (1983) label the'Victorian Influence' whereby sport and vigorous physical activity were considereddangerous to females and could possibly damage their reproductive capacity. Selec-tion of perceived gender-appropriate activities produces rigid concepts of one'sabilities and behaviors, undoubtedly affects the decisions made concerning involve-ment in sport and movement activities, and thus influences the development ofself-schemata for particular activities.

Race as a Self-schema

Attempts have been made to identify race as a universal schema (Smith & Lewis,1985; Harrison, 1995). Race, especially in the case of most Americans of Africandecent, is an undeniably salient characteristic that is distinguishable early in life andtherefore applicable to self-schema theory. It is important to note that the conceptof race throughout this article is based on a social as opposed to a biological orgenetic definition. Racial groups, as viewed in this article, are individuals who sharea significant degree of social, political, and historical experiences in addition to acommon geographical ancestry (LaVeist, 1996).

Hewstone et al. (1991) attest to the prevalence of race as a prominent organizingprincipal in memory categorization, and the notion of a racial self- schema wasdemonstrated by Smith & Lewis (1985) in a study using African-American children.Smith & Lewis (1985) found that self-schemata in a particular domain (in this case,race) can expedite processing of schema-consistent data and retard the cognitiveprocessing of information that conflicts with one's identity. Miller (1998) providesa socio-historical context that is important in the framing of race and sport in theUSA. Support for the notion of racial self-schemata in sport and physical activity isunfolding in studies that show a marked difference in sports and physical activitiesdeemed appropriate for African-Americans and European-Americans (Heath et al.,1991; Harrison, in press), differential modes of socialization into sport (Greendorfer& Ewing, 1981) and different sport hero choices (Harris, 1994). Like gender, raceis a powerful socializing agent which exerts its robust influence in a myriad of socialbackdrops. Sport and physical activity appear to be a fertile setting for the develop-ment of a racial self-schema.

The constructs of self-schema conceptualized by Markus (1977) offer a basicframework for researchers exploring variables related to patterns of motivatedbehaviors. Self-schema theory has been applied in studies investigating differences ingender (Bem, 1981; Markus et al, 1982), race (Smith & Lewis, 1985; Harrison,1995), exercise behavior (Kendzierski, 1990, 1998; Estabrooks & Courneya, 1997)body weight (Markus et al., 1987) and competence (Cross & Markus, 1994). This

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

222 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

framework can also provide a means of studying how race, gender, culture, back-ground, sport and physical activity choices and other variables serve to guide theindividual's self perceptions, motivational cognition and affect.

Since the case has been made for differences in self-schema that develop as afunction of race and gender, the next logical step is to determine the antecedents ofthese differences. What are the sources that influence the development of self-schema for sport and physical activity and how do these differ by race and gender?These are important questions to ask.

Factors in the Development of Race and Gender Self-schemata

Previous findings substantiate the appearance of racial awareness as early as pre-school (Porter, 1971; Williams & Morland, 1976; Ramsey, 1987). Hewstone et al.(1991) attest to the pervasiveness of race as a means of classifying individuals in awide array of social situations, with media being one of the most powerful. Whilevery young children develop racial awareness very early in life, racial and ethnicidentity development becomes more salient during adolescence (Helms, 1985; for areview see Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990). This may suggest that studies ofsport and physical activity preferences that vary by race or ethnicity should targetstudents in middle or junior high school.

Media may also provide a substantial influence by bringing otherwise inaccessiblemodels into the homes of children. The influence of a model's similarity (Gould &Weiss, 1981; McCullagh, 1987) and model status (McCullagh, 1986), and the factthat television readily brings these models, particularly sports figures, into the homesof youth, supports the notion of television as a powerful influence on the develop-ment of children's self-schema for sport and physical activity. Television offers aplethora of examples of behaviors and activities that could possibly be viewed byyouth as race or gender appropriate. It also offers ample opportunity for youthto identify with and emulate the skills, behaviors and attitudes of high statusindividuals.

Expectations of significant others have been shown to exert a powerful influenceon the academic and social behavior of today's youth. Educational and psychologicalliterature are replete with studies documenting the effects of expectations on anindividual's actions (for reviews see Miller & Turnbull, 1986; Jussim, 1990; for ameta-analysis see Harris & Rosenthal, 1985). The documented effects of expecta-tions have been noted in teachers' expectations for student behavior (Babad et al,1982; Feldman & Theiss, 1982; Simpson & Erickson, 1983; Ross & Jackson, 1991)and children's expectations for peer behavior (Harris et al., 1990). Martinek et al.(1982) suggest that race and gender, among other variables, are mediators in theexpectancy process in physical education classes and sport settings. Wigfield &Harold (1992) suggest that academia and sport are areas in which teacher expecta-tions have a significant impact. Just as race and gender in many of these studiesstimulated certain expectations in academic settings, the sport and physical activitybackdrop provides a myriad of opportunities and situations in which expectations forperformance may vary. This research makes the notion of the development of

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 223

self-schemata for sport and physical activity being influenced by expectationsplausible.

Research indicates that the process by which children are socialized into sport andphysical activities differs by race and gender (Greendorfer & Ewing, 1981; Anthrop& Allison, 1983). Furthermore, the agents and influences in this socializationprocess have been theorized by Greendorfer (1994) to differ by both race andgender. The perception of the quantity and significance of effort and ability inattaining success have been shown to differ by gender in some domains (Eccles,1983), while other studies report no gender differences (Williamson et al., 1997). Ifeffective intervention strategies are to be implemented, these concepts must beclearly understood.

Greendorfer & Ewing (1981) also suggest that there are racial and genderdifferences in the influence parents exert on children with regard to sport andphysical activity. These authors report that while same-sex parental influence hasbeen established for European-Americans, empirical data on African-Americans aresparse. The implication here is that the dynamics of parental influence may bedifferent in non-European-American families. These unique factors may influencethe development of self-schemata that are unique to racial gender and ethnic groups.

It has been argued that television, modeling, and expectations influence thedevelopment of self-schema for sport and physical activity (Harrison, 1995). If thesecomponents of schema development, along with those of parental influence andeffort do indeed differ by race and/or gender, the notion of the emergence of aself-schema for particular sports and physical activities, through the influence ofthese factors, is supported. The purpose of this study was to assess students' beliefsabout the sources of their self-defined competence and motivation to participate inmovement activities, and determine if these sources differ as a function of race,gender, and/or socio-economic status (SES).

Method

This study was conducted in two parts. Participants for part 1 were 400 (127African-American, 223 European-American; 206 males, 194 females) middle andjunior high school students from several different schools in southern Louisiana. Allsubjects completed the Reasons Why I'm Good at Some Physical Activities(RWIGSPA) questionnaire. Students were asked to respond to each item on a5-point Likert scale (1 = not true; 5 = very true). The 40 items in this questionnairewere derived from a questionnaire used previously in sport settings to assessself-efficacy in sport and physical activities (Chase & Feltz, 1995), previous research,and informal open-ended responses from a previous pilot study. The items includedin the questionnaire were intended to assess differences in the influence of factorsthat are theorized to influence the development of self-schemata. Participants wereasked to consider activities in which they perceived a high level of competence andindicate to what extent the various experiences in the items on the questionnaireinfluenced their competence. The data were analyzed and reduced via principalcomponents factor analysis followed by a varimax rotation.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

224 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

A principal components factor analysis was performed in part 1 of the study tofacilitate emergence of stable factors. The minimum loading used to identify itemsto factors was 0.40. This analysis yielded four stable factors with eigenvalues greaterthan 1. These factors were labeled TV/Modeling, Expectations, Parental Influence,and Effort. Items on the RWIGSPA loading on factor 1, TV/Modeling, askedparticipants the degree to which they viewed sports and sport models on televisionand in their immediate environment. Factor 2, Expectations, contained itemsalluding to the expectations of friends, teachers, and coaches as to the abilities ofparticipants to perform in sport and physical activity. Parental Influence, factor 3,indicated the influence of the participants' parents on his or her performance insport and physical activity. Lastly, factor 4, Effort, revealed the extent to whichparticipants attributed effort to success in sport and physical activities. Results of theexploratory factor analyses are presented in Table I.

In part 2 of this study the RWIGSPA was revised utilizing the items withacceptable factor loadings, and administered to another group of participants.Participants in this part of the study were 168 seventh and eighth grade students (38African-American males, 39 African-American females, 43 European-Americanmales, and 48 European-American females) from a semi-rural school in a southeastern state. A stratified sample of students was taken with attempts to balance thesample by race and gender. The school, which housed grades 7 through 12, waschosen for several unique characteristics. First, the student body was comprised ofa moderately balanced racial population of African-Americans and European-Americans. Second, there are no private schools in the area and a substantial rangeof SES levels was thus evident within the same school. The area within the schooldistrict can be classified as somewhere between urban and rural with characteristicsof both. These features allowed for a diverse sampling of participants.

For each participant age, race and gender data were recorded. Racial classificationwas determined by visual inspection and researcher-participant interaction. Anyparticipant whose racial classification was in doubt was excluded from the analysis.This procedure was followed to avoid questions and discussions on sensitive racialissues

The participant's father's occupation and mother's level of education were re-quested from participants to estimate unobtrusively the participants' SES. In caseswhere there was no father, stepfather, mother, stepmother, or individuals occupyingthose roles, the value was simply coded as zero. Prior research in this geographicalarea indicated that the father's occupation and mother's educational level werereliable indicators of SES (Teddlie et al., 1984). All occupations included in the datawere ranked by average income (Kosters, 1991; Waier et al, 1991; US Departmentof Labor, 1994), combined with the mother's level of education and partitioned intoquartiles to be included in subsequent data analysis. Inclusion of SES in dataanalysis was to diminish the possibility of SES as an underlying influence on analysesconducted by race.

A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the fit of the data to themodel. A 2(race) X 2(gender) X 4(SES) MANOVA was used to assess racial,gender, and SES differences across factors.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 225

TABLE

RWIGSPA Items

1. Factor analysis (varimax rotation)

1

of RWIGSPA

Factors

2

items

3 4

I watch lots of sports on TV. 0.63I learn by watching famous 0.70athletes play.I try to play like my favorite 0.68athlete.I learn by watching sports on TV. 0.84Watching sports on TV helps me 0.78to play better.I like playing a game after 0.57watching it on TV.My friends say I'm good at 0.69sports.My teacher/coach says I'm good. 0.78The 'good' players pick me to be 0.66on their team.My teacher/coach always chooses 0.67me to be a leader in sportactivities.I know my teacher/coach is 0.72impressed by my athletic ability.My parents help and encourage me 0.78in sports.I learn by watching my mom/dad 0.61play.My parents expect me to try hard 0.58in sports.The harder I practise, the better 0.55I play.It takes hard work to be a good 0.75athlete.If I worked harder, I could be a 0.66good athlete.

Note: Factor 1 = TV/Modeling, Factor 2 = Expectations, Factor 3 = Parental Influence, and Factor4 = Effort. Only factor loadings greater than 0.40 are presented.

Results

Confirmatory Factor Analyses

A confirmatory factor analysis was performed after administering the revised ques-tionnaire to the participants in part 2 of the study to test whether the model fittedthe data collected in part 2 of this study. Internal consistency of the resulting scalewas determined utilizing reliability coefficients (Cronbach's alpha). The resultingreliability was an acceptable 0.83.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

226 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

Race and Gender Differences

The items in all factors were averaged. To analyze differences in the sources of theseinfluences by race, gender, and SES a 2(race) X 2(gender) X 4(SES) MANOVA wasutilized to assess group differences. While there were no significant main effects, asignificant interaction of race and gender (Wilks's Lambda = 0.93, F[4,104] = 2.10,p = 0.09) prompted a subsequent 2(Race) X 2(Gender) MANOVA analysis. Theensuing analysis again resulted in a significant race by gender interaction (Wilks'sLambda = 0.91, F[4,l 16] = 2.75, p = 0.03).

Each factor was analyzed via 2(race) X 2(gender) ANOVAs to detect race andgender differences. Analysis of factor 1, TV/Modeling, revealed significant maineffects of both race (F[l,131] = 9.58, p = 0.00) and gender (F[l,131] = 21.99,p = 0.00). Observation of means affirms that African-Americans scored higher thanEuropean-Americans and males scored higher than females on items related to theinfluence of television and modeling on their feelings of competence in a selectedactivity.

Examination of factor 2 uncovered a significant main effect of gender(F[l,135] =3.15, p = 0.08). Males indicated that the expectations of teachers,coaches, and peers were prominent in their perceptions of ability in sport andphysical activities more so than females.

Factor 3 (parental influence) revealed a significant race by gender interaction(F[l,135] =4.04, p = 0.05). Inspection of means disclosed that African-Americanmales and European-American females scored somewhat higher than African-American females and European-American males on items reflecting the partici-pants' perceptions of their parents' expectations.

Finally, analysis of factor 4 (Effort) exposed a significant main effect for gender(F[l,140] = 7.36, p = 0.01). Females scored significantly higher than males on itemsreflecting effort. Means are depicted graphically in Figs 1-4 to facilitate interpret-ation.

Discussion

When compared to other groups, African-American males were more likely tobelieve that their positive feelings about their competence resulted from viewingvarious role models performing on television or in their neighborhoods. This notionseems plausible in light of what is easily observed in many sport settings. African-American athletes have become prominent in several sports that are often tele-vised—basketball, football, baseball and track. These sports exhibit obviousoverrepresentation of African-Americans. Televised and local sport figures providerole models for sport and physical activity participation and behavior.

Bandura (1969) suggested that selection of observed modeling stimuli is afunction of model characteristics and attributes. Bandura theorizes that a model'scompetence, age, and gender will attract more attention from observers with similarcharacteristics than would models without these distinctions. Harrison (1995)argues that race should be added to this list of salient characteristics. Furthermore,

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 227

Means by Race and Gender

Factor 1

H Af. Am. Mates | Af. Am. FemalesD Euro. Am. Males ( Euro. Am. Females

FIG. 1. Factor 1: TV/Modeling.

the encoding process necessary to retain a prototype of behavior in memory isfacilitated when the model is socially powerful or influential (McCullagh, 1986).When youngsters observe sports celebrities being rewarded for particular behaviors,and the youth themselves are rewarded for imitating these behaviors, these youngpeople learn modeling cues that carry greater probabilities of reinforcement. Simi-larly, when not rewarded, ridiculed, or ostracized for imitating behavior of modelsexhibiting different attributes, these youths may avoid, ignore, and generalize thislack of attention to future models exhibiting the same characteristics. Bandura'stheoretical framework provides sturdy scaffolding for the conceptualization of self-schema for sport and physical activities. Imitating modeled behavior provides a basisfor the development of self-schemata especially when the modeled behavior islimited to particular sports and physical activities. In the case of African-Americans,males particularly, high status, socially powerful models will elicit greater attentionand be rehearsed, practised, or replicated more often. The development of self-schemata through modeled behavior is a plausible concept.

The results of this study complement the findings of research on the effects ofmodel similarity (Gould & Weiss, 1981), and model status (McCullagh, 1986) onperformance. The abundance of African-American models (especially males) inprofessional sports, and the lofty status imparted on them is suggested in thesefindings as well as others (Harris, 1994). Additionally, some researchers reveal thatAfrican-Americans spend more time watching television than European-Americans(Anderson & Williams, 1983; Peterson-Lewis & Adams, 1990). The overabundanceof African-American role models, especially males, coupled with more time spent

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

228 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

Means by Gender

Factor 2

Males Females

FIG. 2. Factor 2: Expectations.

observing these models in sport and other situations (commercials, movies, musicvideos, etc.), contribute to the disparity observed in factor 1 (TV/Modeling). Thedifferences noted in factor 1 also reflect the gender variance observed in sport.Although African-American subjects outscored European-Americans on this factor,males easily outdistanced the females. Even casual observation of televised sportingevents reveals an obvious gender disparity. This variation may be an obvious reasonfor the difference in gender response.

These results support the contention that television exerts a considerableinfluence on American youth. This study did not address viewing habits, andtherefore cannot speculate as to the effect of any dose-related response, but there arethose who believe that American culture is virtually created by television, films, andadvertising (Wikan, 1995). The self-schema of American youth (especially African-American males) may be developing in an integrated network of knowledge aboutwhat abilities individuals of different racial and ethnic backgrounds possess, whattheir preferences are, and what level of success they can expect to achieve. Thesestereotypical portrayals might influence youth of particular races, ethnic back-grounds, and genders to focus their interests and participation on certain sports andphysical activities and avoid other activities deemed inappropriate (Harrison, 1995).

The results of this study also point out a contrast in the second factor, expecta-tions, with males averaging higher scores than females. Expectations are known toexert a potent influence on student behavior whether the sources are classroomteachers (Babad et al., 1982; Feldman & Theiss, 1982; Cooper, 1983), physical

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 229

Means by Race and Gender

Factor 3

9 Af. Am. Males I Af. Am. FemalesD Euro. Am. Males 1 Euro. Am. Females

FIG. 3. Factor 3: Parental Influence.

education teachers and coaches (Martinek et al, 1982), or peers (Harris et al.,1990). The influence expectations exerts on youth by parents, teachers, coaches andpeers can conceivably impact the development of a self-schema for particular sportsand physical activities by communicating these expectations through verbal, non-verbal, and differential modes of feedback about performance (Wigfield & Harold,1992). This influence may be magnified in adolescence when peer influence,participation in group activities, and racial identification (for a review see Spencer &Markstrom-Adams, 1990) is important.

The findings regarding parental influence present an interesting picture in thatAfrican-American males and European-American females reported greater depen-dence on this factor as a source of competence. At first glance this may appear to bean anomaly, but the reasons underlying the scoring on this factor may be verydifferent for participants of different races and genders. Greendorfer & Ewing(1981) suggest that European-Americans may receive specific influences frompowerful but specific socializing agents. For European-American females, theparental influence may be due to parental concern for the daughter's health andpromotion of a healthy lifestyle. Brustad (1996) suggests a relationship betweenhigher levels of perceived parental enjoyment/encouragement and females' greaterattraction to physical activity. Additionally, the recent rise in female participation asa consequence of gender equity issues in sport and physical activity may beresponsible for increased parental awareness and involvement. In the case ofAfrican-American males, viewing sport as an economic commodity (Edwards,1971), a means of procuring an otherwise unobtainable higher education, or a

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

230 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

Means by Gender

Factor 4

1 Males 1 Females

FIG. 4. Factor 4: Effort.

source of motivation for academic success may stimulate parental influence in sportand physical activity. Though these may result in the observed higher scores forparental influence, the impetus for these results is unique and warrants furtherstudy.

The resulting scores on factor 4 (Effort) indicated that effort was perceived to beimportant to success in sport and physical activity in females. Even more noticeablewas the overall level of factor 4 in comparison with other factors. It is evident thatthe participants in this study have a high regard for the importance of effortexpenditure to gain competence in sport and physical activity. It is not clear if thisis an artifact of the values of this particular population, or the values of students atthis stage of development.

Taken together, the results of this study suggest that the structures of self-knowl-edge representing the movement competence of African-American and European-American males and females might be derived from different sources. These findingsare important in light of the recent report from the Surgeon General (US Depart-ment of Health and Human Services, 1996), which highlights the low physicalactivity levels of minorities and women. A greater understanding of the developmentof self-schemata and the past experiences and environmental influences that guidethe processing of self-related information might provide information that can lead tosuccessful intervention strategies and a healthy lifestyle for all.

Conceptually, viewing race and gender as potent influences on the developmentof self-schemata provides a comprehensive framework for studying physical activity

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 231

participation patterns in both children and adults. While race and gender arecertainly not the only influences in operation, the study presented suggests that thesevariables should not be ignored when conducting inquiry into physical activityparticipation patterns.

As in all research, limitations of this study should be pointed out. While thepopulation studied was virtually ideal, studying an isolated population preventsgeneralization of the findings, but does establish a basis for future studies. Replica-tion of this study with more diverse populations will aid in this domain. Also ofconcern is the procedure to determine SES. Determining the participants' father'soccupation and mother's education can be misleading in view of the changingdynamics of the American family. Future studies should seek to include moreprecise measures of SES to assess adequately its impact.

By the year 2000, approximately 30-40% of the schoolchildren in the USA will bestudents of color (Hodgkinson, 1985), with enrollment in urban areas considerablyhigher. Coupled with the anticipated demographic change is the trend occurring inteacher preparation programs (Villegas, 1990), with the population of teachersbecoming nearly 95% European-American. With greater understanding of theeducational process these opposing trends imply that there may be a need toexamine teacher education practices to insure the creation of positive learningenvironments. For example, in physical education teacher education programs,there has been a call to prepare culturally sensitive teachers (Stanley, 1995). Perhapsan understanding of the underlying processes in self-schema development for sportand physical activity and specific research-based strategies for expanding the rangeof activities for which minority students develop self-schemata can proceed beyondchanging attitudes, which is the goal of many multicultural education programs inexistence today. The few research studies that have been conducted in multiculturaleducation effectiveness have shown that these efforts accomplish little to changeattitudes on a long-term basis, and even less in affecting teacher practice (Stanley,1995).

Understanding the dynamics involved in the development of race and genderself-schemata for sport and physical activity with the intent to broaden the scope ofthese schemata for the minority population may address both of these issues. A noteof caution must be inserted here. While cultural awareness is important, it is alsoimperative that future practitioners do not succumb to a 'negotiated curriculum'(Ennis, 1995) under the guise of cultural sensitivity. This alternative usually resultswhen European-American teachers facing the difficulties associated with teachingurban students, primarily African-American, move from a curriculum of skills to amanaged-oriented custodial curriculum with little effort to stimulate learning.

The traditional multiactivity curriculum model has not proven to be successfulwhen implemented in multicultural settings. In many instances minority students donot desire to participate in a variety of sports and physical activities (Ennis, 1995).Avoidance behaviors or a general sense of ambivalence may occur because thestudents do not see the activities as self-defining, and thus have not developed aself-schema for the activities being presented. Ignored is the idea that skill andknowledge of, and desire to participate in activities is sought only when the activity

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

232 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

has value and meaning for the learner (Ennis, 1995). Additionally, practitioners'ability to take into account the contextual factors brought to the learning environ-ment must be explored. It would appear that some practitioners tend to ignore orfeel incapable of modifying curriculum or pedagogical practices to bridge better thegap between teaching and learning. Conceptualizing teaching for learning as aninteractional process requires that teachers take into account where their studentsare within the developmental process. With respect to self-schemata, this wouldrequire an awareness of the initial scope and sequence of curricular choices alreadyinternalized by the students.

Note

This article is part of the first author's dissertation under the direction of the second author.

References

ANDERSON, W.H. JR & WILLIAMS, B.M. (1983) TV and the black child: what black children sayabout the shows they watch. Journal of Black Psychology, 9, pp. 27-42.

ANTHROP, J. & ALLISON, M.T. (1983) Role conflict and the high school female athlete, ResearchQuarterly for Exercise and Sport, 54, pp. 104-111.

BABAD, E.Y., INBAR, J. & ROSENTHAL, R. (1982) Pygmalion, Galatea, and the golem: investigationsof biased and unbiased teachers, Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, pp. 459-474.

BANDURA, A. (1969) Principles of Behavior Modification (New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston).BEM, S.L. (1981) Gender schema theory: a cognitive account of sex typing, Psychological Review,

88, pp. 354-364.BRUSTAD, R.J. (1996) Attraction to physical activity in urban schoolchildren: parental socializa-

tion and gender influences, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 67, pp. 316-323.CHASE, M.A. & FELTZ, D.L. (1995) Sources of self-efficacy in sport and physical activities for

individuals across the life span, presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Association for theAdvancement of Applied Sport Psychology, New Orleans, LA.

COOPER, H. (1983) Teacher expectation effects, in: L. BICKMAN (Ed.) Applied Social PsychologyAnnual 4 (Beverly Hills, CA, Sage).

CROSS, S.E. & MARKUS, H. (1994) Self-schemas, possible selves, and competent performance,Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, pp. 423-438.

CSIZMA, K., WITTIG, A. & SCHURR, K. (1988) Sport stereotypes and gender, Journal of Sport andExercise Psychology, 10, pp. 62-74.

ECCLES, J. (1983) Expectations, values, and academic behaviors, in: J.T. SPENCE (Ed.)Achievement and Achievement Motives (San Francisco, CA, W. H. Freeman).

EDWARDS, H. (1971) The sources of the black athlete's superiority, The Black Scholar, pp. 32-41.ENNIS, C.D. (1995) Teachers' responses to noncompliant students: the realities and consequences

of a negotiated curriculum, Teaching & Teacher Education, 11, pp. 445-460.ESTABROOKS, P. & COURNEYA, K.S. (1997) Relationships among self-schema, intention, and

exercise behavior, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 19, pp. 156-168.FELDMAN, R.S. & THEISS, A.J. (1982) The teacher and student as pygmalions: joint effects of

teacher and student expectations, Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, pp. 217-223.GOULD, D. & WEISS, M. (1981) The effects of model similarity and model talk on self-efficacy and

muscular endurance, Journal of Sport Psychology, 3, pp. 17-29.GREENDORFER, S.L. (1994) Sociocultural aspects of kinesiology, in: E. F. ZEIGLER (Ed.) Physical

Education and Kinesiology in North America Professional and Scholarly Foundations(Champaign, IL, Stipes).

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

Race and Gender Differences in Self-schemata 233

GREENDORFER, S.L. & EWING, M.E. (1981) Race and gender differences in children's socializationinto sport, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 52, pp. 301-310.

HALL, A.M. (1996) Feminism and Sporting Bodies: essays on theory and practice (Champaign, IL,Human Kinetics).

HARRIS, J.C. (1994) Athletes and the American Hero Dilemma (Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics).HARRIS, M.J. & ROSENTHAL, R. (1985) Mediation of interpersonal expectancy effects: 31 meta

analysis, Psychological Bulletin, 97, pp. 363-386.HARRIS, M.J., MILICH, R., JOHNSTON, E.M. & HOOVER, D.W. (1990) Effects of expectancies on

children's social interactions, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 26, pp. 1-12.HARRISON, L. (1995) African-Americans: race as a self-schema affecting physical activity choices,

Quest, 47, pp. 7-18.HARRISON, L. (in press) Racial attitudes in sports: a survey of race-sport competence beliefs,

Trends and Issues Affecting Ethnic Minorities in Health, Physical Education, Recreation andDance.

HEATH, G., FACSM, MACERA, C., EAKER, E. & WHEELER, F. (1991) Physical activity patterns ina bi-racial semi-rural population, Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 23(suppl.),p. S105.

HELMS, J.E. (1985) An overview of black racial identity theory, in: J. E. HELMS (Ed.) Black andWhite Racial Identity Theory (New York, Greenwood Press).

HEWSTONE, M., HANTZI, A. & JOHNSTON, L . (1991) Social categorization and person memory: thepervasiveness of race as an organizing principle, European Journal of Social Psychology, 21,pp. 517-528.

HODGKINSON, H.L. (1985) All One System: demographics of education—kindergarten throughgraduate school (Washington, DC, Institute for Educational Leadership).

JENKINS, A.H. (1982) The Psychology of the Afro-American: a humanistic approach (New York,Pergamon Press).

JUSSIM, L. (1990) Social reality and social problems: the role of expectancies, Journal of SocialIssues, 46, pp. 9-34.

KENDZIERSKI, D. (1990) Exercise self-schemata: cognitive and behavioral correlates, HealthPsychology, 9, pp. 69-82.

KENDZIERSKI, D. (1998) Self-schemata and exercise, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 9,pp. 45-59.

KOSTERS, M. (1991) Workers and their Wages (Washington DC, AEI Press).LAVEIST, T.A. (1996) Why we should continue to study race ... but do a better job: an essay on

race, racism and health, Ethnicity and Disease, 6, pp. 21-29.LEE, A.M. & AUSTIN, M. (1986) Sex referent cues, success estimations, and performance of

children on a lateral jumping task, Journal of Genetic Psychology, 147, pp. 371-378.LEE, A.M., BELCHER, D., FRIEDENBURG, K. & CLEVELAND, N. (1997) Gender differences in

children's conceptions of competence and motivation in physical education, paper pre-sented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

LEE, A.M., NELSON, K. & NELSON, J.K. (1988) Success estimations and performance in childrenas influenced by age, gender, and task, Sex Roles, 48, pp. 719-726.

MARKUS, H. (1977) Self-schemata and processing information about the self", Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology, 35, pp. 63-78.

MARKUS, H. (1983) Self-knowledge: an expanded view, Journal of Personality, 51, pp. 543-565.MARKUS, H. & NURIS, P. (1986) Possible selves, American Psychologist, 41, pp. 954-969.MARKUS, H., CRANE, M., BERNSTEIN, S. & SILADI, M. (1982) Self-schemas and gender, Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 42, pp. 38-50.MARKUS, H., CROSS, S. & WURF, E. (1990) The role of self system in competence, in:

R. J. STERNBERG & J. KOLUGAN, JR (Eds) Competence Considered (New Haven, CT, YaleUniversity Press).

MARKUS, H., HAMILL, R. & SENTIS, K.P. (1987) Thinking fat: self-schemas for body weight andthe processing of weight relevant information, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17,pp. 50-71.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014

234 L. Harrison, Jr et al.

MARTINEK, T.J., CROWE, P.B. & REJESKI, W.J. (1982) Pygmalion in the Gym (West Point, NY,Leisure Press).

MCCULLAGH, P. (1986) Model status as a determinant of observational learning and perform-ance, Journal of Sport Psychology, 8, pp. 319-331.

MCCULLAGH, P. (1987) Model similarity effects on motor performance, Journal of SportPsychology, 9, pp. 249-260.

MILLER, D.T. & TURNBULL, W. (1986) Expectancies and interpersonal processes, in:M. R. ROSENZWEIG & L. W. PORTER (Eds) Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 37 (Palo Alto,CA, Annual Reviews).

MILLER, P.B. (1998) The anatomy of scientific racism: racialist responses to black athleticachievement, Journal of Sport History, 25, pp. 119-151.

PETERSON-LEWIS, S. & ADAMS, A. (1990) Televisions's model of the quest for African conscious-ness: a comparison with Cross' empirical model of psychological nigrescence, Journal ofBlack Psychology, 16, pp. 55-72.

PORTER, J.D.R. (1971) Black Child, White Child: the development of racial attitudes (Cambridge,MA, Harvard Howard University Press).

RAMSEY, P.G. (1987) Young children's thinking about ethnic differences, in: J. S. PHINNEY &M. J. ROTHERAM (Eds) Children's Ethnic Socialization (Newbury Park, CA, Sage).

Ross, S. & JACKSON, J. (1991) Teachers' expectations for black males' and black females'academic achievement, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, pp. 78-82.

SIMPSON, A.W. & ERICKSON, M. T. (1983) Teacher's verbal and nonverbal communicationpatterns as a function of teacher race, student gender and student race, AmericanEducational Research Journal, 20, pp. 183-198.

SMITH, R.R. & LEWIS, R. (1985) Race as a self-schema affecting recall in black children, Journalof Black Psychology, 12, pp. 15-29.

SPENCER, M. & MARKSTROM-ADAMS, C. (1990) Identity processes among racial and ethnicminority children in America, Child Development, 61, pp. 290-310.

STANLEY, L. (1995) Multicultural questions, action research answers, Quest, 47, pp. 19-33.TEDDLIE, C., FALKOWSKI, C., STRINGFIELD, S. & GARVUE, R. (1984) Louisiana school effectiveness

study: phase two (Louisiana State Department of Education).US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH and HUMAN SERVICES (1996) Surgeon General's Report: Physical

Activity and Health (Washington, DC, US Department of Health and Human Services).US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (1994) Occupational Compensation Survey: Pay Only (Baton Rouge,

LA, US Department of Labor).VILLEGAS, A.M. (1990) Culturally Responsive Teaching (Princeton, NJ, Educational Testing

Service).WAIER, P., MURPHY, J. & CHIANG, J. (Eds) (1991) Means Labor Rates for the Construction Industry

(Kingston, MA, Construction Consultants & Publishers).WIGFIELD, A. & HAROLD, R.D. (1992) Teacher beliefs and children's achievement self-

perceptions: a developmental perspective, in: D. H. SCHUNK & J. L. MEECE (Eds) StudentPerceptions in the Classroom (Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum).

WIKAN, V. (1995) The self in a world of urgency and necessity, Ethos, 23, pp. 259-285.WILLIAMS, J.E. & MORLAND, K.J. (1976) Race Color and the Young Child (Chapel Hill, NC,

University of North Carolina Press).WILLIAMSON, L., LEE, A.M., HEBERT, E. & XIANG, P. (1997) Students' beliefs about the causes of

success and failure in physical education: an exploratory investigation, paper presented atthe Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f L

eeds

] at

05:

25 1

0 N

ovem

ber

2014