Gender and physical activity

In the classroom

Include, in your PDHPE program, explicit teaching about the relationships between sport, physical activity, and the construction of masculinities and femininities.
Reflect on your own practices in PDHPE lessons as they contribute to gender construction. Encourage other teachers to do the same.
Invite students to lead physical activity sessions, work with younger students or demonstrate skills in ways that do not reinforce stereotypes e.g. use boys to demonstrate in dance lessons and girls to demonstrate in activities requiring strength.
Dispel any myths and fallacies regarding girls’ involvement in physical activity and sport.
Provide positive feedback and encouragement for girls’ and boys’ active participation.
Provide a balance of activities in your PDHPE curriculum by not overemphasising games at the expense of other physical experiences. Include activities which highlight and value the skills developed in such activities as skipping, dance, aerobics and gymnastics.
Ensure that your expectations of students are based on individual merit and are balanced. Look for differences amongst boys as a group and amongst girls as a group, and not just between boys and girls.
Set realistic goals and ensure that all girls and boys can experience success as well as a challenge in their experiences in physical activity.
Survey the students to find out what activities they like doing the most. Include these, if possible, in your PDHPE program. Take note of the activities selected by girls to ensure an appropriate balance in the program.
Determine whether students prefer single-sex or mixed groupings for participating in physical activity experiences. Examine their reasons for selecting this option.
Be sensitive to the different abilities and experiences of boys and girls, as well as the context of different activities. Consider using a variety of methods of class organisation to match these needs, such as single-sex, mixed-sex, ability and friendship groupings.
Encourage students to be aware of critical or sexist statements or comments in class and to see them as unacceptable. Ensure that there are procedures that students know about to deal with those statements.
Use non-sexist and non-racist language yourself.
Address any harassment occurring in class.
Provide females-only sporting options on sports afternoons, such as weights, swimming etc.
Ensure that there is a balance between boys’ and girls’ physical activity and sport options. Allow students to participate in non-traditional sports and activities.
Introduce new or modified sports that include a broad range of skills to accommodate all students. Get the students to design their own game and try it out in class.
Expand the collection of library books and resource materials about gender and physical activity. Arrange for the library to subscribe to some women’s sporting magazines to create some extra resources for students to explore.
Ensure that the library contains a range of books and resources about many different sports and not just the traditional high-profile sports.

(Adapted from: Girls in Sport Manual. NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, 1997)

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Gender and physical activity

In the classroom