The Role of Heterosexism in the Decline of College Women Coaches
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UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2008 Perceptions of "others": The role of heterosexism in the decline of college women coaches Amy Sandler University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Sandler, Amy, "Perceptions of "others": The role of heterosexism in the decline of college women coaches" (2008). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2852. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/3cti-vgvt This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PERCEPTIONS OF “OTHERS”: THE ROLE OF HETEROSEXISM IN THE DECLINE OF COLLEGE WOMEN COACHES by Amy Sandler Bachelor of Arts University of Maryland, College Park 1999 Master of Education University of Maryland, College Park 2003 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Higher Education Administration Department of Educational Leadership College of Edueation Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas Deeember 2008 UMI Number: 3352184 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Eisenhower Parkway PC Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright hy Amy Sandler 2009 All Rights Reserved Dissertation Approval ITNTV The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas September 8 20 08 The Dissertation prepared by Amy Sandler Entitled Perceptions of "Others": The Role of Heterosexism in the Decline of College Women Coaches is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of ___________ Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership Examination Committee Chair y Dean of the Graduate College Exa/1pXatim\Cornmittee Menwer Exqfnination Committee Member GraUuate O esentative 11 ABSTRACT Perceptions of “Others”: The Role of Heterosexism In the Decline of College Women Coaches by Amy Sandler Dr. Vicki Rosser, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of Educational Leadership University of Nevada, Las Vegas Since Title IX was signed into law in 1972, opportunities for females to participate in collegiate sport have increased tremendously. But these advancements have not held true for women head coaches in collegiate sport. For female head coaches, in fact, the inverse has resulted. Whereas prior to 1972, women led most collegiate women’s athletic teams, today the majority of women’s collegiate athletic teams are led by men. Previous researchers have pointed to the existence of a relationship between heterosexism and the decline of women coaches, but prior to this study, little or no empirical research on lesbian head coaches’ perceptions of the role of heterosexism in this decline was available. Either currently or previously employed as head coaches at universities across the United States, eight female NCAA division one head coaches of women’s sport who self 111 identified as lesbian participated in in-depth interviews in order to better understand their experienees and pereeptions on heterosexism and the deeline of women head eoaehes. Utilizing feminist standpoint theory as the conceptual framework, this research sought to understand those who have been marginalized under the patriarchal and heteronormative environment of collegiate sport. The interview questions focused on the participants’ experiences with recruiting, hiring processes, career intentions, social/outside of work functions, and their perceptions of the role of heterosexism in the decline. The participants ranged in age from 32 to 54 and as a group and have coached for an average of 15 years. A majority of the participants perceive heterosexism to play a role in the decline of female collegiate head coaches. The themes were ordered according to their prevalence and level of repetition amongst participants. They include: (1) coaches perceptions of the role of heterosexism in the decline, (2) the impact of heterosexism on lesbian coaches’ upward mobility, (3) barriers for women in coaching, (4) factors contributing to lesbian coaches’ decisions to be out, open, or closeted, (5) progression of general climate, (6) positive experiences for out coaches, (7) from connections to success, and (8) former coaches desire to return to coaching. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed in the final chapter. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION......................................................................................1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... I Review of Literature :........................................................................ 3 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................................... 8 Purpose.......................................................................................................................................9 Research Questions..................................................................................................................9 Research Design..................................................................................................................... 10 Definitions............................................................................................................................... 11 Delimitations...........................................................................................................................14 Limitations.............................................................................................................................. 14 Significance of the Study...................................................................................................... 14 Summary .......................... 15 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................... 16 Introduction................................ 16 Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 16 The Decline of Women in Coaching.................................................................................. 17 Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace.......................................................30 Sexual Orientation Issues in Higher Education.................................................................37 Attitudes toward Homosexuality in College Athletics.................................................... 48 Theoretical Framework .........................................................................................................57 Summary .................................................................................................................................62 CHAPTER THREE METHOD............................................................................................63 Introduction............................................................................................................. 63 Research Design.....................................................................................................................64 Participant Selection............................................................................................................. 65 Interview Sites....................................................................................................................... 67 Interview Strategy..................................................................................................................67 Data Collection Procedures...................................................................................................69 Instrumentation...................................................................................................................... 70 Analysis................................................................................................................................ 71 Credibility^alidity of Findings...........................................................................................72