Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
8-1988
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Education
Major Professor
Patricia A. Beitel
Committee Members
Joy De Sensi, Karl Jost, Ken Newton
Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to explore women athletes' ways of knowing and moral reasoning about authority/power in daily life and sport. Conflict and preferred authority were chosen as issues to promote discussion concerning authority/power. A semi-structured interview was designed as the data collection technique to elicit responses from five intercollegiate and five recreational female Softball players. The participants' responses were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed in order to ascertain a way of knowing and moral reasoning level for each respondent in daily life and sport.
From the analysis of the interviews, it was concluded that six of the respondents were received knowers in both daily life and sport. Four of the respondents were constructed knowers in daily life and received knowers in sport. Nine of the respondents had moral reasoning levels of 3 and 4 in daily life and sport, and one of the respondents had a moral reasoning level of 5 in daily life and sport.
In situations of conflict with authorities in daily life and sport, the received knowers felt that they would not voice their opinion. The constructed knowers felt that they would voice their concerns with authorities in daily life, but not in sport. However, none of the respondents would follow their coach's directive when it involved intentional injury to an opponent. In situations of conflict with peers, all of the respondents felt comfortable voicing their concerns.
None of the respondents had a preference for a female or male in a position of authority in daily life. Although four of the respondents had no preference in a sport context, six of the respondents preferred a woman as coach. However, the respondents' preference for authority appeared to have no relationship to their ways of knowing in daily life or sport.
Recommended Citation
Wright, Dianna L., "The Relationship between women athletes' ways of knowing and moral reasoning about authority/power in daily life and sport. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1988.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11995