Background/Purpose The plight of the under-representation of head female coaches has been well-documented. To further this discussion, we utilized the Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), which posits that career development is constructed upon variables related to one's self and one's environment. The SCCT has been used in a similar context, being used to explain coaching intentions of racial minority student-athletes (Cunnigham & Singer, 2010) and head coaching intentions of assistant coaches (Cunningham, Doherty, & Gregg, 2007).
Method To examine the cognitive-person variables in line with previous coaching and SCCT research, scales were derived for perceived social supports and barriers for the coaching profession, outcome expectations of pursuing a coaching career, and perceived self-efficacy in coaching. Surveys were administered directly to student-athletes (N=112) from three NCAA Division I universities in three different regions. For this context, items were specifically-oriented toward the strength and conditioning coaching profession
Analysis/Results While controlling for race and year in school, an MANCOVA revealed significant gender differences among the student-athletes regarding their perspective on the strength and conditioning coaching profession. Though no differences were reported for perceived barriers or negative expectations, male student-athletes reported higher levels of perceived social support, positive expectations, self-efficacy, and intention to enter the strength and conditioning coaching profession.
Conclusions Particularly in professions attempting to increase female coaches and role-models, the current data present some important findings. These results suggest that the gender division in coaching numbers might be occurring long before student-athletes graduate and enter the coaching profession.
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