Arabic women's participation in sport : barriers and motivation among Egyptian and Kuwaiti athletes

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

This thesis comprises three related studies. The first study is a qualitative \nexamination of reasons for the lack of participation of Kuwaiti women in \ninternational track and field athletics. First-hand experience of the current situation \nin Kuwait has stimulated my desire to discover the reasons for Kuwaiti women’s lack \nof participation in international competitions, and to compare their experiences with \nEgyptian female track and field athletes. In addition to exploring the views of \nathletes themselves, the views of coaches, sport administrators and parents were \ninvestigated using a qualitative methodology. Research on Muslim women \ncompeting in international competitions is limited, especially concerning women \nfrom Kuwait, which has created a need to explore the reasons women from Kuwait \nare not given fair opportunities to take part in such competitions. This issue is of \ngreat importance to Kuwaiti females who are involved in track and field events, and \nis also relevant to other Muslim communities where women are not allowed the \nsame opportunities offered to men with regard to attending international \ntournaments. In Study One the data revealed that there are regional differences \nbetween Kuwait and Egypt in the factors that affect female sporting participation. In \nKuwait, society, culture and some members of athletes’ families generally do not \nappreciate female involvement in sport and do not support gender integration in \nsport. In Egypt, however, society, culture and athletes’ parents are supportive of \nfemale participation in sport and encourage gender equality. Both countries are \nsimilar in terms of a lack of the pro-women policies and institutions in athletics. In \naddition, both countries suffer from inefficient and outdated equipment and \nfacilities. Even though Egyptian athletes share some similar challenges to \nparticipation in sport with Kuwaiti athletes, they are motivated and able to aspire to \ntake part in international competitions. This leads to the question of how female \nathletes in Muslim countries like Kuwait can be motivated to engage in in optimal \ntraining behaviours that would potentially enable them to compete at higher levels. \nTherefore the second study tested the applicability of a contemporary theory \nof motivation that has been widely applied to sport contexts, to female sport \nengagement in Egypt, namely self-determination theory (SDT: Deci & Ryan, 1985). The aim was to gain insights into the motivational processes involved in female sport \nin a Muslim country that does encourage female participation that might then be \napplied in Kuwait. SDT proposes a motivational sequence whereby support from the \nsocial environment can enhance the satisfaction of psychological needs, which in \nturn facilitates more autonomous motivation and optimal behaviours. The sequence \nwas tested by examining the influence of Egyptian female athlete’s perceptions of \nthe support offered by coaches, parents and fellow athletes on perceptions of \ncompetence, autonomy and relatedness, the facilitation of autonomous motivation \nfor sport engagement and athletes’ training behaviours. The model was subjected to \npartial least squares structural equation modelling. Results largely supported the SDT \nmotivational sequence and this is the first study to do so in an Arabic or Muslim \ncontext. \nGiven that the principles of SDT were upheld in this cultural context, the third \nstudy was designed to investigate whether a SDT-based intervention could be \napplied within the more culturally and socially constrained context of women’s sport \nin Kuwait. Specifically, the third study examined the extent to which an SDT \nintervention could encourage autonomy-supportive behaviours and reduce \ncontrolling behaviours among Kuwaiti coaches of female athletes. In a randomized \ncontrol group design, coaches received either training in the application of SDT or \nengaged in general discussions about training. Results showed significant decreases \nin controlling behaviours among SDT-trained coaches but not among the control \ngroup coaches, as assessed by behavioural observations, although need-supportive \nbehaviours increased in both groups. The framework produced in the third study \ncould be further developed to enhance the promotion of autonomous motivation \namong Kuwaiti sporting women and help change the current situation of Kuwaiti \nfemale athletes in sport. Furthermore, contrary to some critiques of SDT that suggest \nthat it is only relevant in Western cultural contexts, the findings of both Studies Two \nand Three add to a growing body of evidence that the theory has universal \napplicability.