Title IX & Women's Sports

March is Women's History Month. Discrimination against women in academics and in athletics was widespread prior to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, enacted on June 23, 1972. The law states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Before Title IX became law, many women were open discouraged from playing sports because of the notion that physical activity might "damage their reproductive organs." Therefore, most schools and colleges were justified in offering only a minimal lineup of sports for females. However, the lack of school sports for females prior to Title IX did not deter a majority of women from participating in athletics. Many of today's top-ranked female Masters athletes have spent their lives accidentally finding their athletic talent and have participated in sports ever since.

Advocates of Title IX's current interpretation cite increases in female athletic participation, and attribute those increases to Title IX. One study, completed in 2006, pointed to a large increase in the number of women participating in athletics at both the high school and college level. The number of women in high school sports had increased by a factor of nine, while the number of women in college sports had increased by more than 450%. A 2008 study of intercollegiate athletics showed that women's collegiate sports have grown to 9,101 teams, or 8.65 per school.

The five most frequently offered college sports for women are, in order:

• Basketball: 99%
• Volleyball: 96%
• Soccer: 93%
• Cross Country: 92%
• Softball: 89%

Though views differ about the impact of Title IX, controversy still exists and typically focuses on whether, and to what extent, Title IX has resulted in increased athletic opportunities for females; and whether, and to what extent, Title IX has resulted in decreased athletic opportunities for males because of budget and facilities constraints.

Your students can learn more about the impact of Title IX on sports for females by copying the BookCart learning activity—"Title IX and Women's Sports."

BookCart learning activities are a one-stop solution for teachers and students in conducting 21st Century inquiry-based learning activities. The learning activity for this month is just one of hundreds of BookCarts that teachers and librarians can copy into their local collection and use right away.

Here's how to do it:

• Logon to the eLibrary TEACHER EDITION.
• Click the BOOKCART ADMIN tab at the top of the Teacher Edition.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
• Type "Title IX and Women's Sports" in the SEARCH box.
• Click the COPY icon (middle one) in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

Librarians or teachers can edit this BookCart to customize it for their students:

• Click the new BookCart TITLE (it will have the prefix "COPY OF".
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in the AUTHOR boxes and your initials in the EMAIL box (required info).
• Option: Edit any ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS for your students in the DESCRIPTION box.
• Option: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the Description box to customize for your students.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

Assign students to write a report of at least 150 words that cites at least three resources. Or, they can choose to create a presentation of at least seven slides.

Students should use the Pathfinder listed below to ensure the best and most current results for this topic. Students need to address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add or substitute others):

• How does Title IX benefit female athletes?
  
  
• What are at least three recent controversies associated with Title IX?
  
  
• What benefits beyond athletics does Title IX provide for females?
  
  
• How would you improve Title IX and why?

Select the Advanced Search option > Type "Title IX and Women's sports" in the Search box > Enter "Title IX OR Sports" in the Document Title box

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.