Examining the Knowledge and Perceptions of Division II Collegiate Athletic Administrators, Staff, and Coaches Regarding Gender Equity and Title IX Standards

Justin Rodkey

doi:10.17918/D80X0Q

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education (The United States Department of Justice, n.d.). Although Title IX was enacted over 45 years ago, college athletic departments remain non-compliant with the law (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2016; Women's Law Project, 2014), suggesting a need for research regarding barriers to compliance. A central piece in the Title IX enforcement mechanism is engagement on the part of constituencies who are affected by the law. In effect, the accountability mechanism to ensure Title IX compliance rests with those who are educated about its requirements. Within athletic departments, those constituencies include coaches, administrators, staff members, and athletes. This paper provides an overview of the literature that documents knowledge deficiencies among those constituencies (Staurowsky & Weight, 2013; Weight & Staurowsky, 2014; Staurowsky, Zonder, & Reimer, 2017) as well as the lack of Title IX compliance, proportionality gaps, and ongoing litigations among Division II institutions (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2012, 2014, 2015a, 2016; Women's Law Project, 2014, 2017). The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional survey research was to examine the levels of knowledge and perceptions among Division II athletic administrators, staff, and coaches regarding Title IX standards at their institution. More specifically, this study sought to gain a more in-depth understanding of overall knowledge and perceptions among Division II participants, as well as, determine if any differences existed between the respondents based on gender, position, and team coached. This study found that, on average, participants' knowledge ranged from 0 to 6 with a mean of 3.04 (SD = 1.64). In addition, this study revealed that the main effect of position was statistically significant; (F(2, 124)=6.99, p<.001), while the main effect of gender on knowledge, and the interaction effect between position and gender on knowledge were not statistically significant (p>.05). Further, it was discovered that the main effect for coach by team gender was not statistically different between groups (p>.05). Regarding perceptions, participants' perceptions were similar when looking at Overall Perceptions, Opportunities for Participation & Scholarship, Benefits and Services, Awareness and Understanding. This study found the main effect of gender and the interaction effect between position and gender was not statistically significant (p<.05) for all categories. In comparison, this research discovered the main effect of position was statistically significant for overall perceptions (F(2, 124)=3.290, p<.05); benefits and services (F(2, 124)=4.111, p<.05); and for awareness and understanding of Title IX issues (F(2, 124)=5.011, p<.50). The main effect of position concerning opportunities for participation and scholarship was not statistically significant (p>.05). Finally, the main effect for coach by team gender was not statistically different between groups (p>.05). The value of this kind of research lies in its potential to influence the implementation of Title IX policy at the institutional and department level with the goal of achieving full Title IX compliance within university athletic departments.

Examining the Knowledge and Perceptions of Division II Collegiate Athletic Administrators, Staff, and Coaches Regarding Gender Equity and Title IX Standards

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Examining the Knowledge and Perceptions of Division II Collegiate Athletic Administrators, Staff, and Coaches Regarding Gender Equity and Title IX Standards

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