Gender equality in sport and its contribution to education for citizenship and democracy

This article is part of a larger research study conducted with secondary school students to explore the socio-cultural mediation of families and schools in the identification and development of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. More precisely, in this paper the relationship between sports practice and the development of social and civic competences from a feminist perspective is studied. Adopting a quantitative methodology (through a survey research method), 1138 students were surveyed. A purposive sampling method was employed. The results show that participation in sport among women is much lower than men’s. Mostly, women practice stereotypically female sports, which are less associative and organized. In line with this, women report having difficulty to access sports facilities. Another finding is that the practice of sports is associated with personality features relating to social and citizen development (perseverance, poise, leadership, etc.) and others indicators of sociability, such as solidarity and social participation.