Investing in the development of young female sport leaders: an evaluation of the ‘girls on the move’ leadership programme

Abstract

This article explores the impact of the ‘Girls on the Move’ Leadership Programme which was designed to develop young female sport leaders. The Programme was underpinned by several principles of youth leadership: (i) everyone can be a leader; (ii) young people can be leaders now and (iii) youth leadership is concerned with matters of social justice. The evaluation used a multi-method approach including pre- and post-course surveys and interviews. The evaluation showed that the programme: attracted young women who might otherwise not have considered themselves as leaders; increased the number of young women taking on leadership roles and increased sport and physical activity opportunities attractive to girls. The study showed that the young leaders made a positive economic contribution to their local communities and investing in the development of young female leaders can have a positive impact on individuals, community groups and can address issues of social justice.

Keywords:

• community sport
• physical activity
• young women
• youth leadership

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the programme and project organisers, leadership course tutors and the young women for their contributions to the evaluation. Details of the ‘Girls on the Move’ Programme can be obtained from the web at: http://www.youthscotland.org.uk/projects/girls-on-the-move.htm

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The programme and the evaluation were funded by The Robertson Trust and the Scottish Government.