Keywords
Sociometry
Sport
Inclusion
Group Cohesion
How to Cite
Abstract
Educating gender equity requires promoting inclusive contexts and dismantling stereotypes.
Traditional Sporting Games offer an ideal setting for promoting subversive motor interactions in inclusive socioaffective environments, yet the educational value of sociomotor roles is often overlooked. This study evaluated how sociomotor roles, gender and socioaffective relationships influence emotional and relational experiences in the Traditional Sporting Game Bear, Guardian and Hunter, characterized by aggressive, protective and vulnerable roles. This quasi-experimental mixed-methods study involved 112 undergraduates playing Bear, Guardian and Hunter. Participants completed an emotional and sociometric questionnaire. Data were analyzed using social network analysis, non-parametric tests and mediation analysis. Findings revealed that each gender and role promoted different learning experiences, with feminized and masculinized roles fostering subversive motor conducts when performed similarly by different genders. Male bears expressed anger toward their vulnerability, while female guardians displayed stronger protective opposition. Female hunters matched male motor aggressiveness, defying gender stereotypes. Positive cross-gender relationships fostered social acceptance and well-being, whereas hierarchical rapports reinforced gender segregation and discomfort. This study underscored how sociomotor roles, gender and socioaffective relationships shape game-based learning experiences. Bear, Guardian and Hunter is an effective pedagogical tool to promote gender equity. It enhances well-being, challenges stereotypes and fosters cross-gender interactions.
References
Alcaraz-Muñoz, V., Alonso-Roque, J. I., & Yuste-Lucas, J. L. (2023). How do Girls and Boys Feel Emotions? Gender Differences in Physical Education in Primary School. Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 100(1), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2023-0016
Alcaraz-Muñoz, V., Cifo-Izquierdo, M. I., Gea-Garcia, G. M., Alonso-Roque, J. I., & Yuste-Lucas, J. L. (2020). Joy in Movement: Traditional Sporting Games and Emotional Experience in Elementary Physical Education. Frontiers in psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588640
Avramidis, E., Strogilos, V., Aroni, K., & Kantaraki, C. T. (2017). Using sociometric techniques to assess the social impacts of inclusion: Some methodological considerations. Educational Research Review, 20, 68–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.11.004
Barton, B., & Huebner, L. (2020). Feminine Power: A New Articulation. Psychology & Sexuality, 13(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1771408
Borgatti, S. P., Everett, M. G., Johnson, Jeffrey. C., & Agneessens, F. (2022). Analyzing Social Networks Using R. SAGE Publications.
Butler, J. (2009). Performativity, precarity and sexual politics. Revista de Antropología Iberoamericana, 4(3). http://doi.org/10.11156/aibr.040303e
Carli, L. L. (2009). Gender and Group Behavior. In J. C. Chrisler & D. R. McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology (pp. 337–358). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1467-5_14
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639
Connor, S., Edvardsson, K., Fisher, C., & Spelten, E. (2021). Perceptions and Interpretation of Contemporary Masculinities in Western Culture: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Men’s Health, 15(6), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211061009
Guerrero, M. A., & Guerrero-Puerta, L. (2023). Advancing Gender Equality in Schools through Inclusive Physical Education and Teaching Training: A Systematic Review. Societies, 13(3), 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13030064
Hayes, A.F. (2013). Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis. Guilford Publications
Krippendorff, K. (2002). Metodología de análisis de contenido: Teoría y práctica. Paidós.
Lavega-Burgués, P. (2018). Educar conductas motrices. Reto necesario para una Educación Física moderna. Acción Motriz, 20, 73–88.
Lavega-Burgués, P., March-Llanes, J., and Moya-Higueras, J. (2018). Validation of games and emotions scale (GES-II) to study emotional motor experiences. Revista de Psicología del Deporte, 27, 117-124.
Lavega-Burgués, P., Mallén-Lacambra, C., & Pic, M. (2022a). Educating Relational and Emotional Well-Being in Girls and Boys Through Traditional Paradoxical Games. In P. Gil-Madrona (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Using Motor Games in Teaching and Learning Strategy (pp. 1–19). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-9621-0.ch001
Lavega-Burgués, P., Rillo-Albert, A., Mallén-Lacambra, C., & Sáez De Ocáriz, U. (2022b). Exploring socioaffective semiotricity: Emotions and relational signs in traditional sporting games. Semiotica, 2022(248), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2022-0057
Lavega-Burgués, P., Alcaraz-Muñoz, V., Mallén-Lacambra, C., & Pic, M. (2023). Roles, relationships, and motor aggressions: Keys to unveiling the emotions of a traditional sporting game. In P. Lavega-Burgués, J. F. Ribas, & M. Pic (Eds.), Traditional sporting games and play in physical education: Enhancing cultural diversity, emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships and intelligent decisions. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-8325-3852-4
Levitt, H., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., and Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: the APA publications and communications board task force report. American Psychologist 73, 26–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151
Lorente-Sanz, N., Díaz-Aroca, Á., & Alcaraz-Muñoz, V. (2023). Effect of the type of motor interaction required by the game on emotional behavior in Physical Education classes. Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte, 18(56). https://doi.org/10.12800/ccd.v18i56.1959
Lusher, D., Koskinen, J., & Robins, G. (2013). Exponential random graph models for social network analysis: Theory, methods, and applications. Cambridge University Press.
Mallén-Lacambra, C., Pic, M., Lavega Burgués, P., & Ben-Chaabâne, Z. (2024). Educating gender equity through non-competitive cooperative motor games: Transforming stereotypes and socioaffective dynamics. Retos, 60, 498–508. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v60.107364
Mamas, C., Bjorklund Jr., P., Cohen, S. R., & Holtzman, C. (2023). New friends and cohesive classrooms: A research practice partnership to promote inclusion. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100256
Mamas, C. & Trautman, D. (2024). Leading toward Relational Inclusivity for Students Identified as Having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. In Y. Liou & A. J. Daly (Eds.), The relational leader: Catalyzing social networks for educational change (pp. 34-49). Bloomsbury.
Martos-García, D., Fernández-Lasa, U., & Usabiaga. (2020). Coeducación y deportes colectivos. La participación de las alumnas en entredicho. Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte, 15(45). https://doi.org/10.12800/ccd.v15i45.1518
Menéndez-Aller, Á., Montes-Álvarez, P., Postigo, Á., González-Nuevo, C., García-Fernández, J., Cuesta, M., & García-Cueto, E. (2022). Masculinidad y Feminidad: Una visión multidimensional. Anales de Psicología, 38(2), 347–354. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.481821
Metcalfe, S. (2018). Adolescent constructions of gendered identities: The role of sport and (physical) education. Sport, Education and Society, 23(7), 681–693. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2018.1493574
Messerschmidt, J. W. (2018). Hegemonic Masculinity: Formulation, Reformulation, and Amplification. Rowman & Littlefield.
Molina, P., Herrero-Simón, A., Fenollosa-Sánchez, F., & Martínez-Baena, A. (2024). Gender in Dance: (Re)Moving Stereotypes in Spanish Schools. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2022-0284
Montecillo, M. J., Pejoto, J. L., & Moral, R. V. (2024). Belongingness matters: A qualitative exploration of peer acceptance and rejection among high school students. Eureka: Journal of Educational Research, 3(1), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.56773/ejer.v3i1.51
Moreno, J. L. (1934). Who shall survive?: A new approach to the problem of human interrelations. Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing Co. https://doi.org/10.1037/10648-000
Niubò-Solé, J., Lavega-Burgués, P., & Sáenz-López Buñuel, P. (2022). Emociones en función del tipo de tarea motriz, experiencia deportiva y género. Apunts Educación Física y Deportes, 148, 26–33. https://doi.org/10.5672/apunts.2014-0983.es.(2022/2).148.04
Parlebas, P. (1992). Sociométrie, réseaux et communication. PUF.
Parlebas, P. (2020). The Universals of Games and Sports. In P. Lavega-Burgués, M. A. C. Bortoleto, & M. Pic, Enhancing Cultural Diversity, Emotional Well-Being, Interpersonal Relationships and Intelligent Decisions (pp. 17–28). Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.593877
Păuțu, A. G., Eugen, B., & Petracovschi, S. (2024). Reducing Gender Stereotypes and Promoting Gender Equality in the Physical Education Lesson – A Systematic Review Analysis. 68(4), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeag.68(4).29
Raffi-Menegaldo, F., Menezes-Fagundes, F., Mateu, M., & Coelho-Bortoleto, M. A. (2024). La producción científica basada en la praxeología motriz: Características y horizontes. Movimento: Revista da Escola de Educação Física, 30. https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8918.133120
Sánchez-Alvarez, I., Rodríguez-Menéndez, C., & García-Pérez, O. (2019). La educación física en educación primaria: Espacio de construcción de las masculinidades y feminidades (Physical Education in primary education: space for the construction of masculinity and femininity). Retos, 38, 143–150. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v38i38.74343
Schippers, M. (2007). Recovering the feminine other: Masculinity, femininity, and gender hegemony. Theory and Society, 36(1), 85–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-007-9022-4
Sinchigalo-Martínez, R., Bolívar Guzmán-Barcenes, & Bonilla-Jurado, D. (2022). Bienestar emocional y rendimiento académico en estudiantes universitarios: Relación bidimensional y su impacto en las estrategias de apoyo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.8008096
UNESCO (2022). Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379381 (Accessed March 22, 2025).
Üzümçeker, E. (2023). Research on Sex Differences in Social Dominance Orientation and the Invariance Hypothesis: A Systematic Review. Trends in Psychol, 31, 342–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00278-8
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Creative Commons Attribution License