This project runs between September 2011 and October 2012 and is funded by the Society for Educational Studies.

Aims and Research Questions

Drawing on a combination of gender theory, and social psychological theories of self-worth protection and motivation this research explores motives for 'laddish' behaviours among university students. The focus is on students studying sports science in a post 1992 university. More specifically, we are addressing the following research questions.

- What motives underpin 'laddish' attitudes and behaviours among these university students?

- What are the implications of 'laddism' for students (female and male) and lecturers?

- How may lecturers and universities begin to challenge and change problematic 'laddish' attitudes and behaviours?

Methods - questionnaire, interviews and observations.

Questionnaire - to all Sports Science students across years 1-3.

Interviews -12 semi-structured individual interviews with students in each year group (36 overall), and with 5 members of staff.

Observations - 4 classes per year group (12 classes overall).

The Research Team: Carolyn Jackson (Educational Research, Lancaster University), Steve Dempster (Educational Research, Lancaster University), Lucie Pollard (University of Greenwich)