Women in Chess. Education-Related Problems During Talent Development Process

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to identify the educational problems faced by Polish female chess grandmasters during the talent development process, i.e. the time required to win the highest women’s title. A free-form, in-depth, qualitative interview method was used; the research tool was a guide prepared based on Françoys Gagné’s Comprehensive Model of Talent Development (CMTD). The data was subjected to qualitative analysis: codes and categories relating to educational problems were applied to the interviews with 14 female chess grandmasters. For female athletes, it is especially important to find a balance between school/academic life and sports practice. Women have much fewer opportunities to make a living from sports than men and are thus forced to prepare for other professions, which is tantamount to combining a sports career with getting an education. This situation can also be observed among female chess players. Additionally, women’s performance in chess is significantly lower than men’s. Thus, in the series of papers titled “Women in Chess. Problems…”, an attempt was made to present female chess grandmasters in the context of hardships that significantly affected the development of their talent. This paper presents hardships related to education. The study showed that most of the future female grandmasters experienced education-related hardship during secondary school, mainly due to absenteeism from school, poor attitudes of teachers, a lack of interest from the school in their successes, and a non-conformist attitude towards the rules of the school system. As a result of the analysis, it is suggested to disseminate knowledge throughout the school environment concerning the specific nature of chess as a sport discipline and to implement support programs for female and male students who practice it.