Resumen de Influence of Involvement in the Girls on Track Program on Early Adolescent Girls� Self-Perceptions
The Model of Competence Motivation (Harter, 1978) highlights how self-perceptions are influenced by individual and socialization factors. Using this model, the present study investigated, quantitatively with a pretest and posttest design (N = 34) and qualitatively via individual interviews (N = 8), how involvement in the Girls on Track program (GOT) influenced the perceived competence and self-worth of sixth-grade girls. GOT is a program that uses training for a 5-km race as a means to teach life skills. The self-perceptions of the participants showed increasing trends from pre- to posttest. Interviewed girls discussed their acquisition of interpersonal skills and of positive feelings about themselves. The discussion emphasizes how program involvement can influence the development of self-perceptions in early adolescent girls.
