July 23, 2019

Two Butler Faculty Receive Grant For National Study

Members of the National Federation of State High School Associations came to Butler University for a grant signing ceremony. The grant funds a 10-year study.  - Emily Cox/WFYI

Members of the National Federation of State High School Associations came to Butler University for a grant signing ceremony. The grant funds a 10-year study.

Emily Cox/WFYI

Two Butler University faculty received a grant to fund a 10-year study about mothers of high schoolers involved in extracurriculars.

Krista Cline, professor of sociology, says mothers are often the key people in students’ lives who make decisions about activities, including the money spent on them.

“So I think that us reaching out to this group, we're hoping to tell the story of tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of moms across the country, which I think is really, really important,” Cline says.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), a national organization that provides standards for high school sports and performing arts activities, awarded the grant of $361,007 and will use the data to improve communication to mothers.

Cline and Eileen Taylor, communication and media studies instructor, have already studied the role mothers serve in high school athletics in Indiana. This grant allows them to expand that research nationally and include more activities, including band and choir.

Taylor says the goal is to improve the partnerships between mothers and coaches or activity leaders.

“When their children are at home, either celebrating or complaining at the kitchen table about their activity, the mom could be there to say, this is really good. I'm glad you're involved. You're learning how to speak to other people, you're learning how to work with other people,” Taylor says.

Cline and Taylor plan to send out the research they’ve already done for publication this summer, but say that process can take as little as a couple of months to a couple of years. Once it’s published, it will be available through academics and libraries.

Support independent journalism today. You rely on WFYI to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Donate to power our nonprofit reporting today. Give now.

 

Related News

Universities in Indiana have thoughts on new high school diplomas. Here's what they said.
School boundary rezoning in Washington Township introduced to balance enrollment
The public had their say on Indiana’s high school diplomas — here’s what comes next