Creating inclusive aquatic spaces: Designing a culturally responsive-sustaining swim lesson and water safety program for African American girls

Key, Latashia A

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129859 Copy

Description

Title

Creating inclusive aquatic spaces: Designing a culturally responsive-sustaining swim lesson and water safety program for African American girls

Author(s)

Key, Latashia A

Issue Date

2025-07-17

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Liechty, Toni

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Liechty, Toni

Committee Member(s)

• Neville, Helen
• Kluch, Yannick
• Ramos, William

Department of Study

Recreation, Sport and Tourism

Discipline

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

African American, Black, Girls, Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S), Swimming, Design-Based Research (DBR), Creative Analytic Practice (CAP)

Abstract

Research suggests that African American girls face unique historical, social, and body image-related constraints to participation in swimming (Abbott & Barber, 2011; Gadberry & Gadberry, 2020). Addressing these challenges for African American girls in an aquatic program can optimize the benefits of learning to swim and be safe in and around the water as an essential life skill. The importance of this skill is, first, to decrease the disproportionately high number of drownings in the African American population (Denny et al., 2021). Next, learning to swim can provide an opportunity for these girls to access a lifetime of recreational enjoyment, physical activity and rehabilitation through adulthood to help reduce health disparities prevalent among African American women (Staurowsky et al., 2009; Stubbs, 2017). Lastly, learning a new skill can foster confidence, self-esteem and youth development within a well-rounded curriculum (Gatz & Kelly, 2018). Unfortunately, however, research exploring race-related constraints for African American girls and how to design culturally responsive learn-to-swim programs that mitigate these constraints is scarce. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore African American girls’ perceptions, constraints, and experiences associated with swimming and water safety and how these concerns can be mitigated through a Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) program. The program explored in this study was the CR-S program I created called S.A.F.E. (Strong, Amazing, Fearless, Empowered) Kids Swim™. Assessment of this program utilized a qualitative approach informed by Design Based Research (DBR). Data collection included pre and post swim skills evaluation tests, semi-structured interviews of the girls and their parent/caregiver(s), instructors, and administrators and integrated Creative Analytic Practice (CAP) to capture and to represent data as an art collage. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The summary of findings highlighted how swimming is defined, experienced and what made the program memorable for the girls, their parents/caregivers, instructors and administrators. Some key findings included the importance of an intentionally-designed Culturally Responsive-Sustaining aquatic program that created a sense of safety to build trust and confidence for the girls. For example, the relationship and rapport with the instructors was beneficial as they saw someone who “looked like them.” Also, they were comfortable participating in aquatic and non-aquatic activities and expressed their happiness of swimming and learning water competency skills after the program. Several constraints and facilitators were identified such as fear, cost and support of family. Also, the design and implementation of the program highlighted elements of CR-S, the importance of the program now and for the future, community support and engagement and program evaluation and expectations. Finally, the collages were used as a creative tool for the girls’ to share and reflect their deeper understanding of swimming and the program. The discussion further explained why an inclusive culturally responsive curriculum contributed to an increase in knowledge of water safety and water competency skills of the girls. As a result, due to the positive experiences of their child, the parents/caregivers, through vicarious experiences had increased levels of comfort with swimming. The development and implementation of a program like S.A.F.E. Kids Swim™ incorporated a variety of elements that focused on the girls’ voices, feedback from the parents/caregivers, instructors and administrators and highlighted key practical implications for future programs and studies.

Graduation Semester

2025-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129859

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Latashia Key

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