Maureen Weiss, professor of kinesiology, spent two weeks at the Centre for Human Performance Sciences at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, collaborating with colleagues on physical activity interventions with adolescent girls to promote leadership skills, positive self-perceptions, and healthy behaviors.
Girls and women are marginalized and victimized populations in South Africa, and sport/physical activity connotes a context in which personal and life skills can be taught that can be transferred to academic, family, and community domains.

Weiss was appointed a Research Associate of the Centre as part of a community effort to enhance quality of life in adolescent girls in South Africa. As a Research Associate, she will continue to conduct collaborative research and disseminate information on youth development through physical activity. During her visit, Weiss gave two lectures, one to sport managers and coaches, “Coaching for positive youth development through sport,” and the other to faculty and students in psychology, kinesiology, and education, “Research designs and methods in psychology of sport and physical activity.”
Weiss’ research and teaching activities in South Africa are compatible with CEHD’s mission of, “…discovering, creating, sharing, and applying principles and practices of multiculturalism and multidisciplinary scholarship to advance teaching and learning and to enhance the psychological, physical, and social development of children, youth, and adults across the lifespan in families, organizations, and communities.”