Abstract
BackgroundDespite the fact that an educational programme for parents of youth tennis players has been launched recently, there is a need to empower parents of athletes in sustaining the combination of education and sport careers (i.e., dual career) of their talented and elite athletes across sports. The aim of this study was to explore the parents’ view of their role as dual career supporters and their need for educational support in this area.MethodsIn total, 115 parents (F = 49, M = 66) of athletes (14–23 yrs) engaged in full time academic education (high school/university) and competitive (e.g., National, International) sports (individual = 12, team = 9) in five European Member States (e.g., France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia) took part in national workshops. The workshops involved discussing five themes and agreeing statements relevant to assist parents supporting their children as dual career athletes: 1) the athletes’ needs; 2) the sports environment; 3) the academic environment; 4) dual career-related policies and services; 5) The educational methods for parenting dual career athletes.ResultsA final list of 80 agreed statements were identified: 25 statements mainly related to the sports entourage; 23 to information on dual career-related policies and services; 22 to the athletes’ needs; 17 to the academic entourage, and 8 to the relevant educational resources to parenting dual career athletes, respectively.ConclusionsThis cross-national qualitative research synthesized the parents’ perspectives about their needs and the most relevant content of an educational programme for parenting dual career athletes. The findings of this research will help influence the formulation of effective education strategies on parenting dual career athletes to ensure an optimal supportive environment for the successful combination of high-level sport and education careers.
Highlights
The findings of this research will help influence the formulation of effective education strategies on parenting dual career athletes to ensure an optimal supportive environment for the successful combination of high-level sport and education careers
In Europe, competitive sports are mainly structured at a club level, with limited relationship with the educational system resulting in possible cultural and organizational divergences and potentially placing talented and elite athletes at risk of academic or sports dropouts [1]
The current literature has investigated the parental role in supporting their children coping with the demands of competitive sport participation, which encompass horizontal and vertical critical stages [15, 16]
Summary
In Europe, competitive sports are mainly structured at a club level, with limited relationship with the educational system resulting in possible cultural and organizational divergences and potentially placing talented and elite athletes at risk of academic or sports dropouts [1]. The combination of academic and sport careers, referred to as ‘dual career’, of athletes has been considered as one of the priorities in European sports strategy and policy [2,3,4,5]. Such approaches have included funding provision for European Collaborative Partnerships between Member States [6, 7], a call for tender on minimum quality services for dual career [1, 8] and research for the Cult Committee of the European Parliament on qualifications/dual careers in sports [9]. The aim of this study was to explore the parents’ view of their role as dual career supporters and their need for educational support in this area
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