Experiences Of Student-athletes Research Articles

Athletic Voices and Academic Victories: African American Male Student-Athlete Experiences in the Pac-Ten

The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ academic experiences and confidence about their academic achievement. Participants ( N = 27) consisted of high-achieving African American male student—athletes from four academically rigorous American universities in the Pac-Ten conference. Most of the participants competed in revenue-generating sports and were interviewed to obtain a deeper understanding of their successful academic experiences. Utilizing a phenomenological approach four major themes emerged: “I Had to Prove I’m Worthy,” “I’m a Perceived Threat to Society,” “It’s About Time Management,” and “It’s About Pride and Hard Work.” Stereotype threat and stereotype reactance are investigated in relation to findings. Recommendations for scholars and practitioners that work with student-athletes are also articulated.

Whose Responsibility Is It Anyway: The Student-Athlete?

In today’s world of higher education, intercollegiate athletics, and complex society there is much focus and attention placed on the student-athlete. Regardless of the region of the country, the level of the school or the specific sport, the student-athlete experiences a high level of public and private scrutiny, which is often negative. According to Watson (2006), the general perception of college student-athletes is that they are privileged, pampered, lazy, out-of-control, and primarily attend school with the sole purpose of participating in intercollegiate athletics. This stereotype is often held by people who do not fully understand the relationship between the student-athlete and the academic setting.

The student athlete experience

AbstractThis chapter discusses data sources available for studying the experience of student athletes on college campuses and highlights the need for national‐level data to address complex questions concerning this population.

College athletics and student achievement: The evidence at small colleges

AbstractThe College Sports Project is designed to gather data on athletics at Division III colleges and universities to inform presidents about the academic experiences of student athletes.

Data‐driven decision making in practice: The NCAA injury surveillance system

AbstractPolicymakers can use sport injury and exposure data to enhance the student athlete experience and make data‐driven policy, rules, and equipment decisions.

Predicting Student Athlete Career Situation Awareness From College Experiences

This study examined relationships between student athlete experiences and career situation awareness. Participants completed the Student-Athlete Experiences Inventory (SAEI) and Student-Athlete Career Situation Inventory (SACSI). Separate exploratory factor analyses were conducted for men and women to clarify factors on the inventories, and structural models were developed for each gender. For males, results showed that (a) involvement in campus activities leads to lack of interest in career situation, (b) social involvement leads to stronger perception of career situation, and (c) library use has little effect on career situation. For females, results revealed that (a) involvement in campus activities leads to career confidence, (b) social involvement leads to perception of career barriers, and (c) library use leads to perception that sport identity need not detract from career situation.

Athlete satisfaction at Universities in Gauteng

One of the most frequently studied sectors of sport management is university sport which, in the South African context, includes the overall experiences of student athletes of higher education institutions in relation to the sport department/ bureau, their personnel, activity programmes and offerings. In countries outside South Africa the issue of athlete satisfaction has been studied from several research perspectives such as coach behaviour, athletic trainer and medical cover, leadership behaviour, role ambiguity, holistic university experience and stakeholder satisfaction with selected goals and processes. One of the conclusions reached was that critical to athlete satisfaction was the sport department's emphasis on student development over the performance of the sport department. The purpose of this study was to determine what contributed to the satisfaction of athletes at universities in South Africa. The participants in this study consisted of 400 student-athletes at universities in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The instrument that was used in the study was a validated athlete satisfaction questionnaire (ASQ) developed by Riemer and Chelladurai (1998). The present study has identified support, individual performance, personal treatment by the coach, team task contribution and strategy as important indicators of athlete satisfaction. The findings of the study have important implications for universities as a whole as it can influence the reputation and image of the institution, the financial and other resources being made available for the institution, the number of quality athletes that can be attracted to the institution and the culture of the institution. South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol. 28(2) 2006: 121-131

THE INFLUENCE OF ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION ON THE COLLEGE ADJUSTMENT OF FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORE STUDENT ATHLETES

Research exploring the experiences of college student athletes has traditionally revealed low levels of academic achievement and success. This was especially true of minority college athletes, who demonstrated lower graduation rates than their majority counterparts. However, more recent data suggests the reverse of this trend may now be true. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity, gender, athletic participation, and college adjustment in 207 freshmen and sophomore college student athletes and non-athletes. All participants completed questionnaires assessing background demographics, athletic status, and college adjustment. Findings revealed gender and athletic status were significantly related to college adjustment. In addition, gender and race/ethnicity significantly interacted, and were related to scores on college adjustment. Implications for retention policy and future research are discussed.

The Influence of Athletic Participation on the College Adjustment of Freshmen and Sophomore Student Athletes

Research exploring the experiences of college student athletes has traditionally revealed low levels of academic achievement and success. This was especially true of minority college athletes, who demonstrated lower graduation rates than their majority counterparts. However, more recent data suggests the reverse of this trend may now be true. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity, gender, athletic participation, and college adjustment in 207 freshmen and sophomore college student athletes and non-athletes. All participants completed questionnaires assessing background demographics, athletic status, and college adjustment. Findings revealed gender and athletic status were significantly related to college adjustment. In addition, gender and race/ethnicity significantly interacted, and were related to scores on college adjustment. Implications for retention policy and future research are discussed.

Identity and athletic retirement: A prospective study

Objective The purpose of this study was to reexamine the relationship between identity and athletic retirement using a longitudinal, prospective design. Method One-on-one, in-depth interviews were conducted with three male and three female university student athletes at three times: at the outset of their last season of competition, approximately 1 month after their retirement, and approximately 1 year later. The unstructured raw data was analyzed inductively following procedures established in the literature [Côté, Salmela, Baria, & Russell (1993). Organizing and interpreting unstructured qualitative data. The Sport Psychologist, 7, 127–137; Côté, Salmela, & Russell (1995). The knowledge of high-performance gymnastic coaches: Methodological framework. The Sport Psychologist, 9, 65–75; Miller & Kerr (2002a). The athletic, academic, and social experiences of intercollegiate student-athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25, 346–367]. Results The findings revealed the participants committed themselves strongly to their athletic goals and anticipated disrupted identities upon retirement. As a result, they employed several coping strategies including the proactive diminishment of their athletic identities prior to retirement. Decreasing the prominence of their athletic identities precluded a major identity crisis or confusion upon and following athletic retirement. Conclusions The study concludes that the redefinition of self long before sport career termination may protect one's identity during this transition process.

Listening to the Voices

“Women of color …have historically been silenced in society and sport” (Smith, 1992, p. 228). This study examined the sport participation patterns of 12 African American female collegiate student athletes using qualitative methods. Data were collected at a large midwestern university during the 1998—99 academic year. An emergent theme was the effect of silencing by the media, athletic administrators, coaches, and other student athletes on the experiences of African American female student athletes. The findings are presented in the following order: the theoretical framework for the study, an introduction to silencing, an overview of the research analyses, a description of the research setting, and a presentation of the data surrounding the theme of silencing as told through the participants' voices. Following these sections is a discussion and suggestions for future research.

Listening to the Voices: The Experiences of African American Female Student Athletes

Listening to the Voices: The Experiences of African American Female Student Athletes

Towards an interest‐convergence in the education of African‐American football student athletes in major college sports

The purpose of this article is to advance Derrick Bell’s (1992b) interest‐convergence principle as an analytical lens for understanding the complex role of race in the educational experiences of African‐American football student athletes. Currently, there is a scarcity of educational research that employs a critical theoretical perspective on race to address the education of African‐American students in general, and student athletes in particular. This article includes American law cases that attend to the educational experiences of student athletes participating in high profile intercollegiate football programs. The inclusion of the legal literature is meant to adhere to the intellectual and methodological origins of critical race theory and to demonstrate how educational differences are institutionalized through coercion and ideology. The article concludes with a discussion of the interest‐convergence principle as a means of investigating and establishing alternative strategies on behalf of the student athlete in order to improve his educational experience and academic outcomes.

The Educational Experiences of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes

The Educational Experiences of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes

College Sports Reform: Where Are the Faculty?

prising is the historical absence of effective faculty oversight of the educational experiences of student athletes in bigtime college programs. Among the revelations that point to a failure of faculty governance in these matters, the most embarrassing must surely be the dismal graduation rates of athletes in several basketball and football programs. Reports in the popular press indicate that 4 percent of black basketball players graduated at the University of Georgia in a recent period. At one Big Ten school, the graduation rate for all basketball players was 9 percent. At Memphis State, the NAACPand not the faculty, it might be noteddiscovered that in a ten-year period, no black basketball player graduated. The list goes on and covers twenty or more schools that should have been embarrassed.