Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Potuto, Josephine R
• O'Hanlon
• James

Titel

National Study of Student-Athletes Regarding Their Experiences as College Students

Ist Teil von

• College student journal, 2007-12, Vol.41 (4), p.947

Ort / Verlag

Project Innovation, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2007

Quelle

ERIC

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• There is a received wisdom that the "student" experiences of student-athletes are deficient and that student-athletes are, and are treated as, athletes first and students second. We surveyed student-athletes at 18 Division IA (major football programs) schools to learn from them what they experience as students and how they assess those experiences. Student athlete responses showed a generally positive picture of college life. While they regret that their participation in varsity athletics means that they miss out on some aspects of college life, both curricular and co-curricular, they value their athletics participation and believe that it both instills values independent of those derived from other aspects of college life and enhances particular skills and their overall college experience. They also report that the trade-offs they make in order to compete are acceptable, or more than acceptable. This generally positive assessment also held true for different cohorts of student-athletes--male/female; African-American/white; athletically more successful/athletically less successful; team sports/individual sports, revenue/non revenue sports. Based on these findings, it appears that those who believe that Division IA student-athletes are receiving an inferior overall college education experience need to re-assess their conclusions, or at least to consider how the student-athletes themselves evaluate that experience. (Contains 7 footnotes and 12 tables.)