Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.
European Athlete as Student Network, Ghaxaq, Malta.
PLoS One. 2022 Feb 25;17(2):e0264175. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264175. eCollection 2022.
Previous studies have found that student-athletes (S-As) have difficulties in achieving dual career (DC) success. However, no studies have analysed the opinion of the S-As on the functioning of DC with a qualitative methodology. The aim of the present work was to collect the opinions of elite university S-As in relation to DC policy adopted by their academic institutions in different European countries. In total, 77 athletes (F = 35, M = 42; age range: 20-25 years) participated in 15 national face-to-face focus groups in five different countries, to discuss aspects that higher education institutes should implement in relation to: 1) the athletes' needs; 2) assistance/tutorship: 2) curricula requirements; 3) financial support; 4) logistic support; 5) social support; and 6) dual career policies. Fifty of the athletes competed in individual sports and twenty-seven team sports. Of them, 57 was enrolled at undergraduate, 17 was enrolled in a master and 3 in a PhD. The athletes were presented with 13 open-ended questions one by one, and were ensured freedom to interact. All the discussions were recorded. After this, a general discussion took place in which the participants identified and agreed on a final list of statements from their focus group deemed to be relevant to DC athletes as university students. Then, at a consensus meeting, the findings were combined, repetitions were eliminated, and fragmented statements were condensed into broader ones. A final list of 31 statements, organized in six related content units, were identified in relation to the athletes' needs (n = 5), assistance/tutorship (n = 5), curricula requirements (n = 4), financial support (n = 4), logistic support (n = 4), social support (n = 6), and DC policies (n = 3), respectively. In conclusion, this cross-national qualitative research study synthesized the S-As views about their needs and the most relevant DC policies and provisions that higher education institutes should provide to ensure them with positive academic experiences towards the achievement of a degree.
先前的研究发现，运动员在兼顾学业和运动生涯方面存在困难。然而，目前尚无研究采用定性方法分析运动员对兼顾学业和运动生涯这一问题的看法。本研究旨在收集不同欧洲国家精英大学生运动员对其所在院校所采用的兼顾学业和运动生涯政策的看法。共有 77 名运动员（女性 35 人，男性 42 人；年龄范围：20-25 岁）参加了 15 个在五个不同国家进行的全国面对面焦点小组讨论，讨论内容涉及高等教育机构应在以下方面采取的措施：1）运动员的需求；2）辅导/指导；3）课程要求；4）经济支持；5）后勤支持；6）社会支持；7）兼顾学业和运动生涯政策。其中，50 名运动员参加的是个人项目，27 名运动员参加的是团体项目。57 名运动员是本科生，17 名运动员是硕士生，3 名运动员是博士生。运动员们逐一接受了 13 个开放式问题的访谈，并被确保有充分的互动自由。所有讨论均进行了记录。在此之后，运动员们展开了一次全面的讨论，他们从焦点小组讨论中识别并确定了一份最终的、与兼顾学业和运动生涯的运动员相关的陈述清单，这些陈述被认为与大学生运动员有关。随后，在一次共识会议上，研究人员对这些发现进行了综合，消除了重复的内容，并将分散的陈述浓缩为更广泛的内容。最终确定了 31 份陈述，将其分为六个相关的内容单元，分别涉及运动员的需求（n=5）、辅导/指导（n=5）、课程要求（n=4）、经济支持（n=4）、后勤支持（n=4）、社会支持（n=6）和兼顾学业和运动生涯政策（n=3）。总之，这项跨国定性研究综合了运动员对其需求以及高等教育机构应提供的最相关兼顾学业和运动生涯政策和规定的看法，以确保他们在获得学位方面拥有积极的学术体验。
