Gonçalves Carlos E, Carvalho Humberto M, Fernandes Ana, Éloi Serge, Quinaud Ricardo T, Rama Luis M
University of Coimbra, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Coimbra, Portugal.
School of Sports, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Front Sports Act Living. 2025 Apr 10;7:1560707. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1560707. eCollection 2025.
The global dimension of elite sport enrolls a vast number of student-athletes and universities around the world. However, the majority of higher education institutions do not share the same vision and policies about education and elite sport. Hence, comparative studies are needed. The goal of the present study was to use Multilevel Regression with Poststratification to estimate variation between Brazilian and European university student-athletes' motivation toward sports and academics, and two dimensions of identity, affectivity and social identity.
508 student-athletes (311 Brazilian, competing at the national university games; 197 European, competing at the European University Games) participated in the study and answered to two questionnaires used in cross-cultural research: SAMSAQ, for academic and sport motivation, and BIMS, for social identity and emotions.
For all the variables our estimations showed significant differences between Brazilian and European athletes, with the former expressing higher scores in all dimensions of motivation and identity.
The findings suggest that the macro-effect of the organizational and cultural context is the most important source of influence on athletes' motivation and identity, which appears to be more significant in Brazil. Cultural nuances among European countries and Brazilian states seem to have little impact on the athletes' responses. It is necessary to move on from an ethnographic stance and assume methodological sophistication as a way to assimilate a body of knowledge that can be subject of comparison and interpretation. Educators need to compare and see what works at a global level, because thousands of elite athletes are enrolled in higher education and feed national and international competitions with their commitment and quality. Our findings highlight the need for policymakers and educational institutions to develop tailored support systems that acknowledge the cultural and organizational differences impacting student-athlete motivation and identity. Implementing flexible academic programs, fostering supportive athletic environments, and promoting dual career pathways are crucial for optimizing the student-athlete experience globally.
精英体育的全球层面涉及世界各地大量的学生运动员和大学。然而，大多数高等教育机构对教育和精英体育并没有相同的愿景和政策。因此，需要进行比较研究。本研究的目的是使用分层后多水平回归来估计巴西和欧洲大学生运动员在体育和学术动机以及身份认同的两个维度（情感和社会认同）上的差异。
508名学生运动员（311名巴西学生，参加全国大学生运动会；197名欧洲学生，参加欧洲大学生运动会）参与了该研究，并回答了跨文化研究中使用的两份问卷：用于学术和体育动机的SAMSAQ问卷，以及用于社会认同和情感的BIMS问卷。
对于所有变量，我们的估计显示巴西和欧洲运动员之间存在显著差异，前者在动机和认同的所有维度上得分更高。
研究结果表明，组织和文化背景的宏观效应是对运动员动机和认同最重要的影响来源，这在巴西似乎更为显著。欧洲国家和巴西各州之间的文化细微差别似乎对运动员的回答影响不大。有必要从人种学立场转向，采用复杂的方法论，以便吸收可用于比较和解释的知识体系。教育工作者需要进行比较，看看在全球层面哪些方法有效，因为成千上万的精英运动员接受高等教育，并以他们的投入和素质参与国家和国际比赛。我们的研究结果强调，政策制定者和教育机构需要制定量身定制的支持系统，承认影响学生运动员动机和认同的文化和组织差异。实施灵活的学术项目、营造支持性的体育环境以及促进双重职业道路对于在全球范围内优化学生运动员的体验至关重要。
