Relative importance of success in sport and schoolwork.

Cross-domain studies of achievement-related cognitions have been gaining attention in the United States. This study provides comparative data from a United Kingdom upper school. 390 subjects age 13 (n = 218) or 15 (n = 172) years rated the importance of success in sport and schoolwork. Academic success was more important than sport success, and sport success was more important to boys (n = 203) than girls (n = 187). Academic success was less important to older subjects, and sport success was less important to older girls. Predictions, from importance and perceived ability, of free time spent in each domain were stronger for sport than for schoolwork indicating that the model held better for voluntary activity.