Cool Down or Warm Up? Understanding Motivations behind Student Athlete Major Choices

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Parris, D. (2016). Cool Down or Warm Up? Understanding Motivations behind Student Athlete Major Choices. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how student athletes’ choice in major is influenced by coaches, advisors, peers, and instructors and how these influences contribute to the likelihood of being cooled out. Personal narratives for 10 student athletes were collected via semi-structured individual interviews and analyzed employing various thematic coding and use of the qualitative research program NVivo. Findings suggest that the student athletes are not being cooled out by these influences. Reasons for major choice included personal connections to their major, personal connections to athletic academic advisors, social networks, and the participants’ perceptions of their coaches, and instructors. The theme of the student athlete role and their perception of a higher standard also emerged as important factors in the participants’ academic success. This paper presents implications and recommendations for academic personnel in athletic departments and how they can better aid the student athlete population.

Details
Author

Parris, Dionne

Title

Cool Down or Warm Up? Understanding Motivations behind Student Athlete Major Choices

Physical Description

1 online resource (42 pages) : PDF

Date

2016

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how student athletes’ choice in major is influenced by coaches, advisors, peers, and instructors and how these influences contribute to the likelihood of being cooled out. Personal narratives for 10 student athletes were collected via semi-structured individual interviews and analyzed employing various thematic coding and use of the qualitative research program NVivo. Findings suggest that the student athletes are not being cooled out by these influences. Reasons for major choice included personal connections to their major, personal connections to athletic academic advisors, social networks, and the participants’ perceptions of their coaches, and instructors. The theme of the student athlete role and their perception of a higher standard also emerged as important factors in the participants’ academic success. This paper presents implications and recommendations for academic personnel in athletic departments and how they can better aid the student athlete population.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Sociology
Educational sociology

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Academic Clustering
Athletes
Sports

Subject Area

Sociology

Advisor(s)

Stearns, Elizabeth

Committee Members

Schmutz, Vaughn
Moller, Stephanie

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2016.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Parris_uncc_0694N_11114

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1619