American Press, JSAEDS Contents & Abstracts

Journal of Student-Athlete Educational Development and Success
Contents & Abstracts, Volume 3, 2021

ISBN 978-0-89641-614-7
$40.00 (Includes shipping)

Developing College Athletes into Leaders: Analyzing the Impact of a Leadership Academy — Lisa M. Rubin, GK Nwosu — The purpose of this research is to understand how college athletes’ participation in a formal leadership academy curriculum perceive their leadership development. Athletes in one National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletic program’s leadership academy were interviewed at the end of the first-year of participation. Through the lenses of role theory and implicit leadership theory, leadership development within the participants of the academy was studied in the first two emerging leaders’ cohort years. Findings indicate many positive benefits of academy participation on college athletes’ leadership development, both in sport and for life. Keywords: college athletes, leadership, leadership development, role theory, implicit leadership theory (1-29)

Athletes Think: Understanding the Terminal Doctorate and Professional Degree Attainment from the Scholar-Athlete Perspective — Jeff Porter, Brandon E. Martin, Whitney Griffin, Pyar Seth, Danielle McArdle, Otis C. Harrison, C. Keith Harrison — The dumb jock narrative has continued to circulate through the culture of higher education. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the collegiate athlete’s graduation rate is comparable to the general student population. However, no matter how impressive the non-athletic accomplishment, such data has not appeared to alter the public discourse or perception of the collegiate athlete’s academic engagement. There is also a question about whether or not the graduation measurement is the best assessment of academic engagement, success, or career development. Since research on both life after sport and the collegiate athlete’s interest/experience with professional or doctoral degree training is relatively non-existent, the purpose of this study is to understand the experience of former Division I college athletes who have completed a professional or doctoral. Our qualitative interview process highlighted the following: (a) challenges with faculty, (b) transferrable skills, (c) mentor support, and (d) family support. Each theme is a core feature of collegiate athletes’ psychological orientation moving through the undergraduate experience to completing their professional/doctorate degree. Keywords: college athlete, graduate, professional doctorate degree, transferrable skills, grit. (30-60)

Utilizing a Personality Assessment and Programming in Division I Football: An Exploratory Study — Stacey A. Forsythe, Paula A. Upright, Rachel Mergenthal, Dana J. Sullivan — The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the use of the Birkman Method® Personality Assessment and PlaidSport Player Development programming on a mid-major, NCAA Division I football team (N = 106). The researchers worked closely with a mid-major NCAA Division I Football Program (“Football Team”) for the entire 2018 season to re-design, develop, and implement a player development program utilizing The Birkman Method® Personality Assessment, and explore the use of a personality assessment tool in player and team development in intercollegiate athletics. This paper will outline the successes, limitations, and recommendations for future implementation of the programming in intercollegiate athletics. (61-87)

Graduate School Career Planning for African American College-Athletes — Bryan Romsa, Tanner Feterl, Katelyn Romsa, Jon Lim, Brandon Thomas — Multiple sport-exit career opportunities are available to African American college athletes, but awareness of these careers and the role graduate school has in obtaining them is often invisible. Through semi-structured interviews, the researchers of this study investigated factors influencing NCAA Division I African American college athletes’ choice of pursuing graduate school. The participants consisted of nine African American college athletes representing track and field (n=3), football (n=4), women’s basketball (n=1), and volleyball (n=1). Financial barriers, the role of mentors and family members, and lack of access to information regarding graduate school were top factors identified utilizing Planned Happenstance Theory. The findings shed light on the importance of proactive career planning for African American college athletes. Implications for professional practice are also discussed. Keywords: African American college athlete, career exploration, graduate school choice, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), sport exit. (88-115)

Leadership Development Programs in College Athletics: An Exploration of the Student-Athlete Experience — Jeffrey O’Brien, Sarah E. Stokowski, F. Michelle Richardson Brandon E. Martin, Larry Proctor, C. Keith Harrison — Leadership development training is in demand at institutions of higher learning as students are seeking formal leadership opportunities to enhance their college experience. No longer is leadership development training seen as an ancillary offering, but rather, institutions are embracing the need to provide skill-building leadership training to better prepare students for the workplace. Although the majority of NCAA Division I institutions have leadership development programming (e.g., Navarro et al., 2020), little is known about the benefits of such programming on the student-athlete population. Informed by the student involvement theory (Astin, 1984) this study employed phenomenology methodology and semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of Division I student-athletes (n=12) who participated in athletic department sponsored leadership development programs. Throughout the data, three themes emerged: personal growth and development, skill development, and engaging pedagogies. Results from this study can aid athletic departments implementing leadership development programs. Keywords: athlete development, experience, leadership, programming, student-athletes. (116-136)

Can Integrating Intercollegiate Athletics into the Educational Mission of Colleges and Universities Help Student-Athletes Make Ethical Decisions — Eddie G. Walker II — Ethical climate is an important consideration when educating students, specifically student-athletes. It is this ethical climate that gives them a sense of right and wrong in multiple contexts. This study examined the perceptions of ethical work climate at NCAA member institutions. The purpose was to assess whether athletics could contribute to the educational mission of universities by determining if athletic and academic department employees held different perceptions of their respective ethical work climates. Results of the independent t-tests indicate a difference in the perceived ethical work climate on one subscale (Moral Awareness). However, MANOVA results indicate no differences between athletic and academic employees when analyzing the survey as a whole. Based upon these results, it would be important to continue striving towards promoting a positive ethical work climate in both athletic and academic contexts as a means of promoting the character development part of the educational mission. Keywords: ethical climate, character development, intercollegiate athletics, moral reasoning (137-163)

Expanding Voices: Reporting on Practitioners’ Perspectives of Student-Athlete Development across Institutional and Athletic Classification — Zach Weinstein — The purpose of this report is to conceptualize how students competing in varsity sports settings develop as students, the similarities and contrasts across athletics divisions, and to what extent athletics stakeholders (institutions, departments, and athletic-academic practitioners) can improve development opportunities for their student-athletes. This review article examines the following areas: 1. to what extent is life skills programming implemented across athletic divisions and classifications? 2. what are the areas not espoused by the literature and practice that need more programmatic attention, funding, and engagement? 3. how can institutions and collegiate athletic-academic practitioners explore life skills from a three-pronged lens of assessment, evaluation, and improvement? By reporting on how practitioners perceive the current state of student-athlete development, the author arrived at three recommendations for athletics stakeholders: develop and improve institutional partnerships with on-campus constituents, grow local community partnerships, and focus on dynamic programming. Keywords: Governance, student-athlete development, student-athlete enhancement, athletics, intercollegiate athletics, NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, partnerships, community, (164-186)

Athletic Identity and Academic Success: Supporting the Development of Student Athletes — Taylor L. West, Alison Fridley — This quantitative study examined the relationship between academic support services usage, athletic identity (AIMS), and academic success (ASICS) among student-athletes at a large, public, primarily White institution. Existing research about academic support services is available, but effectiveness is unknown. This study was grounded in Astin’s Student Involvement Theory. Of 369 student-athletes contacted, 177 completed a 53-item online survey. Academic support services usage was positively correlated with athletic identity and negatively correlated with career decidedness, personal adjustment, and socializing. Athletic identity was negatively correlated with internal motivation and personal adjustment. Results indicated a significant regression equation, with athletic identity, career decidedness, personal adjustment, and socializing accounting for 15% of the explained variance in academic support services usage. Results may impact best practices for the holistic development of student-athletes. Keywords: athletic identity, academic success, academic support services, career readiness. (187-211)

BOOK REVIEW

Student Athletes: Merging Aademics and Sports, Reviewed by Warren K. Simpson (212-213)

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