Dual sport career experiences of student-athletes studying in South Africa and the USA
African Journal of Career Development
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Dual sport career experiences of student-athletes studying in South Africa and the USA | |
| Creator | van Zyl, Louis J. | |
| Description | Background: Institutions of higher education are hubs for student-athletes pursuing dual careers, in sports and higher education. The concepts of dual careers, transition models and support systems for student sports provide the conceptual framework for this study.Objectives: The study investigated the dual sports career experiences of South African track and field student-athletes who studied at universities in South Africa and the United States of America (USA). Objectives determined satisfaction in terms of student-athlete support systems in their chosen localities.Method: This qualitative study used a purposive sample of 12 participants from a general population of South African junior track and field athletes who pursued dual careers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews.Results: The respondents found the US National Association Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports system superior to the South African sports system. The dual-career student-athletes transitioning through the last two stages of the South African Long-Term Athlete Development model reported a lack of support that negatively impacted the success of their dual career balance.Conclusion: The South African context of student sport is not generally conducive to creating and enabling a dual sports–academic career environment because of insufficient contextual, processional and sports-specific factors. The participants perceived the NCAA system of student sport as holistic and supportive of their dual-career development.Contribution: This study adds to the limited pool of knowledge relating to the dual-career development of student-athletes, and provides a base line for future research studies. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2024-02-02 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ajcd.v6i1.96 | |
| Source | African Journal of Career Development; Vol 6, No 1 (2024); 9 pages 2617-7471 2709-7420 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/96/454
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/96/455
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/96/456
https://ajcd.africa/index.php/ajcd/article/view/96/457
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