Sports Participation and Academic Success of Student Athlete

Categories: Academic Success Being A Student Athlete Pet Peeve Research Sports Teacher

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Introduction

Background

This chapter also provides the rationale, key details and scope and limitation of the research.Being a student-athlete is one of the best experiences that you can have in school, whether be grade school, high school or college. Being a student athlete also means that you get the privilege to represent your school in big leagues. Also being a student athlete usually also means that your name is known all over school.

These are some positive examples that you can get from being a student athlete.

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However there also negative effects that comes along of being a student athlete, for example student athlete has a rigorous schedule. Student athletes usually practice in the morning and in the evening that last for two or more hours. Because of this schedule student athlete has a lot of pressure on their shoulders, for example the pressure that they get from their coaches, families or friends to perform well in their respective sports.

Added to that pressure is the pressure that student athletes get from their teachers to comply and submit school requirements on time.

Sports participation and the relationship it has with academic success among student athletes had been an argument for a long period of time already. Most people observed that sports may be a hindrance to the student athletes' academic growth, since student athletes have a hard time managing their academics and sport involvement.

The concern that arose at the high school level is whether or not athletics have become a more compelling force than academics in American schools (McGrath, 1984).

However according to (Fisher, Jusczak & Friedman, 1996), sports appeared to be an attractive aspect of the high school experience to many students. Fisher et al. conducted a study on the positive and negative effects of sport participation on high school students. A confidential survey was given to 838 students, where 45% were male and 55% were female (Fisher et al). From the participants were found to have most commonly reported that enjoyment, recreation and competition were reasons for participation. The researchers found that 35% of the participants regarded sports to be more important than school. Also most students believed that they are likely to receive an athletic scholarship (Fisher et al). Student athletes usually sacrifice academic work to spend time in the gym, practicing, getting better at their sport and to proudly represent their respective schools.

However the problem is if the student doesn't maintain academic passing requirements set by their schools or league such us UAAP and NCAA they lose eligibility to play. (Henson 2013). According to Pessumal (2016) genuine student-athletes give equal importance to both school and sports. Pessumal also added that the lifestyle of student athletes is a strenuous one. Being a student athlete is one of the most rewarding and stressful things ever. (Brown 2016). Student athletes also have much more things to prioritize than the average student. Student athletes go under a lot of stress because of the pressure given to them, the pressure to be able to perform well in their respective sports and to be able to pass all their academic requirements.

There are a lot of factors as to why student athletes struggle with their academics such as pressure from coaches, friends and family. And the draining workouts, practices and games that takes a toll on a student athlete's body and the mental stress that athletes go through because of the heavy workload from school that they have to accomplish in short period of time. So there is a need to be given special attention by teachers, striving and motivating students to help those student athletes who struggle with their academics.

Rationale

The researcher observed that there are a lot of student athletes that are at risk with their academic performances due to the hectic schedules they have, the draining, tiring practices, grueling competitive season, pressure to perform well and the pressure to do well in classes as well. With the given conditions, there is a special need to give attention and help by teachers, striving and motivating students to help student athletes that struggle with their academic performance. The purpose of the study is to determine how student athletes handle the day to day struggles that they go through. And also the purpose of this research is to determine how athletic participation negatively affects the academic success of student athletes. And lastly the purpose of this research is to identify how teachers, striving students and motivating students can help student athletes handle the struggles they go through with their academic performance.

Key details

The researcher would like to answer the following research questions in order to fully understand the research objectives of the study.

Research question 1: How does the educational environment influence the motivation of student athletes in school?
Research question 2: What are the perceptions of student athletes as motivation for school and sports?
Research question 3: How does the rigorous schedule of student athletes affect the academic performance of a student athlete?
Research question 4: How can teachers or fellow students positively teach effective study styles to struggling student athletes?
Research question 5: How does too much stress affect the metal state and performance of a student athlete?

The research questions would be able to provide a straight forward assessment as to why student athletes struggle in their academics and also provide how do student athletes want to be assisted

The researcher also observed the following:

Student athletes are mentally and physically tired because of the draining and tiring workouts, practices and stressful classes.
Student athletes have little to no time to rest because of the hectic schedule they have.
Student athletes are given a shorter time to finish school requirements because of the hectic schedules they have
.Student athletes usually miss class due to weekday games or trainings.
Student athletes carry a lot of pressure, pressure from coaches to perform well in their sport and the pressure teachers give to finish their requirements with a shorter amount of time.

The significance of the study

The findings of this research would provide coaches, teachers, parents and fellow students with a deeper understanding of the perceptions and experiences of student athletes. The data that will be produce may increase the knowledge on the ongoing study on the struggles student athletes go through, the data may also increase the awareness on how the motivational climate molds the athlete's attitude and approach on their academic and athletic performance.

Scope and limitation of the study

This research study describes and analyzes the perceptions of student athletes on why they struggle with their academics. The researcher would focus on such perceptions and experience from selected student athletes in the Junior High School department in the prestigious University of Santo Tomas. The study would focus on the day to day experiences that student athletes from UST JHS go through. The study would also focus on the common struggles student athletes face in UST, in addition the researcher would focus on how do student athletes from UST JHS handle such struggles like, pressure, hectic schedules, educational and athletic climate they have, and what motivates the student athlete to go through such difficult path.Outline of developmentI.

Factors in handling time for academics and athletics