Needs of Student-Athletes
 Literature focusing on the first-year of the higher educational
experience encapsulates three main macro level themes:
 (a) The multidimensional psychological processes students endure
during the freshmen year
 Importance of engagement
 (b) The importance of the first-year experience in providing a
framework for the entire educational experience
– Chickering’s Seven Vectors
– Maslow’s Human Needs
 (c) The significance of developing personal connections and taking
personal responsibility for academic success
(Kidwell, 2005; Keup, 2007; Reason, Terenzini & Domingo, 2006)
 Overall first-year students thrive when
 a sense of community and connection with the university
is felt
 unique methods of learning focused on student
engagement are present
 a sense of ownership for academic success is fostered
(Jordan & Denson, 1990; Reason et. al, 2006)
 Student affairs professionals working within
intercollegiate athletics face unique challenges in
developing effective programming
 Four additional macro level themes surface including:
 (a) the struggle to balance roles of student and athlete
 (b) feelings of isolation from the student body and faculty
 (c) additional time management challenges
 (d) the need for leadership training as student-athletes fall
center stage in the commercialization of intercollegiate sport
(Broughton, 2001; Chartrand & Lent, 1987; Danish, 1993)
 Student-athletes and the general student body experience
a similar set of adjustments to
 the rigors of college level academics
 living away from home
 creating new social networks (Kidwell, 2005)
 The literature suggests the student-athlete first-year
experience is unique from that of the regular student
(Jolly, 2008; Petipas et. al, 1995; Wittmer et. al, 1981).
 Specialized first-year transition programming is essential
to target this special population yet often further isolates
 Higher ed and student affairs practitioners must
work to:
• Strike balance in curriculum
 Enable student-athletes develop as confident and successful
members of not only the intercollegiate athletics
department, but university as a whole
 Inclusive vs. Exclusive model
• Place larger focus on incorporating student-athletes
into the general student body
 “Dedicate resources and seize each opportunity to show
student-athletes that the university supports and cares about
their holistic well being from not only an athletic position,
but also from a cognitive and psychosocial development
standpoint” (Howard-Hamilton & Sina, 2001).
NCAA Goals and the Student-Athlete Experience
By the Numbers
•The overwhelming majority of student-athletes participate in college sports as part
of their educational experience and play for the love of their sport.
•More than eight out of 10 student-athletes will earn bachelor’s degrees. 20 percent
are first generation
•Graduation rates for student-athletes as a group are higher than for their peers in
the student body.
•A college degree has a direct impact on a person’s quality of life
• Median lifetime earnings of bachelor’s degree recipients are 65 percent
higher than those of high school graduates.
NCAA Goals and the Student-Athlete Experience
Supporting student success beyond college
•NCAA sports help student-athletes develop leadership, confidence, discipline
and teamwork. Student-athletes benefit from NCAA programs supporting
leadership opportunities, internships, degree completion and postgraduate
scholarships. NCAA sports help prepare student-athletes for success after
graduation.
Astin’s Theory of Student Involvement
 Theory is widely utilized within the current student affairs
literature
 Rarely applied to the student-athlete higher education population subset.
 Astin considers how undergraduate students interact with
their campus environments.
 The level of physical and psychological energy that students devote to the academic
experience ultimately influence levels of personal development and learning.
 Students’ commitment to physical and psychological components of the college
experience occur along a continuum.
 The quantity and quality of students’ interactions with campus outlets influence
levels of personal development and holistic learning.
Savickas’ Theory of Career Construction
Savickas (2002) defines the term career construction as a dynamic process, in which
individuals construct their careers by using life themes and experiences to guide
choices.
The theory of career construction presents a modern approach to Super’s (1957)
seminal theory of vocational development. This theory has developed in the 21st
century to describe the dynamic and evolutionary process of the construct of career
development (Savickas, 2002, 2005).
Within this study, I contextualized career construction as the individual process of
exploring career opportunities, making informed career decisions and designing
potential career trajectories based on life experiences
Operationalized as exploring, choosing and preparing for careers
Super’s Career Development Theory
Table 2. Super’s Five Stages of Vocational Development
Stage
Age
Characteristics
Crystallization
14-18
Developing and planning a tentative vocational goal
Specification
18-21
Firming the vocational goal
Implementation
21-24
Training for and obtaining employment
Stabilization
24-35
Working and confirming career choice
Consolidation
55+
Advancement in career
(Adapted from Super, 1957)
Theory of Career Construction
 Savickas (2005) argues that stages of career development do not occur in
neatly defined, separate categories.
 Student-athletes discussed how processes of exploring, choosing and
preparing for career fields tended to build on one another.
 Often times these processes occurred together.
 Savickas (2005) posits how individuals choose and prepare for vocations in
today’s environment is ever-changing.
 Student-athletes in this study support this notion of career construction as an
ongoing life process.
 Participants discussed how adapting to life experiences, both internal and
external to their home environments, continued to shape career
aspirations.
 Individuals often cited occupations of individuals they observed and
learned from over time as foundational to shaping career aspirations.
Forwarding Theory…
Student-athletes report…
Career choice and preparation processes occurs simultaneously during the
higher education experience.
A sense of passion for a career field guides meaningful career construction
Being a student-athlete prepares one for career fields
 All participants cited they were ready for life after sport due to being a
student-athlete, they acknowledged.
Career plans continue to evolve even during the higher education experience
and could change as soon as they approach the job market in the 21st century
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