TY  - GEN
AB  - Student-athletes may be exposed to environmental and/or institutional factors that informally message the prioritization of their athletic participation over their academic goals. These factors have the potential to affect student-athletes’ perceived autonomy for selecting an undergraduate academic major that is in alignment with their educational interests and career aspirations.
The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the influence of environmental and institutional factors on the autonomy of student-athletes when selecting their undergraduate academic major. The research questions utilized were: (1) What environmental and/or institutional factors affect student-athlete autonomy regarding the selection of their undergraduate academic major? (2) Do student-athletes perceive that their autonomy for selecting their undergraduate major would be different if they did not participate in intercollegiate athletics? (3) How does the gender of a student-athlete affect the perceived levels of autonomy regarding the selection of their undergraduate academic major? This quantitative study surveyed 145 student-athletes across 17 NCAA-sponsored sports at a mid-sized Division I public institution. A 5-Point Likert scale was utilized to assess student-athletes’ perceptions of environmental and institutional factors. The findings indicate that the perceived rigor of an academic major and the time commitment of their athletic participation were the two factors that had the highest impact on their undergraduate academic major selection. Implications for practice include the importance of providing student-athletes with detailed athletic participation schedules that account for the ability to self-select classes and provide the time necessary to meet their academic goals.

AD  - University of Southern Indiana
AU  - Wildeman, Joshua
DA  - 2024-07-22
DO  - 10.58090/usi.1556421
DO  - doi
ID  - 1556421
KW  - student-athlete academic major selection
KW  - student-athlete academic clustering
KW  - student-athlete academic autonomy
L1  - https://library.usi.edu/record/1556421/files/Wildeman%20Doctoral%20Dissertation-Grad%20Studies%20Submission-FINAL%20EDIT.pdf
L2  - https://library.usi.edu/record/1556421/files/Wildeman%20Doctoral%20Dissertation-Grad%20Studies%20Submission-FINAL%20EDIT.pdf
L4  - https://library.usi.edu/record/1556421/files/Wildeman%20Doctoral%20Dissertation-Grad%20Studies%20Submission-FINAL%20EDIT.pdf
LA  - eng
LK  - https://library.usi.edu/record/1556421/files/Wildeman%20Doctoral%20Dissertation-Grad%20Studies%20Submission-FINAL%20EDIT.pdf
N2  - Student-athletes may be exposed to environmental and/or institutional factors that informally message the prioritization of their athletic participation over their academic goals. These factors have the potential to affect student-athletes’ perceived autonomy for selecting an undergraduate academic major that is in alignment with their educational interests and career aspirations.
The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the influence of environmental and institutional factors on the autonomy of student-athletes when selecting their undergraduate academic major. The research questions utilized were: (1) What environmental and/or institutional factors affect student-athlete autonomy regarding the selection of their undergraduate academic major? (2) Do student-athletes perceive that their autonomy for selecting their undergraduate major would be different if they did not participate in intercollegiate athletics? (3) How does the gender of a student-athlete affect the perceived levels of autonomy regarding the selection of their undergraduate academic major? This quantitative study surveyed 145 student-athletes across 17 NCAA-sponsored sports at a mid-sized Division I public institution. A 5-Point Likert scale was utilized to assess student-athletes’ perceptions of environmental and institutional factors. The findings indicate that the perceived rigor of an academic major and the time commitment of their athletic participation were the two factors that had the highest impact on their undergraduate academic major selection. Implications for practice include the importance of providing student-athletes with detailed athletic participation schedules that account for the ability to self-select classes and provide the time necessary to meet their academic goals.

PY  - 2024-07-22
T1  - Student-Athlete Undergraduate Major Selection: An Investigation into the Environmental & Institutional Factors of the Decision-Making Process
TI  - Student-Athlete Undergraduate Major Selection: An Investigation into the Environmental & Institutional Factors of the Decision-Making Process
UR  - https://library.usi.edu/record/1556421/files/Wildeman%20Doctoral%20Dissertation-Grad%20Studies%20Submission-FINAL%20EDIT.pdf
Y1  - 2024-07-22
ER  -