Academic flexibility and support for student-athletes: An Australian perspective on university teaching staff perceptions

ABSTRACT

Perspectives of teaching staff on the provision of flexibility for student-athletes are relatively unknown but are a vital element to understand when educating student-athletes. Flexibility is among the academic services often provided to athletes pursuing a dual-pathway. This study aims to investigate teaching staff perceptions on academic support services designed specifically for student-athletes. Utilizing an exploratory approach, it targets the case of one Australian university that has an agenda to support and foster student-athlete academic success. It utilizes an open-ended survey to explore teaching staff perceptions on their ability and willingness to provide learning and teaching support. Seventy-seven educators completed the survey, and the data were examined using both thematic and automated text analysis. There were varying degrees of support regarding flexibility and special considerations for student-athletes. The findings showed that developments in blended learning capability and better internal communication among university management, academics and student-athletes could facilitate improvements in student-athlete support.

KEYWORDS:

• Student-athletes
• dual-careers
• high-performance sport
• academic success

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter English

Peter English is a Senior Lecturer in Journalism at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

David Fleischman

David Fleischman is a Lecturer in Marketing at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Bridie Kean

Bridie Kean is a Lecturer in Public Health at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Tania Stevenson

Tania Stevenson is the Coordinator of the High Performance Student Athlete Program at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Kieran Broome

Kieran Broome previously worked at the University of the Sunshine Coast as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy.

Rubiana Cury

Rubiana Cury is a PhD candidate at Griffith University.