‘I would not be satisfied if I had not given it a try’: the expectations and experiences of students in a high school skiing program

Abstract

The article presents results from a panel study among students who attended a high school program dedicated to the development of athletes in various skiing disciplines. Using the conceptual framework of Bourdieu, the study examined the students’ social backgrounds, their expectations of succeeding in the field of skiing as well as in the field of education (secondary school), and the extent to which their expectations were fulfilled. Integral to the latter, were the students’ negotiation of uncertainty and realities related to fulfilment of expectations. The investigation was conducted at the first and the third year at school, employing quantitative and qualitative methods. In general, the students came from families with well-educated parents having a distinct sport habitus. During the school period, the students’ expectations as to both skiing achievements and good school grades were reduced. Many had experienced challenges. About one-fifth of the sample had quit during the three years and almost one-third had considered quitting at one point. The qualitative interviews revealed how the students managed to adjust and re-evaluate their ambitions, particularly with respect to skiing.

Keywords:

• Skiing high school
• dual careers
• expectations
• experiences
• Bourdieu

Notes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Mari Kristin Sisjord is a Professor of Sport Sociology. Her main interests are youth sport, alternative sport cultures (in particular snowboarding), sport and gender, and sport and ethnicity. She is the Department Head for Cultural and Social Sciences, The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.

Marit Sorensen is a Professor of Sport and Exercice Psychology. Her main interests are motivation for sport and physical activity, and physical activity and mental health. She is currently the Department Head for Coaching and Psychology, The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.

Notes

1 Sports school is a common term in the English language, however, other terms such as sports gymnasiums and elite sports schools are employed in some countries, as well as names covering the specific sport such as skiing school etc. The varieties in concepts as well as scientific approaches make it difficult to provide a systematic literature review. Therefore, we have searched in relevant journals in sport sociology/social science and sport and education. References in articles have also led us to other studies.

2 As the contact persons administered the data collection, we do not have the exact N for the sample. The amount of questionnaires sent out indicated a response rate ca. 90% for both data collections. The procedure for data collection allows analysing data on group basis.

3 At T1, we asked for the occupation of the parents, but 39% did not answer the question and some gave insufficient information. Therefore, we decided to ask for education at T2.