The value of qualitative approaches in the examination of Black male student athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the value added by qualitative research methods in the examination of Black male student athletes’ experiences and campus climates at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I predominantly White institutions (PWIs) in the United States. A comprehensive review of the sport and higher education literature was conducted to identify exemplar qualitative studies. In an effort to address epistemological racism in the sport education literature, these race-based studies incorporated qualitative approaches to better understand the unique challenges facing Black male student athletes at Division I PWIs. Specifically, these studies examined the impact of the campus climates on Black male student athletes’ holistic experiences, perceptions and attitudes. Qualitative approaches such as focus groups, individual interviews, photo/visual elicitation, participant observations and narrative inquiries are highlighted. The quality of each study was analysed using the following eight criteria for quality in qualitative research: (1) worthy topic, (2) rich rigour, (3) sincerity, (4) credibility, (5) resonance, (6) significant contribution, (7) ethics and (8) meaningful coherence. Collectively, these qualitative studies provide vital insight into Black male student athletes’ socialisation experiences at Division I PWIs. Key findings from these studies are discussed and recommendations for policy and practice are presented.

Keywords:

• qualitative research
• intercollegiate athletics
• race
• higher education

Notes

1. The term Black and African-American will be used interchangeably throughout the paper. Black will be used by the author and African-American will be used when cited from another text.

2. NCAA Division I institutions are the primary focus of this article because they generate the highest amount of revenue, the most visible and generate the highest scrutiny regarding the imbalance of educational missions and athletic success among all intercollegiate athletic programmes (Sack and Staurowsky 1998).