Italy and Slovenia have no structured measures in place to provide educational services for elite athletes in higher education. Thus, this study aimed to understand motivations for a dual career of Italian and Slovenian student-athletes in relation to gender, age (≤24, >24 yrs), and type of sport (i.e., individual sports, team sports). Ninety-eight Italian (females: n=23, age: 22.1±1.5 yrs; males: n=75, age: 24.3±2.9 yrs) and 216 Slovenian (females: n=103, age: 21.5±3.0 yrs; males: n=113, age: 21.3±2.3 yrs) college student-athletes were administered the 39 items of the SAMSAQ-IS (i.e., 30 items of the original SAMSAQ plus nine items of the Italian version SAMSAQ-IT) questionnaire. A MANOVA verified differences (p<0.05) between the groups. A three-factor model with acceptable Cronbach alpha coefficients (SAM=16, alpha=0.85 items; AM=14 items, alpha=0.78 items; CAM=18 items, alpha=0.85 items) emerged. Two items (i.e., 19, 39) were removed because of a low threshold of acceptability. No difference regarding gender was identified. Regarding CAM, effects were found for Nation (p<0.0001), Nation x Age (p=0.0005), and Type of Sport x Age (p=0.0033). For AM, differences were found for Type of Sport (p=0.0256), and Nation x Type of Sport (p=0.036). No difference emerged for SAM. Despite the lack of institutional support, Italian and Slovenian student-athletes remain highly motivated for a dual career, independently of gender. The findings indicate that SAMSAQ-IS could be a valuable tool for promoting an important contribution to the development of policy actions in the area of sport and education at national and European levels.

Motivation for a dual-career: Italian and Slovenian student athletes

Tessitore A;Capranica L;
2012-01-01

Abstract

Italy and Slovenia have no structured measures in place to provide educational services for elite athletes in higher education. Thus, this study aimed to understand motivations for a dual career of Italian and Slovenian student-athletes in relation to gender, age (≤24, >24 yrs), and type of sport (i.e., individual sports, team sports). Ninety-eight Italian (females: n=23, age: 22.1±1.5 yrs; males: n=75, age: 24.3±2.9 yrs) and 216 Slovenian (females: n=103, age: 21.5±3.0 yrs; males: n=113, age: 21.3±2.3 yrs) college student-athletes were administered the 39 items of the SAMSAQ-IS (i.e., 30 items of the original SAMSAQ plus nine items of the Italian version SAMSAQ-IT) questionnaire. A MANOVA verified differences (p<0.05) between the groups. A three-factor model with acceptable Cronbach alpha coefficients (SAM=16, alpha=0.85 items; AM=14 items, alpha=0.78 items; CAM=18 items, alpha=0.85 items) emerged. Two items (i.e., 19, 39) were removed because of a low threshold of acceptability. No difference regarding gender was identified. Regarding CAM, effects were found for Nation (p<0.0001), Nation x Age (p=0.0005), and Type of Sport x Age (p=0.0033). For AM, differences were found for Type of Sport (p=0.0256), and Nation x Type of Sport (p=0.036). No difference emerged for SAM. Despite the lack of institutional support, Italian and Slovenian student-athletes remain highly motivated for a dual career, independently of gender. The findings indicate that SAMSAQ-IS could be a valuable tool for promoting an important contribution to the development of policy actions in the area of sport and education at national and European levels.
2012
academic career
sport career
policy actions
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14244/5740
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
social impact