Dissimilarities in the Scholarly Domain Blake Bartling Hanover College

Past Research / Findings On average, athletes have higher GPAs in- season than out-of season (Laughlin, 1978) Increased levels of time management result in an increased GPA (Misra, 2000) Athletes with higher levels of self-esteem tended to perform better in the classroom (Schumaker, 1986)

Research Question Could the better time management and self-esteem of in-season athletes be mediators in their better in-season GPA?

Hypotheses 1) In-season athletes will have a higher mean GPA than out-of-season athletes 2) In-season athletes will have greater self-esteem and time management behavior 3) The greater in-season time management and self-esteem of athletes serve as mediators for the increase in GPA

Participants - Small Midwestern College student athletes - 62 in-season athletes, and 39 out-of-season - 27 baseball, 15 softball, 11 mens basketball, 9 womens basketball, 7 mens soccer, 10 womens soccer, 7 volleyball, and 15 football - 60 male and 41 female - 97 participants were Caucasian, 2 were Asian, and 2 were African American - 35 freshmen, 29 sophomores, 22 juniors, and 25 seniors

Distribution of Seasons In-season SportsOut-of-season Sports - Football - Volleyball -Mens Soccer - Womens Soccer - Baseball - Softball - Mens Basketball - Womens Basketball

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) 10 questions Uses a 4-Point Likert Scale - 1 = strongly agree to 4 = strongly disagree α =.84 - sample question: On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.

Time Management Survey (Bond, 1983) 16 questions Uses a 5-Point Likert Scale - 1 = Always to 5 = Never α =.73 - sample question: I have trouble organizing the things I have to do.

Demographic Questions These are a few demographic sample questions - What was your GPA last semester? - Are you a male or female? M F - Name the sport you participate in - What is your ethnicity? - What class are you in? There was a debriefing sheet attached to the back of the scales

Procedure To gain subjects, coaches of the different sports were approach The coachs permission was obtained and the coaches distributed the scales and a demographic questionnaire Coaches handed out packets at either a workout, practice, or team meeting Coaches collected responses and returned them to the researcher

Hypothesis 1: In vs. Out-of- Season GPAs t-test results: t (99) = -1.44, p =.15

Difference in GPA for In- Season and Out-of-Season in each Class

Hypothesis 2a: In-season vs. Out-of-season Self-Esteem t-tests results: t(99) = -0.6, p =.55

Comparison of Self-Esteem and Gender t-test results: t(99) = - 3.8, p <.01

Hypothesis 2b: In-season vs. Out- of-season Time Management t-test results: t(99) =.93, p =.36

Hypothesis 3: Is difference in GPA explained by Self-Esteem or Time Management GPATime Manage (TM) Self- Esteem (SE) GPA r TM r0.48* SE r * p <.01

Conclusions There was not significantly different in GPA for in-season and out-of-season athletes Difference in in-season and out-of-season time management behavior and self-esteem levels were not significantly different As others have found, males have greater self- esteem than females Self-esteem levels and time management behaviors are not related to GPA

Discussion Student athletes at Division III schools are already held to a higher academic standard Could be result of new academic standards for all athletes (Original finding: Laughlin, 1978) Athletics are now a year round activity – out-of-season training

Limitations This was a between-subject study – As a result this is a between sport study – But found no significant differences in GPA between sports Lack of Division I and II schools Many more male participants Many more in-season participants

Future Directions A study involving the differences in Division I, II, and III athletes GPA Also examine each divisions in vs. out-of- season GPA Focus on coachs as well as teachers attitudes and influences on their athletes