The Relationship Between Participation in High School Athletics and Academic Achievement Nora E. O’Donnell

Athletics and Academics 2 Theoretical Framework Studies in the past have examined this very relationship – Aries, McCarthy, Slovey, and Banaji (2004) found that all collegiate student-athletes involved underperformed academically. – Cantor and Prentice (1996); Meyer (1990); and Parham (1993) determined that time demands of athletic programs make it difficult for the athletes to devote necessary study time. – Pascarella et al. (1995) reported that male football and basketball players read fewer texts or assigned books than male non-athletes.

Athletics and Academics 3 Participants and Setting Members of the 2004 Chaminade-Julienne Varsity Football Team Members of the graduating class of Sophomore males – 8 Caucasian – 4 African American Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School Downtown Dayton, Ohio School Year Examined grades at 4 different reporting periods – First Quarter Interim – First Quarter Report – Second Quarter Interim – First Semester Report

Athletics and Academics 4 Data Collection Artifact Analysis – Student report cards – Quantitative data Student Responses – Survey for student athletes – Qualitative data

Athletics and Academics 5 Data Collected Artifact Analysis Mean of all 12 student-athletes during first 4 grading periods Of 12 athletes 9 increased G.P.A. Overall increase of 3.04 percent Greatest change during First Quarter grade report date

Athletics and Academics 6 Data Collected Artifact Analysis— Continued Grades of student- athletes whose grades decreased Greatest change during First Quarter grade report date Show signs of improvement after first reported decrease

Athletics and Academics 7 Data Collected Student Responses A majority (58.3%) of student-athletes reported they worry about academic eligibility “not at all.” Student-athletes (66.7%) reported that they rely on additional study time to help maintain grade point average during football season. When asked about programming that would assist their academic achievement, 50% responded that implementing tutoring or weekly progress reports would help.

Athletics and Academics 8 Interpretation of Findings Overall grade point average increased from a C average to a B average Additional/Structured study time would assist student-athletes Highly volatile time during football season is the time between First Quarter Interim and First Quarter grade report date – Period of Adjustment – Lack of Structured Schedule – Unexpected high demands athletically and academically – Majority of players recognize importance

Athletics and Academics 9 Conclusions Currently negative reinforcement is the only motivation for football players to perform academically Student-athletes need to balance their time between academics and athletics – Coaching staff should provide tips – Teachers should offer auxiliary assistance Student-athletes would benefit from mandatory, structured study time set forth by the Football coaching staff

Athletics and Academics 10 Anticipated Action Convey the plea made by the student-athletes themselves for additional study time Implore teachers to offer tutoring before/after school working with the football team’s schedule Create a spreadsheet of teacher availability outside of class period Meet with Football Coaching Staff to determine the possibility of mandatory study time for these young men

Athletics and Academics 11 References Aries, E., McCarthy, D., Salovey, P., & Banaji, M. R. (2004). A comparison of athletes and non-athletes at highly selective colleges: Academic performance and personal development. Research in Higher Education, 45(6), Cantor, N. E., & Prentice, D. A. (1996). The life of the modern-day student athlete: Opportunities won and lost. Paper presented at the Princeton Conference on Higher Education, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. Meyer, B. B. (1990). From idealism to actualization: The academic performance of female college athletes. Sociology of Sport Journal, 7(1), Parham, W. D. (1993). The intercollegiate athlete: A 1990s profile. The Counseling Psychologist, 21(3), Pascarella, E. T., Bohr, L., Nora, A., & Terenzini, P. T. (1995). Intercollegiate athletic participation and freshman-year cognitive outcomes. Journal of Higher Education, 66(4),