Acta Univ. Palacki. Olomuc., Gymn. 2012 42(1): 35-41 | DOI: 10.5507/ag.2012.004
An analysis of Finnish skiing school students' academic education and athletic success
- Åbo Akademi University
Background: Skiing boarding schools provide an opportunity to combine academic education and an athletic career. Many athletes select to go to a boarding school at an age of 16 because they have poor local training possibilities; however, this physical move away from home providesmany challenges.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze academic education and athletic success of skiing school students in Finland.
Methods: The participants were 49 students (15 girls and 34 boys) with an average age of 17 years. They came from three skiing boarding schools, two cross-country and one alpine school. Sixty percent of the alpine skiers were members of the junior national team while only six percent of the cross-country skiers. All participants completed a survey about study success and athletic performance.
Results: The results showed that 80% of the students extended their high school studies from three to four years. About 50% of all students were satisfied with their academic success. Fifty-four percent of alpine skiers and 15% of cross-country skiers indicated that their best athletic success were in international competitions. Almost all students perceived that skiing school helped by combining sport and school. However, only 40% of the alpine skiers and 62% of the cross-country skiers were satisfied with their present athletic success. Seventy-three percent of the alpine skiers felt that sport participation affected negatively their success in school. Success in sport, good training possibilities, skilled coaches and caring friends were reason for enjoying life in skiing boarding schools.
Conclusions: These findings support the concept of skiing schools and suggest that there are many things to consider when combining education and an athletic career.
Keywords: Talent development, youth education, skiing
Prepublished online: March 31, 2012; Published: January 1, 2012 Show citation
References
- Beamon, K., & Bell, P. A. (2006). Academics versus athletics: An examination of the effects of background and socialization on African, American male student athletes. The Social Science Journal, 43, 393-403.
Go to original source...
- Brettschneider, W. D. (1999). Risks and opportunities: Adolescents in top level sport: Growing up with the pressures of school and training. European Physical Education Review, 5(2), 121-133.
Go to original source...
- Christensen, M. K., & Sørensen, J. K. (2009). Sport or school? Dreams and dilemmas for talented young Danish football players. European Physical Education Review, 15(1), 115-133.
Go to original source...
- Eide, E. R., & Ronan, N. (2001). Is participation in high school athletics an investment or a consumption good? Evidence from high school and beyond. Economics of Education Review, 20, 431-442.
Go to original source...
- Fejgin, N. (1994). Participation in high school competitive sport: A subversion of school mission or contribution to academic goals? Sociology of Sport Journal, 11(3), 211-230.
Go to original source...
- Gaston-Gayles, J. L. (2004). Examining academic and athletic motivation among student athletes at a division I university. Journal of College Student Development, 45(1), 75-83.
Go to original source...
- Jonker, L., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Toering, T. T., Lyons, J., & Visscher, C. (2010). Academic performance and self-regulatory skills in elite youth soccer players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(14), 1605-1614.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Jonker, L., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Visscher, C. (2009). Talented athletes and academic achievements: A comparison over 14 years. High Ability Stu dies, 22, 55-64.
Go to original source...
- Jonker, L., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Visscher, C. (2011). The role of self-regulatory skills in sport and academic performances of elite youth athletes. Talent Development & Excellence, 3(2), 263-276.
- Jonsson, R. (2000). Kroppen eller knoppen en ESO rapport om idrottsgymnasierna. Stockholm: Government Offices of Sweden.
- Lucas, J. W., & Lovaglia, M. J. (2002). Athletes' expectations for success in athletics compared to aca demic competition. The Sport Journal, 5(2). Retrieved 2. 11. 2011 from the World Wide Web: http://www.thesportjournal.org/tags/volume-5-number-2
- McKenna, J., & Dunstan-Lewis, N. (2004). An action research approach to supporting elite student-athletes in higher education. European Physical Education Review, 10(2), 179-198.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Miller, P. S., & Kerr, G. (2002) The athletic, academic and social experiences of intercollegiate student- athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25(4), 346-371.
Go to original source...
- Metsä-Tokila, T. (2002). Combining competitive sports and education: How top level sport became part of the school system in the Soviet Union, Sweden and Finland. European Physical Education Review, 8(3), 196-206.
Go to original source...
- Nummela, N. (2001). Kilpaurheilu elämän keskipisteessä: Urheilulukiolaisten kilpaurheilullinen elämäntapa [Competitive sport as the center of life: Sport high school students way of life]. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Oulu, Faculty of Education, Oulu.
- Parham, W. D. (1993). The intercollegiate athlete. The Counseling Psychologist, 21(3), 411-429.
Go to original source...
- Pascarella, E. T., Truckenmiller, R., Nora, A., Terenzini, P. T., Edison, M., & Hagedorn, L. S. (1999). Cognitive impacts of intercollegiate athletic participation. The Journal of Higher Education, 70(1), 1-26.
Go to original source...
- Peltier, G. L., & Laden, R. (1999). Do high school athletes succeed in college? A review of research. High School Journal, 82(4), 234-238.
- Ryska, T. A., & Vestal, S. (2004). Effects of sport motivation on academic strategies and attitudes among high school student-athletes. North American Journal of Psychology, 6(1), 101-120.
- Simons, H. D., Bosworth, C., Fujita, S., & Jensen, M. (2007). The athlete stigma in higher education. College Student Journal, 41(2), 251-273.
- Sjödin, T. (2004). Förståelse av kommunikation mellan alpina skidåkare och deras tränare [The understanding of communication between alpine skiers and their coaches]. Unpublished study, University of Göteborg, Faculty of Education, Gothenburg.
- Suomalainen, M., & Telama, R. (1988). Urheilijan kou lutustutkimus: lähtötilanteen selvitys [Athletes and education: A baseline report]. Liikunta ja tiede, 25(5), 236-241.
- Zaugg, H. (1998). Academic comparison of athletes and non-athletes in a rural high school. NASSP Bulletin, 82, 63-72.
Go to original source...
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.