Effects of High School Athletic Participation on the Educational Aspirations of Male Student-Athletes: Does Race Matter?

With 55.5% of the nation’s high school students participating in athletics, it is valuable for educators to understand how athletics affect students’ educational aspirations. Educational aspirations are the strong desires to further one’s education after high school, and are a strong predictor for educational attainment.

Three separate analyses contributed to the findings, specific to males. 1. Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 revealed a statistically significant correlation between interscholastic athletic participation and students’ educational aspirations. 2. Interviews with six soccer and basketball coaches at middle-sized high schools in Durham, North Carolina provided a more in-depth look at the role of coaches and demonstrated that every coach implements measures to encourage his players’ educational success. 3. Questionnaires from 94 student-athletes indicated that, of those surveyed, 92% planned to obtain a college or postgraduate degree, showing very high educational aspirations. Also, 90% of the student-athletes considered or planned to play their sport in college, with higher percentages of blacks and Hispanics desiring this as compared to whites.

Race and social mobility also played important factors in the findings. Social mobility is when an individual moves from one socio-economic level to another, providing the individual with increased opportunities for further advancement in society. A larger percentage of white student-athletes prioritized their academics while a larger percentage of black and Hispanic student-athletes prioritized their athletics. Social mobility seemed to have a strong correlation with the minority students’ priorities and plans to play their sport in college.