The cohesive and all-sided education policy in the U.S. and some other Western countries includes a strong focus on the ‘holistic’ development of young individuals, which means combining development of not just mind alone but also body. Therefore, athletics has been literally embedded in the academic culture in multiple levels (Sitkowski17). However, given the nature of the issue, the correlation and impact of both athletics and academics on the individual’s performance and development outcomes have been debatable. Supporters of athletics and especially intercollegiate sports typical for the U.S. education system argue that sport is extremely helpful in building personality, enhancing commitment and improving academic performance. On the other hand, the advocates of mind development would discard athletics as the type of activity distracting from academic work and endangering academic performance. However, the holistic approach towards education and all-sided development of mind and body treats athletics and academics as mutually beneficial activities none of which should be neglected in the developmental process. Thereby, the present essay will elucidate the major arguments in favor of athletics/academics and supporting their balanced combination in education system.
Character building
One of the most important aspects emerging in this issue is the impact produced by athletics and academics on character building and personality development. As Eldridge notes, “numerous physical health benefits such as chronic disease prevention, healthy weight maintenance, stronger bones and muscles have been reported for adolescents who participate regularly in physical activity” (Eldridge 4); however, the impact of athletics is not limited by physical benefits. Thereby, it has been argued that athletics and sport have no direct impact on development and improvement of character: several researches referred to by Gerdy (____, p.380) indicate that sport itself produces no impact on psychological traits and properties of the individual, while the social environment and experiences which are a priori enclosed in athletics might produce a rather significant impact on personal development. This means that physical activity enclosed in athletics does not make a person good or bed, for it, in its essence, has no component of morality/immorality. However, it is reasonable to suppose that the environments and interactions accompanying the process of athletic activity contribute to personality and personal traits. Particularly, athletes are expected to develop a range of typical traits that are shaped by sport activities and interactions and determine the dynamics of personal development: in comparative assessment of non-athletes and athletes, the latter are expected to show greater aggressiveness and higher self-assurance (Kanniyan et al. 7). Moreover, athletics and sport activities are believed to foster social competency, fair-mindedness and courage (Shaw et al. 183). Denhart and colleagues also lay emphasis on viewing character formed by athletics from a social perspective, “emphasizing traits such as self-sacrifice, teamwork, perseverance, and work ethic while most of society views character from a moral standpoint” (Denhart et al. 7). In other words, intercollegiate athletics is capable of forming string ‘social’ character in students, which is a rather salient benefit.
Although sport experience is believed to be the blend on physical activities and social interactions (Gerdy 380), its impact on personal development has been widely discussed and appreciated. Except for physical strength and overall fitness of the individual’s body, athletics is stated to teach them discipline, leadership abilities, determination, resilience and teamwork. Naturally, all these aspects are the building blocks of human personality, while the peculiar trait of athletes is the need for social support in order to succeed academically and maintain sufficient GPA levels (Milton at al. 330).
On the other hand, the advocates of academics argue that personality and character are constructed through academic work, while athletics is believed to interfere with classroom education (White & Billings 348). The contradiction derives from the assertion that the academic component is crucial in education, character formation and cognitive development of the individual. However, both academic environment and athletics present microcosms, i.e. the peculiar environments where individual is plunged. Therefore, both academics and athletics seem to be the developmental experiences based on social interaction and social learning. Given this fact, one could assume that – when well-balanced - both academics and athletics work together on student athletes in terms of character building.
However, the character-building function of intercollegiate athletics implies a number of peculiarities which undermine athletics’ educational potential for academics and for overall educational background. Particularly, it has been mentioned that sport participation is focused on the social aspect of character building: college sport participants mainly work in teams or encounter the need to cooperate with other people for the sake of the result. Yet, the focus on the social aspect of character often leads to omission of the moral aspect which is no less important and defines such traits as responsibility, fairness, honesty, and respect. That is, “putting emphasis on the social aspects of character as opposed to the moral aspects can give athletes a misguided approach to character” (Denhart et al. 8).
Impacts of athletics on academic performance
Many researchers have been focusing on the mutual impact of academics and athletics in order to clarify whether these two educational domains can benefit each other and whether they can be successfully combined by students. Athletics has been widely criticized despite its obvious benefits for fitness, health and certain personality traits. According to Denhart and colleagues, “some critics argue that coaches and sports administrators denigrate academics and overemphasize the importance of sports” (Denhart et al. 5). Such policy often poses threat for academics because of the increasing probability of student athletes withdrawal from active academic work. In other words, placing too much emphasis on sports, especially for students whose sporting activity goes beyond amateurship, might lead to decreasing GPA and overall academic performance.
The issue of motivation arises in the correlation of academics and athletics, too: there is a contradiction in motivation patterns among student athletes trying to balance between sport activities and classroom work. Particularly, many student athletes are selected for participation in intercollegiate sports due to possessing sufficient motivation for success in the athletic domain; however, such athletes often lack motivation to succeed in academic work (Simons et al. 358). Students involved both in academic work and in athletics are expected to fulfil two roles whose demands are often in conflict: higher levels of involvement in athletics inevitably lead to missed classes for the sake of sanctioned sport competitions, events and training sessions.
Although the relationship between academics and athletics is undeniable, the evidence concerning the nature of these relations as well as impacts is extremely mixed, with some studies contradicting others. However, there is ample evidence of the positive association between athletic participation and academic activity, with the former benefiting academics in many ways. Eldridge and colleagues illustrate the positive effect of participation in intercollegiate sports on both behavioral and academic performances of the students (Eldridge et al. 3). Particularly, youngsters participating in athletic activities are characterized by lower dropout rates, higher levels of commitment, “higher educational aspirations, improved race relations and lower delinquency rates” (Couch et al. 50).
Another significant aspect is the benefit athletics brings to the educational institution, to society and to the student athletes themselves. Overall, the athletics committees of educational institutions tend to admit the priority of academics over athletics and promote the responsibility of each athlete for balancing athletic activity with academic work. Student athletes are often pressed by time demands and expectations of both coaches and classroom teachers; yet, their primary responsibility, as it is specified by numerous codes (such as, for instance, that of Wittenberg University), is to show good results in the academic domain. Students – especially college and university students – are expected to develop prominent professional, academic and leaderships skills in the course of their tuition; therefore, much emphasis is placed on the quality of academic performance, especially for those who are engaged in sporting activities. However, the evidence concerning the impact of athletics on academic performance is rather controversial. For instance, Chuan and colleagues even state the highly competitive nature of intercollegiate athletics to have resulted in the ‘anti-intellectual’ subculture (Chuan et al. 12). In other words, a student athlete selected for athletic trainings under the NCAA standards could demonstrate poor performance in the academics, though this will not have any impact on athletic participation.
On the other hand, a considerable body of research shows that there is a rather visible tendency of higher GPA and academic results among students involved in athletics. At first sight, this phenomenon could seem controversial, for athletics is definitely a challenging occupation stealing time from academic domain. However, this tendency could be explained through a number of facts. First of all, the aspect one should consider is that participation in the intercollegiate athletics enhances commitment to the institution dramatically, amplifying the student’s desire to preserve its prestige not just through sports but also through academic performance.
Secondly, Couch and colleagues (5) refer to the quantitative data showing two-percent improvement in science and math scores among athletes. As athletics is proved to be helpful in developing analytical and strategic thinking, one could even assume that participation in athletics gives an impetus for improvement in thinking, which is further applied in academic work.
Thirdly, the role of athletics in education and its impact on academic performance could be viewed through the lens of the training outcomes. Sport cannot be described as a type of educational activity only because it is sport (Gerdy 383). Instead, its main value lies in the environment which fosters moral, ethical and educational development of athletes. However, athletic domain is not always organized in the way that works positively for personal and educational development of students, which means that the most mutually beneficial way of combining athletics and academics implies rethinking the approach. As the same time, many coaches focus too much on the end result, i.e. in winning, which leads to overlooking moral behavioral models. Notwithstanding this factor, “winning in sports is related to improved production in the classroom in large schools” (Couch et al. 55). This tendency is related to increasing commitment to the educational institution and the student athletes’ willing to produce good results in the academic domain as well.
Academics, however, has its impact on athletics, too. The related research has been reiterating the tendency of higher academic performance and lower dropout rates among student athletes. Yet, this correlation is unlikely to have causal connection. In other words, good students with high academic performance levels are often likely to get involved in intercollegiate athletics, not vice versa. Of course, such students are more efficient in time management and fulfilment of two roles in their educational institutions.
Balancing for benefit
Of course, the aforementioned ways of benefitting academics through athletic participation are widely observed, but the modern trends are often distanced from the perfect positive correlation between these two educational domains. Thereby, the academic domain (which is recognized as the primary one) often suffers because of inefficient time management, coaching practices or other factors. Many student athletes confuse their roles and “prioritize athletics above academics”, “immersing themselves almost entirely in their athletic role [] while simultaneously detaching themselves from their academic commitments” (Sitkowski 13). However, exclusion of athletics from the educational agenda is not the answer, for intercollegiate sports and athletics have already become a provider of mass entertainment attracting considerable amount of funding. According to Denhart and colleagues (7), “intercollegiate athletics entertain millions of viewers every year”, and “Americans highly value watching college football, as ESPN is televising the five BCS Championship Football Games for $500 million over four years”. In other words, intercollegiate athletics is an enjoyable kind of entertainment for many people, especially in the U.S.: sport presents a blend of ideologies, teamwork, pain, success, tragedy and conflicts and is therefore quite inspiring both for the audience and for the participants themselves. Therefore, as intercollegiate athletics brings much benefit to society, there is a considerable justification for its existence and all classes missed by student athletes.
However, athletics and academics can benefit each other and create a balanced environment for students’ development and perfection with help of the improved system of support and cooperation. Here, a critical role should be fulfilled by the coaches of student athletes: naturally, they tend to spend much time with student athletes and are therefore formally responsible not just for their success in athletics but also for their overall wellbeing and performance. Thereby, coaches should maintain subtle control over their athletes’ academic performance and overall success. In addition, it has been mentioned above that participation in the intercollegiate athletics enhances students’ dependence on social support (for much of success in athletics is reached through teamwork). Respectively, student athletes might need social support from peers, parents, coaches and teachers in order to keep up with the pace of academic progress, stay motivated and cope with time management so that athletics and academic work create a balanced educational/developmental environment. Athletics and academics are often presented as substitutes excluding each other for students who are not able to cope with these roles. However, society - together with policymakers, school and sports administrations and athletes themselves – is capable of changing the status of these two domains from substitutes to complements which can coexist smoothly and provide holistic approach towards education, targeting both mind and body.
Works Cited
Chuan, Chun Cheng, Aminuddin Yusof, and Parilah Mohd Shah. "Sports Involvement And Academic Achievement: A Study Of Malaysian University Athletes." International Education Studies 6.2 (2013): 12-21.
Couch, Jim F., Kathy Lewis-Adler, and Philip A. Burton. "Successful Athletic Programs And Academic Achievement At High School: Substitutes Or Complements." Global Education Journal 4 (2011): 48-60.
Denhart, Matthew, et al. "The Academics Athletics Trade-Off: Universities And Intercollegiate Athletics." Center For College Affordability And Productivity (2009): ERIC. Web. 1 June 2016.
Eldridge, James A., et al. "Comparison Of Academic And Behavioral Performance Between Athletes And Non-Athletes." International Journal Of Exercise Science 7.1 (2014): 3-13.
Gerby, John R. “Is Athletics Meeting Its Purpose?”, in: White, Fred D., & Billings, Simone J.(eds.) The Well-Crafted Argument: 373-390. Cengage Learning, 2016.
Kanniyan, Abdussalam, Abraham George, And Shafeeq Valiyakath. "Personality Traits: An Analytical Study Between Sedentary Males And Sports Males." Ovidius University Annals, Series Physical Education & Sport/Science, Movement & Health 15.1 (2015): 5-9.
Milton, Paul R., Dana Freeman, and Lisa M. Williamson. "Do Athletic Scholarships Impact Academic Success Of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes: An Exploratory Investigation." Journal Of Issues In Intercollegiate Athletics 5.(2012): 329-338.
Shaw, Dave, Gorely, Trish, & Corban, Rod. Sport and Exercise Psychology. Garland Science, 2005.
Simons, Herbert D., Van Rheenen, Derek, & Covington, Martin V. “Academic Motivation and the Student Athlete”, in: White, Fred D., & Billings, Simone J.(eds.) The Well-Crafted Argument: 358-372. Cengage Learning, 2016.
Sitkowski, Lee S. The Effects of Participation in Athletics on Academic Performance Among High School Sophomores and Juniors. ProQuest, 2008. Web. June 2, 2016. < https://books.google.com/books?id=bl268k4_bCoC&dq=academics+and+athletics&hl=ru&source=gbs_navlinks_s>
White, Fred D., & Billings, Simone J. (eds.) The Well-Crafted Argument. Cengage Learning, 2016.
