Author(s)

Leslie Miles

Date Approved

9-10-2015

Embargo Period

4-5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. School Psychology-Professional School Psychology

Department

Psychology

College

College of Science & Mathematics

Advisor

Dihoff, Roberta

Subject(s)

Academic achievement; College athletes

Disciplines

Higher Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate academic achievement amongst student athletes and non-student athletes. Participants were undergraduates enrolled in a psychology course and were recruited via university subject pool. Students of both populations exhibited similar levels of academic achievement and academic motivation as well as study habits through online questionnaire. Grade point average (GPA) was used to assess academic achievement, while the Academic Motivation Scale-College Version (Vallerand et al., 1992) was utilized to assess academic motivation. Participants were also asked to report on how many hours they spend weekly on coursework. An independent samples t-test found significance in the difference between student-athletes and non student-athletes in the number of hours spent coursework. Student athletes as a group reported spending on average 8-11 hours per week on coursework, while non student-athletes reported spending on average 4-7 hours per week on coursework. Implications of the findings as well as further research are discussed.

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