In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 18, No. 4 ( 2023-4-13), p. e0283009-
Abstract:
The lifelong education of coaches is one of the priorities of the European Union. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate Italian elite coaches’ motivation to engage in a sport-related academic education, and its demands, barriers, support, and relocation issues in relation to their dual career (DC) path. Sixteen Italian elite coaches (e.g., certified fourth-level national team coaches, senior team coaches) enrolled in a specifically tailored Bachelor’s degree in sports sciences at the University of Rome Foro Italico (Italy) volunteered for this study. A qualitative approach integrating inductive and deductive reasoning, and thematic analysis was applied to participants’ responses to an open-ended item survey. Independently from relocation, student-coaches’ DC perceptions resulted in 15 lower-order themes further organized in 5 high-er-order themes (e.g., Benefit, Challenge, Expectation, Organization, and Support), each related to the contexts (e.g., Personal, Academic, Sport), the DC dimension (e.g., micro, meso, macro, and policy), and the DC push (e.g., facilitating) /pull (e.g., hindering) factors. The elite coaches’ insights emphasize the complexity of the coach lifelong education at university level, and provide valuable information for promoting European and National (e.g., Italian) DC recommendations for elite sportspersons through a cooperation between sport bodies and higher educational institutions.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283009
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283009.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283009.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283009.t003
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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