Aligning competence-oriented qualifications in sport management higher education with industry requirements: An importance–performance analysis

Abstract

This article examines the fit (or lack thereof) between the competencies needed by the sport industry and the proficiency of sport management students. The authors apply importance–performance analysis as a strategic management tool to analyze the results of two competence-oriented datasets in a German context. They find that students’ self-identified proficiency is lower than the importance attributed to proficiency by industry experts. The authors critically discuss the absence of differences between the perceived performance of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students and provide strategic recommendations for sport management higher education. The article highlights the development and communication of generic competencies as a unique selling proposition and reflect on the need to improve subject-specific competencies to further professionalize the field of sport management. Based on these results, a critical reflection of curriculum design in sport management higher education is needed.

An importance-performance analysis of teachers’ perception of STEM engineering design education

“…Originally, the IPA was developed for marketing purposes, but it has since been applied in various fields, including education (Sever, 2015 ; Wohlfart et al, 2022 ). Previous educational studies used the IPA to focus on quality management and student satisfaction (Lakkoju, 2016 ) with curricula and facilities (McLeay et al, 2017 ); they also focused on teachers’ opinions about efforts to reform technology courses (Lin et al, 2015 ).…”

“…The IPA was originally developed for marketing research; this model places mean scores of importance and performance in a two-dimensional matrix to analyse satisfaction and the importance of a product or service. The IPA has been used in education-related studies (Sever, 2015 ; Wohlfart et al, 2022 ). The IPA outcomes generated in the present study provide several practical suggestions, strategies, and methods that may assist future planning of educational policy worldwide; the results may also facilitate the design of teacher empowerment courses and support an understanding of teachers’ needs in efforts to improve STEM-ED.…”

The Digital Paradigm Shift: Challenges faced by HBCU sport management programs in light of modernization

“…Increased Demand for Career Alignment: Wohlfart et al (2022) outline the struggles of sport management as an academic field to align competence-based curricula with the demands of occupations in the sports industry. Historically, there has been a distinct disconnect between sport management curricula and the occupational demands in the sport industry.…”

Executive Coaching applications' procedures and strategies: a case study with a sports manager

“…O Coaching como forma de treinamento e desenvolvimento para profissionais que atuam na Gestão do Esporte foi sugerido na literatura em 2008 (Taylor, Doherty, & McGraw, 2008). Mais recentemente, o Coaching continua sendo indicado para o desenvolvimento de competências e para melhorias no processos de gestão no esporte (Fletcher & Arnold, 2011;Wohlfart, Adam &, Hovemann, 2021). Um destaque é que o Coaching já tem sido utilizado em organizações esportivas como forma de treinamento e desenvolvimento, conforme evidenciado por Arraya e Porfírio (2017) e Frawley, Favaloro e Schulenkorf (2018), porém, os autores não citam nem o processo e nem os resultados destas intervenções.…”