Exploring dual career quality implementation at European higher education institutions: Insights from university experts

Abstract

Introduction This paper examines the convergence of the opinions of European higher education institution (HEI) experts on possible implementation of dual career policies and provision areas at university level. Methods An online 32-item questionnaire encompassing 26 dual career aspects collected the opinion of European HEI experts as the last phase of a Delphi method preceded by i) focus groups with student-athletes who aimed to identify needs for dual careers and ii) a workshop with 21 dual career experts to generate the statements to be included in the survey. Seventy-one HEI experts from 12 EU member states participated in the survey, rating each dual career aspect identified in previous phases. Results The relative position of each aspect has been plotted based on relevance (x-axis) and feasibility (y-axis). The Quadrant IV of the resulting scatterplots identified the following nine aspects rated as highly relevant and highly feasible for implementation: tutorship/mentorship, psychological support, programmes based on integration of academic departments and sports services, and adaptable programmes to the needs of each student-athletes (assistance/tutorship area), individual study plans and distance learning (curricula requirements area), publicity for student-athletes and initiatives for increasing the awareness of student-athletes and knowledge of dual career issues (social support area), and access to educational facilities (logistic support area). Discussion and conclusions The HEI experts’ views represent a coherent and useful starting point to develop a deep understanding of the considered 26 aspects founded on a phenomenological lifeworld-led approach and emphasizes the need for a minimum standard for dual career policies and provisions.

Promoting dual careers at higher education institutions: 31 benefits ranked by the project Student Athletes Erasmus+ Mobility in Europe (SAMEurope)

“…In the first part of the study, 31 benefits offered to dual-career students at the different universities in the consortium were identified and defined ( Table 1 and Supplementary Material S2 ). These 31 benefits are in line with those presented by Izzicupo et al ( 29 ), who defined 26 different aspects. In this study, the 31 benefits were analyzed, described and defined by experts working directly in the dual-career field at each of the five universities.…”

“…In this study, the 31 benefits were analyzed, described and defined by experts working directly in the dual-career field at each of the five universities. In contrast to the study by Izzicupo et al ( 29 ), the benefits were implemented and applied at the universities in the consortium. Each of these 31 benefits ( Table 1 ) directly served the dual-career students pursuing their academic education at one of these universities.…”

“…This model combines three questions asked in such a way that the ranking of the benefits takes into account how important the benefit is, how easy it is to implement at each university (the less easy it is, the more complex it is to implement) and the number of universities that offer the benefit (the more universities offering the benefit, the more relevant it is, because it is more widely implemented within the university system of the different universities). Thus, in contrast to the study by Izzicupo et al ( 29 ), which ranks the 26 aspects taking into account the relationship between the importance of the benefit and the ease of implementation, and thus obtaining 4 quadrants for the location of the 26 aspects, our model manages to obtain a global ranking, taking into account three variables. However, both models have found that the most valued benefits are centered around aspects relating to logistics, academics and tutoring.…”

Evaluation Study of Special Class Sports Program Management at High School Level

“…Elite athletes with talent have the right to pursue a dual career in both sports and education (10). This perspective reinforces the study concerning the administrators' knowledge of the sports department, particularly with the local sports faculty.…”

Dual career through the eyes of university student-athletes in the Republic of Kosovo

“…Actually, this support is not sufficient to meet the student-athletes needs of financial aid, flexibility in educational arrangements, available sports infrastructures, academic and sport tutoring, enhancement of legislation, and better communication of existing dual-career programmes and initiatives. Whilst a financial support is considered especially relevant in non-revenue-generating sports to pursue dual-career paths in a developing country like the Republic of Kosovo, the provision of tutors for student-athletes has been identified as a highly relevant and feasible dual career service ( 47 ). One positive aspect highlighted by student-athletes is the support they receive from university career centers, which need.…”