Promising suggestions of holistic developmental and ecological approaches for university student-athletes’ dual career

Marie Larneby
Department of Sport Studies, Malmö University

Dual career and challenges of investments in sports and education

In the current sports world, that seems to never stop demanding higher, faster, and stronger athletic achievements, it is of utter importance that athletes are provided the best conditions not only in their practice, but also to manage their lives in a holistic and healthy way. Most athletes are not able to pursue an athletic career without financial support, instead they need to study or work to make a living in parallel to investing in an athletic career. In addition, after the athletic career, education is a way to secure a safer everyday life. Simultaneously, it is also of importance to get other forms of support to cope with an investment in (elite) sport and balance the rest of one’s parts in life. This is especially urgent in Sweden, since early specialization in sport in combination with secondary school studies from the age of 13 increase, also in the other Scandinavian countries Denmark and Norway. The earlier admission possibilities to sport schools have become a platform for the established school sport programs in upper secondary school (see for instance Ferry, 2014; Larneby, 2020).

Dual career – combining studies or work with athletic development – is a well-established model in many parts of the world. In Sweden, however, higher education has not been included in the dual career system before 2015 (compared to upper secondary school that was initiated in 1972). While there is a quite rich body of research on the established and well-organized Swedish upper secondary school sport programs, and some on the unorganized secondary school level, there has been limited scientific attention on university student-athletes’ dual careers.

The objectives of Linnér’s doctoral thesis was to study the dual career experiences of Swedish university student-athletes from the holistic developmental and the holistic ecological approaches, and to develop a framework for dual career support at university level in Sweden.

In his doctoral thesis, Lukas Linnér studies the dual career of Swedish university student-athletes, focusing on holistic developmental and ecological approaches to contribute to the development of the Swedish dual career system. This thesis contributes with necessary knowledge and suggestions for a part of Swedish dual career that is important to national and international elite sport athletes.

This study does not solely emanate from a research gap that needs to be filled, Linnér also has a personal experience of being an athlete investing in elite ambitions. I recommend the reader not to miss out the section Author background and motivation (p. 10), which provides a personal understanding of Linnér being first on the outside (during upper secondary school) and then on the inside of the dual career-model (in US college) pursuing a golf career.

The thesis is a compilation of four studies published in four scientific papers and a summarizing chapter (a so called kappa [coat] in Swedish), . The kappa ties all results together in a critical discussion and presents suggestions how to develop a university dual career. Linnér is the first author of all four empirical studies, together with two or three co-authors. All studies but one are published in sport and exercise psychology journals, between 2019 and 2021, and the fourth study was in press when this thesis was defended and published (2021). All four papers can be read separately, but the kappa itself gives a broad understanding of university student-athletes’ dual career.

Topic, problem and aim of the study

In the kappa, Linnér introduces the phenomenon of dual career internationally and in Sweden. He points out relevant challenges for student-athletes overall, and especially in higher education, for instance to provide a flexible and balanced lifestyle promoting both athletic development and personal interests. Many organizations and people within the Swedish sports movement and academia need to collaborate in a university student-athlete’s development of its dual career, and guidelines needs to be further developed.

The objectives of Linnér’s doctoral thesis was to study the dual career experiences of Swedish university student-athletes from the holistic developmental and the holistic ecological approaches, and to develop a framework for dual career support at university level in Sweden. The first aim was explored through empirical studies, and the second aim was achieved through a synthesis of studies I-IV and related literature by presenting the dual career assistance framework (p. 27). Of importance for the studies was the collaboration between Linnér and the Erasmus+ project Gold in education and elite sport (GEES), and the Erasmus+ project Ecology of Dual Career.

This part is well written and shows Linnérs ability to argue for the methodological choices, and although I appreciate it, it occupies quite a lot of space in the kappa in relation to other parts.

Theoretical frameworks

Linnér’s thesis is guided by a set of theoretical frameworks explicitly relating to the dual career development. The frameworks together represent a whole person, whole career, and whole environmental perspective on student-athletes’ dual career development. Linnér uses four different models, all explained and presented in a clear way in text and in four figures (p. 16-19): the holistic athletic career model; the athletic career transition model; the holistic ecological approach, and the dual career development environment (DCDE) working models. The four models visualize the complexity of the dual career for – in this case – the student-athlete.

At first glance, a relevant question to pose is if all four models are needed to analyze and explain the holistic developmental and ecological approaches of university dual career student-athletes. Depending on the readers’ perspective and position within the dual career system and extended context (for instance coach, club, university teacher, peers, and family) the holistic model might be too wide. However, in my opinion, to understand the student-athletes whole perspective, these four models are needed for the summarized analysis of the four studies, with an emphasis on the holistic developmental approach.

Methodology and ethics

Linnér dedicates half of this chapter to a description in which he positions the thesis within post-positivism and realism. This is put forward as important for the reader to understand Linnér’s interpretation of the data and the results of the study, in contrast to a study positioned within a relativist approach perceiving the dual career environments as constructions by the people within them. Linnér elaborates explicitly on this positioning, distancing himself from the social constructivist approach (not to reject it) to show differences between the positions to, as I interpret it, legitimize the post-positivist realist position for this research. This part is well written and shows Linnérs ability to argue for the methodological choices, and although I appreciate it, it occupies quite a lot of space in the kappa in relation to other parts. Still, it is an interesting way to position sport and exercise psychology a bit closer to sociological research, and showing how this relation can be carried out in the empirical studies.

Linnér’s thesis has a mixed methods approach using quantitative and qualitative methods, more specifically using various data collection methods: questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, observation and informal talks, and document analysis; and he is applying different methods in analyzing the data: effect size estimates, thematic analysis, and two-level growth models. A clear overview of the methods used in each study (p. 33) helps the reader to navigate easily in each study’s aim, design, positioning, approach, participants, method, and data analysis.

Combining these methods of collecting data and analyzing data enables Linnér to grasp the complexity and nuances of university student-athletes’ dual career, the whole person and life. Further, and of importance, is that the studies follow and build logically on each other to make a synthesis/framework that can guide professional dual career practice. Linnér also presents ethical considerations and critically reflect on these. Later in the thesis, this is followed up by a long critical reflection on methodological and ethical considerations and lessons learned.

Main findings

Dual career balance is a central concept in the thesis, a balance needed to meet the student-athlete’s goals in sport and education, and to live a satisfactory private life, maintain health and wellbeing throughout the dual career process. One main finding is how relevant and important it is to be aware of various dual career scenarios and how these integrate in the dual career context. The overarching challenge for a university student-athlete is to manage an optimal dual career balance, more specifically balancing time, and effort across many life areas. Here, the holistic developmental approach is important to understand the demands, scenarios, and whole life experience for (university) student-athletes. Linnér suggests a taxonomy of dual career scenarios (p. 48), visualizing four types of scenarios. For instance, a struggle occurs when crucial events in study and sport coincide for a student-athlete. This and several other examples show that university student-athletes need a range of dual career competences, coping resources, and strategies to be successful. Further, a suggestion based on these results is that dual career scenarios need to be separated from career transitions.

Another main finding is that an increased holistic career awareness is important for student-athletes’ to balance their dual career. For student-athletes in this study, it was especially important to prioritize coping with stress, the importance of rest, and recuperation ability, among other abilities (p. 49). Linnér shows the usefulness to use the holistic ecological approach in dual career research.

A main contribution is the dual career assistance (DCA) framework (Linnér & Stambulova, figure 9, p. 54) that is developed as a synthesis of studies I-IV, the European research project GEES and related dual career research. This is a support that integrates a whole person, whole career, and whole environment perspective. More detailed results and contributions are presented in the thesis, which is worth a read for any involved actor at any level in Sweden and elsewhere within the dual career system.

I hope and believe that this approach will be applied further in research also on secondary and upper secondary school sport programs, which will perhaps need to take a slightly different perspective into account. In Sweden, secondary school is mandatory and school sport is an optional subject for young student-athletes (13-16 years old), and in upper secondary school the school subject “specialization in sports” (in Swedish: specialidrott, for16-19 years old) is a subject legitimized through the Swedish Sport Confederations and SNAE (the Swedish National Agency for Education). How can their dual careers, with “athletic development” as a legitimized subject that is to be taught, learned, and graded, be understood from a holistic ecological approach?

Copyright © Marie Larneby 2023

References

Ferry, M. (2014). Idrottsprofilerad utbildning. I spåren av en avreglerad skola. [In the wake of a deregulated school system: school sports in Sweden]. Diss. Göteborgs universitet.

Larneby, M. (2020). Vi och de Andra. Om idrott, genus och normer på en idrottsprofilerad högstadieskola. [We and the Others. On sport, gender and norms at a sport profiled secondary school.] Diss. Malmö universitet.