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A comparative case study analysis of academically at risk African American male student athletes

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A comparative case study analysis of academically at risk African American male student athletes

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A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF ACADEMICALLY AT RISK
AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENT ATHLETES

by
Donna C. Heinel

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements For The Degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2008

Copyright 2008 Donna C. Heinel

ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my family with their constant support. I would like to
thank my father, Carl Sigmund and my son, Caleb Carl for showing me what is
really important in life. I would like to thank Myron Dembo for his patience. I
would like to thank my committee for taking the time to read my dissertation.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………….. ii

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………… iv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………… 1

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE …………………………. 16

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS ……………………………... 79

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS …………………………………………….. 95

CHAPTER 5: EMERGENT THEMES ……………………………….. 183

CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………... 232

REFERENCES: ……………………………………………………….. 261

APPENDICES: ……………………………………………………….. 275

iv

ABSTRACT

The academic performance of African American male student-athletes has
received considerable attention over the past two decades regarding academic
achievement. In response the NCAA has instituted academic reform measures to
increase graduation rates for student-athletes. Although these reform measures has
produced academic behavioral change in order to increase graduation rates for the
majority of student-athletes, African American males student-athletes still struggle
with changing their academic behavior and graduating at the same rate as their peers.
Since beliefs and perceptions govern behavior, this study explores the beliefs and
perceptions of African American academically at risk male football players as they
navigate their first semester of collegiate. Three constructs will enhance the
exploration: trantheoretical model of behavioral change (TTM), identity processing
style and possible selves.
Qualitative research methods were used to explore four African American
male student-athletes’ experiences at a large academically and athletically
prestigious Division I University in California. Weekly face-to-face, semi-structured
interviews were conducted with each of the four participants. Five emergent themes
emerged throughout the interviews: 1) physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation, 2)
chronic procrastination, 3) inability to understand scholarly academic effort, 4)

v
diffused identity processing style, 5) and the disconnect between academic possible
selves and career.
The findings from this study could be used to educate and inform key groups
within university and athletic academic support environments.

1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Over the past decade, a considerable amount of focus has been placed on the
academic achievement and motivation of student-athletes. Reports of fraudulent
grades, irrelevant majors, effortless classes, and diminishing graduation rates have
compelled the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to institute reform
measures and revise academic degree progress standards. Athletics departments have
responded with increased academic assistance resources and personnel. For the most
part, this reform movement has produced results. With the release of the latest
NCAA graduation rate report, student-athletes’ graduation rates are reaching all-time
highs. The 2002 NCAA data reports that student-athletes are graduating at a rate of
60% as compared with 58% for the general university student population.
Unfortunately, not all groups within the overall student-athlete population are
experiencing this upsurge in graduation rates. Student-athletes who participate in
revenue producing sports are not graduating at the same rate as nonrevenue
producing sports. More specifically, African American males who participate in
basketball and football are graduating at a rate far below the national average.
In the mid-1960s, the U.S. Department of Education tried to expand access to
higher education for low-income, first-generation college students through the
Student Support Services program. University presidents recognized the importance

2
of these programs in assisting students in making a smooth transition to
postsecondary institutions where the academic demands are far more rigorous. The
expansion and demand for these services have flourished as high schools have still
fail to produce self-regulated learners or learners with metacognitive abilities, such
as the ability to analyze tasks or synthesize information (Maxwell, 1997). Academic
assistance programs have been extensively reviewed and characterized along a
continuum: at one end is improving functional reading skills and at the other end is
developing students’ learning strategies. There are five prevalent models designed to
serve college students: learning-to-learn courses, supplemental instruction, reading
and writing intensives, summer bridge or first-year transitional programs, and
learning assistance centers (Simpson, Hynd, Nist, & Burrell, 1997).
Most of these programs have resulted in positive but limited academic
success when analyzing specific outcome measures. Learning-to-learn programs
have produced increases in Learning and Study Strategy Inventory scores and
college GPAs (McKeachie, Pintrich & Lin, 1985; Weinstein, 1994). Participants
within supplemental instruction programs have also demonstrated a tendency to
achieve higher test scores and course grades (Martin & Arensdale, 1994). It has been
suggested that writing-intensive programs may lead to a broader range of reasoning
operations for college students (Ackerson, 1993). It has also been reported that
bridge programs increase university retention rates and GPAs (Nunez-Warmack,
Aston, & Smodlaka, 1992), especially with minority students (Roberts & Thomson,
1994). First-year transitional seminars have also been correlated to higher retention

3
and graduation rates (Barefoot, 1998; Fidler & Godwin, 1994; Raymond & Napoli,
1998). In addition, research conducted within learning assistance programs found
that users achieved an overall GPA equal to nonusers, even though users’ SAT
scores and high school GPA were significantly lower than the nonusers. Most
athletic departments, in response to stricter and growing NCAA academic
regulations and by-laws, offer academic support centers in addition to the resources
provided by their respective universities. Most are centrally located within the
athletic department and follow the design model of a learning assistance center.
Within the last 3 years, the NCAA has begun initiating a 5-year
comprehensive academic reform plan for student-athletes that includes three specific
items: the six-unit rule, progress towards degree, and the Academic Progress Report
(APR). First, the six-unit rule is a NCAA bylaw stating that if a student-athlete fails
to successfully pass six degree applicable credits each semester they will be rendered
ineligible for competition the following semester. Secondly, a certain percentage of
degree completion must be reached to maintain eligibility after the second, third, and
fourth year of enrollment. The percentage for degree completion was increased in the
fall of 2003 from a 25-50-75 incremental to a 40-60-80 progression. This 15%
increase equates roughly to an additional 20 degree applicable credit hours that must
be passed successfully over a student-athlete’s freshmen and sophomore year.
Thirdly, according to the APR, the athletics department will be penalized if a
student-athlete is not retained from semester to semester and becomes or remains
ineligible from semester to semester. The APR instituted sanctions beginning in the

4
fall of 2005 that carry with them the penalty of losing scholarship money and the
associated financial benefits from postseason appearances.
With the introduction of these three criteria, coupled with the threat of losing
scholarship monies, the stakes have become greater for student-athletes to remain
eligible and graduate within 5 years. The statistical translation required by the APR
breaks down to the following 3:1 ratio: in order for the sport to avoid losing a
scholarship for each student-athlete that is not academically retained or remains
ineligible, three student-athletes must be retained and remain academically eligible.
This 3:1 ratio presents numerous challenges for managing an 85-person football
roster, but statistically presents incredible obstacles for a smaller roster team such as
basketball, golf or tennis.
Athletic department academic support services have invested an enormous
amount of money in assistance programs and personnel intended to increase
academic achievement, motivation and changing academic behavior. These services,
resources, and programs consist of academic support staff, learning specialists,
academic counselors, class monitors, and first-year transitional courses. Athletics
support services are also investing heavily in tutors, review sessions, academic
planners, and computer technology, such as Kurzweil Readers, books on tape, and
travel laptop computers. Reinforcement strategies to motivate the utilization of these
programs consist of a student-athlete of the month, specific negative point reports
delivered directly to coaches and administrators, and charging student-athletes
money for missed tutoring appointments. Yet, these action-oriented academic and

5
reinforcement programs, which are effective with most of our student-athletes, are
not changing the academic behavior of African American male student-athletes.
African American male student-athletes, who make up the majority of high caliber
Division I football and basketball rosters, are still experiencing difficulties in
remaining eligible and graduating from college due, in part, to their perceived
inability to change their academic behavior.
We need to look for a new approach to programs that are intended to reach
these individuals. The old approach carries with it the assumption that change will
occur dramatically and discretely. This action paradigm has dominated most learning
assistance programs over the past 20 years. This model, which most athletic learning
support centers follow, assumes that students will enroll in a transitional program
and will be able to conquer academic and motivational problems within one 15-week
semester. When these student-athletes fail to make these changes, adopt a healthy
new academic lifestyle, and then maintain it, the individuals are blamed for their lack
of will power or motivation. However, what if the program itself is to blame and not
the at-risk student-athlete? Instead of shaping the programs to address the needs of
the individual, most academic learning services assume that all of the student-
athletes’ academic or motivation issues can be grouped into a particular category and
can then be addressed by transitional assistance programs.
What these programs are missing is the insight that even though the student-
athlete is given an elaborate support system, a successful student-athlete needs to
perform the majority of their academic work outside the learning assistance centers.

6
Learning assistance centers can only provide professional academic support on a
limited basis, usually 6 to 8 hours per week. Therefore, in order to be successful,
individuals must alter their behavior beyond these support system and programs. As
educators, we need to look closely at these specific individuals, as all academic
behavioral change begins first with self-change.
Behavioral Change
Researchers and practitioners have proposed many different approaches to
behavioral change. Meta-analyses of behavioral change models of how people
change have identified theoretical commonalities underlying the modification of
problem behaviors (Prochaska, 1979). The transtheoretical model is an integrative
model of intentional behavioral change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983; Prochaska,
DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992; Prochaska & Velicer, 1997). As the leading
intervention model for changing addictive behavior within the medical community,
the transtheoritical model approach construes behavior change as a process that
unfolds over time and that involves progressing through a series of stages. The five
stages through which an individual progresses are precontemplation, contemplation,
preparation, action, and maintenance. These stages, which represent the temporal
dimension, are the key organizing construct of the model.
There are 10 common processes for transition matched to the specific stages
of the transtheoretical model, five are classified as experiential processes and are
primarily used within the earlier stages, while the other five are labeled as behavioral
and are used for later stage transition. In addition, the transtheoretical model

7
identifies two critical components, decisional balance and confidence as key
constructs to the change process. The decision balance measure identifies the
individual’s process for weighing the pros and cons of a behavioral decision.
Confidence represents the situational specific confidence that people possess when
they cope with high-risk situations. The key to the success of the transtheoretical
model lies in: (a) assessing an individual’s stage of change, (b) matching the correct
experiential or behavioral process to the stage, (c) understanding the individual’s
decisional balance measure, and (d) identifying the individual’s situational
confidence.
In extrapolating this research to a college-level learning strategy course on
changing academic behavior, Dembo and Seli (2004) found that out of 169 students
surveyed at the end of the semester, 49 students (29%) failed to change their
academic behavior. Of these 49 students who failed to change, 33 (67%) responded
that their reason for the failure was due to the fact they really did not want to change.
Using a more process-oriented approach, Spradling and Dembo (2002) interviewed
students over a semester to gain insight concerning students’ perception of their
academic behavior. Even being aware of their ineffective behavior, deadlines for
assignments, and newly acquired knowledge of learning strategies, the students
could not make the transition between knowing what to do and actually
accomplishing it. Students stated that there were never-ending temptations like
calling friends, getting something to eat, or watching TV. They talked about having
all the best intentions, but were unable to turn those intentions into productive work.

8
Throughout all the interviews, the authors found an emergent theme in the
dichotomy of the student knowing in their minds what to do and putting that
knowledge into action.
In lieu of this research and in an attempt to try to answer the question of why
these individuals and strategies were failing, it may be important that we take a step
back and re-evaluate these approaches. Since self-knowledge governs behavior, the
questions that need to be answered are: “What are the entry perceptions and beliefs
of these African American individuals regarding college, themselves, and their
academic behavior?”, “What are the key themes of this particular population that
could facilitate or impede their success in college?” and “How can these findings be
used to make programs better agents for behavioral change?”
In reference to student-athletes, these at-risk freshmen are motivated and
prepared to immediately change their behavior in the athletic domain. Although they
are given challenging, complex plays to understand and new training techniques to
employ, they learn them and use them. Their decisional balance and processing has
shown them that the pros (e.g., making the team, accruing playing time, and athletic
glory) of changing their athletic behavior far outweigh the cons (e.g., getting cut,
sitting the bench, and emotional and physical exhaustion). Thus, these student-
athletes have processed, chosen, and committed to action. However, in the college
academic setting, although cognizant of a need to change and although professors
and learning specialists are providing new strategies to facilitate change, these at-risk
student-athletes remain unsuccessful in changing their behavior. In these situations,

9
an action-oriented approach, which is successful for many student-athletes, would be
mismatched to these individuals’ stage of change and hence produce failure. It can
be hypothesized, from information presented by the transtheoretical model, that a
more effective approach for this at-risk population would consist of an assessment of
stages matched with appropriate processes, along with an exploration and
understanding of the individual, his or her decisional processing style, and his or her
perception and beliefs of their academic selves.
As we evaluate these key components within this transtheoretical approach,
the role of the individual and where the individual is in the change process emerges
as critical. According to many development theories, the college-aged student is
immersed in a period of continuous transformation. Erikson’s (1968) life-span
development theory envisioned a series of eight psychological tasks that reflected the
underlying struggles associated with a specific epoch of life. Marcia (1966)
expanded on Erikson’s psychosocial stage of identity formation versus role
confusion by developing an identity status model based on the dimensions of
exploration and commitment. Exploration involves going through experiences that
challenge our thinking, beliefs, and values. The dimension of commitment involves
making decisions contingent upon this new exploration and perspective. Martin
(2006) found six emergent themes within academically driven African American
male student-athletes. Of the six themes, two related directly with identity: 1) role of
self and supportive others in academic success, and 2) positive image of self and a
distinct identity. This research allows us to view the importance of identity related

10
issues as critical components of African American academic success. It could be
suggested that part of a multidimensional understanding of an at-risk population’s
resistance to change would be to assess the individual’s experience with exploration
of self and identity.
Berzonsky (1988, 1990) proposed that individuals within each of Marcia’s
identity statuses differ in the social-cognitive processes they use to solve personal
problems, make decisions, and process identity-relevant information. This concept
correlates to the key component of decisional balance measure in Prochaska’s
transtheoretical model. How the student-athletes process information is key to how
they evaluate the pros and cons and therefore make decisions. The following three
identity processing styles are emphasized within Berzonsky’s work: informational,
normative, and diffuse/avoidant. Within the present study, I will be looking at the
identity processing style of these at-risk student athletes in order to gain a better
understanding of how they process self-relevant information and how this may
impact aspects of athletic and academic behavior. I chose the identity processing
style because my research involved a series of interviews which would allow me,
through dialog, to identify processing style and expand how this knowledge could
shape support services established for student-athletes. As educators, we must look
for a successful concept or program, from inside or outside our discipline, that will
incorporate the key consideration of producing behavioral change (proper matching
of stage to process, decisional balance) and identity (processing style and

11
exploration) along with the unique features of being an African American student-
athlete.
One approach that addresses a majority of these components is the concept of
possible selves, which are representations of the self in the future, involving both
personal aspirations and concerns for the future self. Possible Selves is an
intervention designed to increase student motivation by having students examine
their identities both now and in the future and think about what goals that are
important to them and why. Students think about and describe their hoped-for
possible selves, expected possible selves, and feared possible selves. They explore
and commit to goals, create plans, and learn how to make decisions in accordance
with working toward their goals as part of this program, ultimately changing their
problem behavior. Dunkel and Anthis (2001) proposed a link between the
generation of possible selves, identity exploration, and the process of change.
Possible selves have attracted much

interest in research on the processes involved in
adaptation

to age-related change across the life span (Dunkel & Kerpelman,

2006).
Possible

selves capture the dynamic and goal-oriented aspects of personality

and
have been defined as personalized hoped-for and feared images

of the self in the
future that direct and change behavior over time. Studies on possible

selves have
shown that the contents of possible selves mirror

age-related themes of life (Cross &
Markus, 1991).
Theory suggests that possible selves serve motivational and

evaluative
functions. First, possible selves act as motivational

incentives by defining what is to

12
be approached (hoped-for selves)

and what is to be avoided (feared selves) (Cross &
Markus, 1991 Markus & Nurius, 1986).

Specifically, having an image of what is
possible in the future

allows one to mentally simulate future scenarios that facilitate

decisions in favor of or against specific actions and provide

clues about when to
persist and when to withdraw. Representations

of hoped-for possible selves involve
goals as well as scenarios

about the means and strategies to achieve them and thereby
organize

and energize the adoption of behaviors (Cross & Markus,

1994; Hooker,
1999; Markus & Ruvolo,

1989).
Possible selves can also be seen as an extension of Marcia’s definition of
identity exploration as challenges to one’s thinking, beliefs, and value system.
Dunkel and Anthis (2001) found that identity exploration was positively correlated to
the number of possible selves generated and that changes in identity exploration
predicted changes in the number of possible selves generated. An individual’s
repertoire of possible selves can be viewed as a cognitive manifestation of goals,
aspirations, thinking patterns, fears, and threats. Possible selves provided the self-
structure, direction, and meaning to the individuals goals, aspirations, thinking
patterns, fears and threats. Possible selves allow the growing individual to explore
different identities by “trying on” different selves without committing to them
permanently. The contemplation of change during identity exploration is positively
correlated to the number of possible selves produced. As such, possible selves
provide the essential link between identity, behavior, and motivation. Hock et al.
(2005) developed the possible selves program and assessed its success with student

13
athletes in a 6 year longitudinal study. At the end of 6 years, the possible selves
group earned higher GPAs, had higher retention and graduation rates, and
outperformed the control group on measures of role identification and goal setting in
personal, academic, and athletic life.
In summary, the stage of an individual and matching the process of change to
the individual are keys to the change process according to the TTM model proposed
by Prochaska. Dialog from interview will also be used to identify what stage of
change the student-athlete’s occupy and if the individual moves from one stage to
another during the semester. Research has shown that student-athletes are non-
traditional students. One of the keys for collegiate academic success and retention in
non-traditional students revolves around identity, identity formation and other non-
cognitive factors. A way to assess identity formation according to Erickson, Marcia
and Berzonsky is to look at the processing style of the individuals. The primary
means of recording data within this study is the use of interviews and specific
questions in order to facilitate identifying the processing style of these individuals.
Possible Selves is a program that involves exploration of beliefs and perceptions
along with examination of the dual identities of the student and the athlete. Possible
Selves have been shown to increase academic success in student-athletes. During the
interview process attention with be paid to identification of strived for, expected and
feared possible selves. I will be looking at three constructs within my study, TTM
model of the successful change process, identity processing style and possible selves.
The reason why I have chosen these three constructs is due to the relationship of

14
these three components to success in academics and the success of the behavioral
change process. This study hypothesizes that investigating student-athletes’
processing styles will give us insight into the decisional balance component of
changing negative academic behavior and identity related issues that may have an
effect on academic success. The study might also illuminate the use of the Possible
Selves program to facilitate change in our student-athletes population.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is to explore the entry belief and perceptions of
academically at-risk African American male student-athletes and how these beliefs
and perceptions influence academic behavior during the first semester of college.
The study will examine the entry perceptions, belief systems, and thinking patterns
regarding academics and academic behavior within this specific student population.
One of three components within this investigation will be the TTM model and the
exploration of the individuals’ stage of change and the academic support services
strategies for promoting change. A second component is the construct of identity
processing style and how it might influence the decisional balance measure of
African American student-athletes. The third component will be the exploration of
the construct of possible selves and its reflection on identity and the behavioral
change process. Implications regarding these three constructs will be discussed
within this at-risk African American population. This study intends to provide
further insight into resistance to change and motivational factors that could facilitate
behavioral change. Additionally, this study will generate recommendations for both

15
student-athlete academic support staff regarding strategies for interventions and for
universities regarding the African American student-athlete population . From a
methodological perspective, this study also attempts to verify and validate a multi-
dimensional approach to behavioral change. The following research questions will
guide this investigation:
1. What are the major themes within the beliefs and perceptions of at-risk
African American male student-athletes concerning academics and their
academic behavior?
2. How do these beliefs and perceptions evolve and influence behavioral
change, processing style, and possible selves, as this population experiences
their first semester of academic life in college?
Importance of Study
This study attempts to bring together key components of behavioral change,
identity processing style, and possible selves in order to understand and facilitate
academic success within an at-risk African American male student-athlete
population. This study was process-oriented and included qualitative data through
observations and interviews. Through assessment of behavioral change stages,
processing style, and possible selves, this study attempts to come to a better
understanding of the challenges faced by this population so that support services can
effectively address their needs. This study will attempt to provide rich insight into
these individuals’ lives and examine the problems they face in moving from knowing
what to do to actually doing it.

16
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

For the purpose of the development of this literature review, three online
research databases, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, and PubMed, were used to locate
articles from peer-reviewed journals. Indicator words used to locate current research
articles for behavioral change were juvenile delinquency, behavioral change, change
models, addictive behavior, behavior modification, change intervention, and
behavioral change strategies. Primary and secondary sources cited in this review
were obtained by searching key words such as motivation, academic achievement,
identity processing style, possible selves, college athletics, National Collegiate
Athletic Association, student-athlete, African American male, academic beliefs, and
perceptions.
This literature review will first evaluate the academic assistance programs
available to university students. Next, the components of the transtheortical model of
behavioral change will be discussed which include stages, processes and decisional
balance. Subsequently, a review of the concept of identity and the construct of
identity processing style and its relationship to students, decision making, and
academic achievement will be conducted. Following that a review of African
American male student-athletes will be briefly discussed. The final section will
review the construct of Possible Selves. The areas of review for this population are
academic, social and identity influences and issues. The entire review of literature,

17
particular attention with be focused on the academic achievement of student-athletes
with special attention paid to African American males.
I will begin the discussion with programs adopted for increasing the
academic success of college students in American postsecondary institutions.
Despite their relative success, these programs are not doing enough. Learning-to-
learn courses at the University of Michigan and the University of Texas have
produced significant positive academic results for students when compared to control
groups who did not participate in these courses. Researchers at the University of
Michigan saw positive changes in student’s Learning and Study Strategy Inventory
scores and GPAs (McKeachie et al., 1985). Weinstein (1994) reported similar results
with studies conducted at the University of Texas. Students’ GPA showed
improvements that were maintained up to five semesters, while improvements of
over 10 percentile points were documented on the Learning and Study Strategy
Inventory and the Nelson-Denny Reading comprehension tests.
Deanna Martin, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, developed the
supplement instruction program that targets high-risk courses as opposed to at-risk
students. This model of instruction has demonstrated positive academic results. At
the University of Missouri, supplement instruction participants tended to achieve
higher test and course grades and exhibited a greater degree of persistence than
students who did not attend the instruction sessions (Martin & Arensdale, 1994).
Reading-and-writing intensives are designed to facilitate academic success through
writing to foster and to promote critical thinking. Although Ackerson (1993)

18
suggested that analytical writing may lead to a wider range of reasoning operations,
most evaluations of writing-to-learn programs and of their correlation to academic
success are inconclusive.
Summer bridge programs offer students transitional courses and individual
tutoring sessions in order to develop their ability to read, write, and study so they can
be successful in college course work. Numerous bridge programs report positive
effects in the areas of retention and GPA (Nunez-Warmack et al., 1992). Data
collected at the University of California-Berkeley Bridge program suggested that
minority students demonstrated greater persistence and showed increased retention
rates over general university minority students (Roberts & Thomson, 1994).
First-year transitional seminars have gained a strong foothold in institutions
of higher education. A recent national survey conducted by the National Resource
Center (2002) revealed that nearly 70% of higher education institutions surveyed
offer first-year transitional programs, making them the most common intervention
offered by colleges and universities. The most commonly reported academic
correlation of seminar participation is improvement in first- and second-year
retention rates and in graduation rates (Barefoot et al., 1998; Fidler & Godwin, 1994;
Raymond & Napoli, 1998). The evidence linking first-year seminars to
improvements in study skills or higher-order cognitive abilities is far less consistent
(Heller, 1992). Some courses seem to make a positive difference for some students;
other courses seem to have no effect at all, especially with students who have the
greatest academic deficiencies (Davis, 1992).

19
Learning assistance centers combine and coordinate academic assistance
efforts from a variety of domains and deliver them to students in an efficient and cost
effective way. Learning assistance centers offer a variety of combinations of
academic and motivational strategies, including one-on-one tutoring, collaborative
group study, study skills workshops, individualized and group skill instruction,
review sessions, computer labs, learning specialists, and support services for learning
disabled students. Most athletic departments, depending on resources, offer academic
support services similar to a learning assistance center. Roberts and Thomson (1994)
studied Berkeley’s learning assistance center found that the overall GPAs of users
and nonusers did not significantly differ. However, the program is credited with
being successful, since the learning assistance center users’ SAT scores and high
school GPAs were significantly lower than the nonusers.
In summary, learning-to-learn and supplemental instruction programs have
demonstrated positive academic results for the general university student population.
Other successful programs that have been offered by universities are Summer Bridge
programs and freshmen transitional seminars. However it could be suggested that
these programs are not have the far-reaching effect on the collegiate at-risk student-
athlete’s academic success.
Behavioral Change and the Transtheoritical Model
While other models of change have dealt with social or biological influences
on behavior, the transtheoretical model depends on intentional change and focuses
on the decision-making of the individual. This model aims to describe how

20
individuals modify problem behaviors and acquire positive behaviors that involve
emotions, cognitions, and matching stages of change with appropriate strategies.
Precontemplation is a stage at which there is no intention to change behavior in the
near future. Individuals in this stage are unaware or underaware of their problem due
to ignorance or defensiveness. An individual with utilize the reason that they can’t
change or that they don’t want to change in this stage in order to justify their non-
action.. The individuals will process the pros of the problem behavior as far
outweighing the cons of changing.
Contemplation is the stage in which people are aware that a problem exists
and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment
to take action. The individuals still feel as though they don’t want to change but are
beginning to realize the negatives of the problem behavior. Key processes associated
with facilitating movement through both precontemplation and contemplation are
consciousness-raising, dramatic relief, environmental evaluation and self-
reevaluation.
Preparation is a stage that combines intention and behavioral resolution.
Individuals in this stage have made some small behavioral changes and are intending
to make more but have not yet formulated a criterion for effective action.
Action is the stage in which individuals modify their behavior, experiences,
or environment in order to overcome their problem. Action involves the most overt
behavioral changes that require a great deal of energy and time. The reasons
associated with these two stages are simply that they don’t know what or how to

21
change.
Maintenance is the stage in which people work to prevent relapse and
consolidate the gains attained during action. Stabilizing and persisting in behavioral
change and avoiding relapse are the hallmarks of maintenance.
Processes of Change
Processes of change are the covert and overt activities that people use to
progress through the above stages. These processes provide important information
for intervention programs, since they are they independent variables that individuals
need to apply or be engaged in to move from stage to stage. Ten processes have
received the most empirical support to date (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983;
Prochasa, Velicer, DiClemente, & Fava, 1988). The first five, known in the literature
as experiential processes, function best in early stage transitions, while the last five,
known as behavioral processes, serve individuals best during later stage transitions.
Although the processes of change are not directly related to my study, I will discuss
them briefly due to possible implications towards looking for strategies for academic
support services in moving a student-athlete from precontemplation to action.
Consciousness raising, the first process of change, involves awareness of
causes, consequences, and cures of problem behaviors. Dramatic relief initially
produces increased emotional experiences followed by reduced affect if appropriate
action can be taken. Psychodrama, role playing, grieving, personal testimonies, and
media campaigns are examples of techniques that can move people emotionally.
Environmental reevaluation combines both affective and cognitive assessments of

22
how the presence or absence of a personal habit affects one’s social environment. It
can also include the awareness that one can serve as a positive or negative role model
for others. Empathy training, documentaries, and family interventions can lead to
such re-assessments. Social liberation requires an increase in social opportunities or
alternatives, especially for people who are relatively deprived or oppressed. Self-
reevaluation combines both cognitive and affective assessments of one’s self-image
with and without a particular unhealthy habit, such as one’s image as a couch potato
or as an active person. Value clarification, healthy role models, and imagery are
techniques that can move people to evaluation. Stimulus control removes cues for
unhealthy habits and add prompts for healthier alternatives. Avoidance,
environmental re-engineering, and self-help groups can provide stimuli that support
change and reduce risks for relapse. Helping relationships combine caring, trust,
openness, and acceptance, as well as support for the healthy behavior change.
Rapport building, a therapeutic alliance, counselor calls, and buddy systems can be
sources of social support. Counter conditioning requires the learning of healthier
behaviors that can substitute for problem behaviors. Relaxation can counter stress,
while assertion can counter peer pressure. Reinforcement management provides
consequences for taking steps in a particular direction. While reinforcement
management can include the use of punishments, self-changers rely on rewards much
more than punishments. Contingency contracts, overt and covert reinforcements,
positive self-statements, and group recognition are procedures for increasing
reinforcement and the probability that healthier responses will be repeated. Self-

23
liberation is both the belief that one can change and the commitment to act on that
belief. New Year’s resolutions, public testimonies can enhance self-liberation
(Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983).
Decisional Balance
Decisional balance is an important concept because it relates to key elements
within the stages of change and how an individual arrives at a decision to change.
Janis and Mann (1977) argued that individuals consider four primary sets of
consequences when making a decision. The first set of consequences is utilitarian
gains and losses for self, which include income, possessions, enjoyment, and
attainment of preferences. The second kind of consequences involve utilitarian gains
and losses for significant others, where the individual considers the instrumental
effects of the decision on the needs of others, ranging from immediate family and
close friends to co-workers and members of the community. The third kind of
consequences an individual might consider is self-approval or disapproval, where the
individual anticipates the affective reaction of not living up to personal standards and
ideals and failing to affirm self-perceived attributes. Finally, the individual might
anticipate social approval or disapproval, where the individual considers the
likelihood and affective consequences of social feedback, such as praise, ridicule,
respect, or criticism.
Decision making was conceptualized by Janis and Mann (1977) as a
decisional “balance sheet” of comparative potential gains and losses for changing a
behavior. Two decisional balance measures, the pros of the behavior and the cons of

24
the behavior, have become critical constructs in the transtheoretical model. The pros
and cons combine to form a decisional balance sheet of comparative potential gains
and losses. The decisional balance construct reflects the individual’s weighing of the
importance of the pros and cons of changing an unhealthy behavior into a healthy
behavior. The balance between the pros and cons varies depending on which stage of
change the individual is in. A predictable pattern has been observed of how the pros
and cons relate to the stages of change. In precontemplation, the pros of a performing
a behavior outweigh the cons of performing the behavior. In contemplation, these
two scales are more equal. In the advanced stages, the cons outweigh the pros.
One of three components within this investigation will be the construct of
identity processing style and how it might influence the decisional balance measure
of college-aged African American student-athletes. In relationship to my study,
through dialog within an interview format, the student-athlete will be asked to
elaborate on how they are evaluating the pros and cons of their unhealthy academic
behavior.
Summary of Transtheoretical Model
The Transtheoretical Model is an integrative model of behavioral change. It
has been operationalized and used extensively to promote optimal heath by
promoting behavioral change in the areas such as smoking, diet, alcohol and
substance, eating disorders, panic disorders and others. One of the model’s major
contributions is the recognition that behavior change unfolds through a series of

25
stages. That is, individual progress through a series of stages in recognizing the need
to change, contemplating a change, making a change, and finally sustaining the new
behavior.
This theory of behavioral change is an attractive model for educators;
specifically those dealing with academically at-risk African-American student-
athletes who have had trouble changing poor academic behavior. There are several
points of the transtheoritical model of behavioral change that are highlighted in this
study. The first is that this model does not follow the ‘one size fits all’ approach to
addressing the needs of these at-risk student-athletes. Most interventions that have
been attempted to facilitate these individual have ended in failure due to the lack of
addressing the individual needs of the student-athletes. Entering university freshman
come from a variety of backgrounds and come to college at many different stages.
In order to promote healthy behavioral change one must understand the individual’s
needs (stage) and have a program available that is useful and applicable (processes)
for all students. The second key point is the important constructs of investigating the
process of how the individual makes decisions. If one does not understand the way
an individual processes the pros and cons of a behavior, one does not understand
what is important to the individual. Within this process-oriented study, insight will
be gained regarding this processing style and how the individual handles new
environmental and academically stressful situations. Having insight as to how

26
individuals make decisions about changing poor behavior could assist academic
support staff in developing appropriate strategies.
Identity
Erikson
Erikson (1963, 1968) developed an eight-stage theory of psychosocial
development across the life cycle. Erikson theorized that at each stage of life, there is
a central conflict that needs to be resolved in order to move to the next level in a
healthy manner. Erikson identified the following conflicts: in infancy, basic trust
versus mistrust; in early childhood, autonomy versus shame; in play age, initiative
versus guilt; in school age, industry versus inferiority; in adolescence, identity versus
identity diffusion; in young adulthood, intimacy versus isolation; in adulthood,
generativity versus stagnation; and in old age, integrity versus despair. Erikson’s
theory is an outgrowth of his concern with understanding healthy mental functioning.
Erikson considered identity to be the central concern for 16- to 21-year-olds.
Relationships with self and others are crucial in adolescence, which is a stage
of life widely recognized as being associated with a substantial change in identity
(Erikson, 1968). These changes are especially salient in the freshman population as
the transition from high school to college usually involves a first time move away
from home for many adolescents (Balk, 1995). It is the concern with well-being that
makes Erikson’s theory applicable to understanding the problems related to

27
transition to college, such as emotional maladjustment, depression, anxiety, and
stress.
Marcia
By introducing the ego-identity status paradigm and its corresponding
measure, Marcia (1966) broadened the empirical investigations of Erikson’s
conceptualization of identity formation. Marcia’s ego-identity status paradigm has
dominated the field of identity research for almost 4 decades (Bourne, 1978;
Waterman, 1982). Marcia focused attention on the processes by which identity
structures are formed.
Marcia (1966) established an operational definition of ego identity that has
been widely used in subsequent research. Researchers (Meeus, 1996; Nurmi, J.-E.,
Berzonsky, M. D., Tammi, K., & Kinney, A., 1997) have argued that Marcia’s model
is not a developmental theory, but a descriptive model that functions within a
broader framework of Erikson’s theory. On theoretical grounds, Marcia identified
two dimensions, exploration and commitment, along which one’s identity status may
be determined. The fundamental developmental hypothesis of the identity status
model is that as adolescents become older they undergo progressive developmental
shifts in identity status: from diffusion to foreclosure or moratorium, from
foreclosure to moratorium, and from moratorium to identity achievement.
No Exploration Exploration
Diffusion Moratorium
Foreclosure Identity Achievement

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No Commitment

Commitment

Exploration refers to a period of struggle or active questioning in arriving at
various aspects of personal identity, such as career, religious beliefs, and attitudes.
Commitment represents a decision to adhere to a specific set of goals, values, and
beliefs, whether self-initiated or adapted from others. Commitment involves making
a firm decision about one’s beliefs and engaging in appropriate activities. In
combination, exploration and commitment form a quadripolar model that consists of
states of identity diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, or identity achievement.
Identity achievers are individuals who have gone through a period of
exploration and have emerged from it with relatively firm commitments. Achieved
individuals have explored thoroughly experiences and have committed to a way of
thinking, a set of beliefs, and a value system. Parents have encouraged autonomy and
connection with teachers. These students have superb moral reasoning, an internal
locus of control, and are capable of intimacy. The term moratorium is applicable to
individuals who are currently engaged in the struggle of exploring their values in an
attempt to arrive at a choice and make a commitment to it. It would describe an
individual that is heavily experiencing challenges but has still not committed to
anything. These individuals are often in an ambivalent struggle with parental
authority. They are mostly anxious and fearful of success.

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Individuals who can be categorized as being foreclosed have not undergone a
period of exploration, but are, nevertheless, committed to particular goals, values,
and beliefs. The commitments made by foreclosed individuals generally reflect the
wishes of parents or other authority figures. Foreclosured individuals have parents
that are overly involved with their lives. The family rarely expresses differences and
often uses denial and repression to avoid dealing with unwelcome thoughts. The
child has the highest level of authoritarian and stereotypical thinking and is obedient
to authority. Individuals tend to have an external locus of control and create
dependent relationships with others. These individuals have made commitments by
accepting someone else’s plan.
Individuals who can be classified as identity diffused do not have firm
commitments and are not actively trying to form them. They may have never gone
through a period of exploring their values or they may have been in an identity crisis
but were unable to resolve it successfully. Characteristics of a diffusion stage would
be individuals that have no exploration or commitment skills. These individual tend
to avoid commitment in every aspect of their lives. They are unsure of themselves,
tend to be uncooperative, unhappy, and lonely. Their parents are laissez-faire in their
child-rearing attitudes and have been rejecting or unavailable to the child. Their
personality tends to show mixed results in terms of cognitive complexity and self-
certainty.
The main benefit in applying Marcia’s model to the transition problem lies
within the systematic differences that have been established in psychological well-

30
being among the identity statuses (Marcia, 1967; Meeus, 1996). Marcia found that
moratorium and identity diffusion individuals scored high on dimensions indicative
of maladjustment, such as depression, neuroticism, and anxiety. Similarly, Meeus
(1996) found that moratoriums had the lowest level of psychological well-being and
the highest levels of depression, followed by diffusions, while individuals in identity
achievement and foreclosure showed higher levels of psychological well-being.
Meeus concluded that the lower levels of psychological well-being indicate that this
status may reflect an identity crisis, functional in the context of adolescent
development.
Theophilides et al. (1984), describing students who had changed their majors
and who therefore may be assessed as being moratorium, theorized that a change in
major may reflect a way of coping with newly recognized academic limitations. In
particular, the change in major may proceed from a crisis resulting from a heavy
academic load during the freshman year and the consequent belief that one does not
measure up to earlier beliefs or expectations. Additionally, exploration, though a
normative and healthy part of adolescence, may present a risk factor for
experimentation with risky behaviors. Drinking in transition to college, for example,
may serve important constructive functions, such as helping to explore personal
identities (Jessor, 1992).
Jones (1992) explored Marcia’s identity statuses in relationship to problem
behavior among adolescents (from ages 12 to 19). Jones established that diffused
respondents reported greater frequencies of substance abuse as compared with their

31
cohorts who were classified as achieved, foreclosed, or moratorium. The status of
foreclosure, though not directly related to a lack of well-being (Meeus, 1996), may
contain problems of its own. Foreclosed students have made a commitment to
specific values, beliefs, or vocational choices based on authority figures’ desires
(Marcia, 1966). However, when removed from the foreclosed environment, these
students may experience self-doubt and emotional maladjustment, stress, anxiety,
and depression.
Seventh to twelfth graders who are classified as diffused are almost twice as
likely to have tried cigarettes and alcohol, three times as likely to have tried
marijuana, four times as likely to have tried inhalants, and five times as likely to
have tried cocaine than their foreclosed peers. It is possible that when students enter
college in a diffused status, they are likely to be highly susceptible to detrimental
peer influences, since they have not solidified their own values. Instances of
academic dishonesty (Pino & Smith, 2003) may also be seen as a manifestation of a
lack of solidification of one’s values and the resulting lack of integrity. Additionally,
alcohol abuse as another problematic behavior in transition to college may serve to
postpone taking on adult roles and responsibilities and thus prolong one’s status as
diffused (Schulenberg & Maggs, 2002).
When an individual leaves behind the comfort and safety of his or her home
environment and faces the new academic and social demands pushes students into
the process of forming a stable and clear identity. Some students, using a
diffuse/avoidant identity style, may resist this process and process identity-relevant

32
information from an emotion-focused, avoidant perspective that leads them to make
excuses, withdraw, and procrastinate so that situational demands dictate important
decisions. For other students, such as those in moratorium, the process of identity
exploration is associated with crises as students start examining and re-examining
their values. Separated from their home environments and facing uncertainty about
the choices they have committed to, some foreclosed students may resist making
changes to their self-identity by detaching from relationships that challenge their
existing commitments. Other foreclosed students may re-examine their values and
commitments and emerge with new beliefs, such as a new vocational path or
tolerance towards students with different religious views or lifestyles. Either
behavior is likely to be associated with stress.
Based on empirical research, identity-relevant factors (non-cognitive) along
with cognitive predictors of adjustment to college, such as academic preparation,
need to be considered for freshmen, since they are important contributors to the
problems faced by students as they first enter college. It could be suggested that part
of a multidimensional understanding of an at-risk population’s resistance to change
would be to understand individual styles for exploration and commitment to self.
To delve deeper into this subject, Berzonsky (1988, 1990) proposed that
individuals differ in the socio-cognitive process that they use to solve problems,
make decisions, and process identity-relevant information. Identity processing style
is a construct that could shed light on the connections among the transtheoritical
model, decisional balance identity, and at-risk student-athletes.

33
Berzonsky Processing Style
Berzonsky described three distinct cognitive orientations called identity
styles, by which self-relevant information is evaluated, structured, revised, and
utilized. According to this model all late adolescents are assumed to be intellectually
capable of using all three processing orientations. Situational factors, contextual
demands, and personal preferences in identity style are hypotheses that influence
which social-cognitive orientation is deployed. An informational style entails a
willingness to investigate multiple solutions to a given problem and to explore
several options before committing to any one. The normative style represents growth
by conforming to social and familial expectations and a high degree of commitment
to authority and to exercise of judgment. The diffuse/avoidant style is marked by the
tendency to procrastinate and to make decisions on a situation-by-situation basis.
Berzonsky (1990) stated that the informational style is a preferable course for
identity formation, because it will likely entail a greater openness to experience,
action on the basis of deliberate reasoning, pursuit of decision-relevant information,
and exercise of greater ego control. Diffuse/avoidant identity orientation and style is
positively related to the use of emotion-focused, avoidant coping, external-control
expectancies, a diffuse identity status, and a socially defined identity and is
negatively associated with a need for cognition, openness to ideas, and
introspectiveness. Maladaptive approaches are characterized by procrastination,
decisional avoidance, rationalization, and panic. These approaches are not positively
related to academic achievement.

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Research has indicated that an informational identity orientation is marked by
a high need for cognition. Need for cognition refers to the degree to which
individuals are motivated to engage in active cogitative effort and information
processing. Tanaka, Panter, and Winbourne (1988) provided factor-analytic
indicating that at least three components are involved: (a) cognitive complexity, (b)
cognitive persistence, and (c) cognitive confidence. Based on previous research
(Berzonsky, 1993; Berzonsky & Dollinger, 1995; Sullivan, 1992), it was predicted
that all three cognitive components would be positively associated with an
informational identity orientation and negatively correlated with a diffuse/avoidant
style. Individuals who reportedly take an informational approach to self-construction
and identity issues relied on a cogitative, vigilant decisional strategy. In contrast, a
diffuse/avoidant orientation was accompanied by predecisional panic, low cognitive
confidence, procrastination, and maladaptive decisional strategies such as avoidance,
excuse making, and rationalization.
The possibility that different types of decisions are involved in identity
formation needs to be considered. Baumeister, Shapiro, and Tice (1985) have
suggested that there may be at least two types of identity crisis. What they label a
deficit crisis results from an absence of alternatives and commitments. To resolve it,
individuals must be able and willing to seek out and identify the self-relevant
alternatives and options they can use to make decisions and commitments. What
Baumeister et al. (1985) term a conflict crisis stems from too many alternatives and
commitments, some of which lead to desired but mutually incompatible behavioral

35
outcomes. According to this model, informational-oriented individuals deal with
identity conflict and decisional situations by actively seeking out, evaluating, and
utilizing relevant information. Research indicates that this orientation is associated
with deliberate self-exploration (Grotevant, 1989), a personally-focused coping
(Berzonsky, 1994), an internal locus of control (Berzonsky, 1989), and problem-
focused coping (Berzonsky, 1992). Reported utilization of a diffuse/avoidant coping
identity orientation is positively related to the use of emotion-focused, avoidant
coping, external-control expectancies, a diffuse identity status, and a socially defined
identity. Individuals classified as diffuse/avoiders have been found to be significantly
more depressed and neurotic and significantly less conscientious and agreeable than
their informational or normative counterparts.
These structural differences are seen in Berzonsky’s reclassification of the
identity statuses based on the information-processing style they exemplify. Achieved
and moratorium statuses are defined as having an informational oriented identity
style, which means that they actively seek out and evaluate information related to
themselves. The foreclosures are norm-oriented and seek out and conform to the
expectations of the situation. The diffusions are avoidant oriented and thus elude
decisions and problems.
Summary of Identity
Identity is conceptualized as an internal regulatory system that helps to
organize and integrate an individual’s psychic structure so that there is a sense of
consistency in one’s self-image, as well as in the image presented to others (Erikson,

36
1963). A coherent, well-integrated identity structure serves to provide a sense of
purpose and a basis for coping with stressful life events. These identity forming
events are prominent in the freshman population as they transition from high school
to college and from home to school. These students are leaving behind their kin
network and social support system to enter an area of anonymity. Entering into a
totally new environment, filled with promise and opportunity, a student is pressed to
create their own identity.
Some students using diffuse/avoidant identity style, may resist this process
and process identity-relevant information from an emotion-focused, avoidant
perspective, which leads them to making excuses, withdrawing from stressors, and
procrastinate. In these instances, situational demands, rather than students
themselves, will dictate important decisions and govern behavior. For other students,
such as those in moratorium, the process of identity exploration is associated with
crisis as students start examining and re-examining their values and making
corresponding commitments. Separated from a secure environment, some foreclosed
students may resist making changes to their self-identity by detaching from
relationships that challenge their existing commitments. Other foreclosed students
may re-examine their values and commitments and emerge with new beliefs. In
either situation, behavior is likely to be associated with stress.
Students with an information-oriented processing style actively seek out,
elaborate, and evaluate all self-relevant information before dealing with problems
and making decisions. Normative students will usually behave in accordance with

37
the expectations of others such as peers or significant others. A student that utilizes a
diffuse/avoidant processing style will usually procrastinate, lack the ability to self-
reflect, and avoid dealing with problems as long as possible. Based on the
aforementioned research, identity-relevant factors need to be considered for
freshmen as they are an important contributor to the behavior exhibited, problems
faced, and decisions made by students as they transition into college.
African American Male Students
Historical
A significant amount of research has been devoted to understanding the
college experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in higher education, particularly
African Americans. Several studies have found that African Americans as a group
have more access now to higher education than ever before. However, the ratio of
African American men to other undergraduates in U.S. colleges remains dismal.
According to Harvey (2001), only 36.6% of African American students enrolled at
private majority-White institutions in 1998 were men. In addition, Harvey (2001)
found that men earned only 35% of the 98,132 degrees awarded to African American
undergraduates in 1998. Moreover, Mortenson’s (2001) research revealed that more
than 67% of African American male students dropped out of school before
completing their bachelor’s degrees in 2000, as compared with 56% of African
American women and 58.1% of White male undergraduates.
These statistics demonstrate that African American men are not completing
college at the same rate as their peers from other ethnic or gender groups.

38
Researchers have worked to discover the reasons for this depressing trend. Cuyjet
(1997) offered two reasons for the under-representation of African American men in
higher education: (a) factors preventing African American men from having access
to college and (b) issues related to African American men being under-prepared for
the academic rigors of college. Regarding the African American men who never get
the chance to attend college, some of the more substantial barriers include high rates
of incarceration, disproportionate high school dropout rates, and serious health
problems (Parham & McDavis, 1987). Therefore, after the primary years of
schooling, many African American boys continue in a downward spiral of worsening
academic achievement. As they are exposed to other extracurricular activities, such
as sports, academic pursuits begin to be undervalued.
Furthermore, African American men who are not fortunate enough to enroll
in 4-year institutions are oftentimes labeled as being unprepared for the rigors of a
college curriculum. According to Cuyjet (1997), this “under-preparadeness” stems
from the following conditions: attending academically poor elementary schools and
secondary schools, lowered expectations of peers and adults towards academic
achievement, financial hardships limiting academic success, lack of role models, and
other barriers related to racism. Lee (1991) referred to the “developmental
disadvantage” of African American men. This disadvantage concerns the social,
cultural, and economic forces that prevent African American men from mastering
important developmental tasks in early childhood and adolescence. In some cases,

39
this has a negative effect on the academic success of African American men in
postsecondary education.
Stereotype threat can be defined as having apprehensiveness about a
stereotype, both in the eyes of an individual and in the eyes of others (Aronson,
Quinn, & Spencer, 1998; Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995). In addition,
stereotype threat assumes that something in the social environment is creating a
relevant stereotype. Much research has proven that when these stereotypes signify
negative qualities, the expectations that follow produce unsettling results and
outcomes. Thus, with regard to academic performance, stereotype threat may have
deleterious effects on students’ scholastic achievement And influence academic
motivation.
Steele (1995) asserted that when African American students are continually
faced with the threat of being judged or viewed as being academically incapable,
they may gradually come to devalue school performance. According to this
hypothesis, “If the poor school achievement of ability-stigmatized groups is
mediated by disidentification, then it might be expected that among the ability
stigmatized, there would be a disassociation between school outcomes and overall
self-esteem” (Steele, 1997, p. 623). Thus, if African American students are
constantly subjected by the stress of stereotype threat, they may at some point
extricate from performing well academically to protect their self-esteem.
According to Steele (1997), “stereotype threat” relates to the psychosocial
threat that arises when one is in a situation or doing something for which a stereotype

40
about one’s group applies. Moreover, this situation can threaten an individual with
being negatively stereotyped or treated unfairly. Although stereotype threat can
impact members of any group, negative stereotypes about African American students
tend to negatively affect their feelings about their academic skills. Thus, for African
American students, the threat of negative stereotypes can be sharply felt and in
several ways hamper academic achievement (Steele, 1997). Some stereotype threat
research suggests a tendency for targets to be hyperaware of people’s negative
expectations about their group or race.
Steele (1997) contended that to sustain school success, expectations,
performance and accountability, one must be identified with school achievement in
the sense of it being a part of one’s sense of identity. Therefore, in order for students
to form positive academic identities, they must have high expectations for
themselves; feel that they have the skills, opportunities, and resources to be
successful; and, most importantly, feel valued in the academic domain. As Steele
noted, “If this relationship to schooling does not form or gets broken, achievement
will suffer” (1997, p. 613). Given this climate of stereotype awareness, there are
ample grounds for African American and Latino students to feel a burden of
suspicion, to feel at risk of confirming stereotypes through their behavior, and to
wonder if they belong in environments where academic ability is prized (Aronson,
2002).

41
Academics
Minority students typically enter college with less academic preparation and
experience-added problems in the academic domain. This aspect of the college
environment has a negative impact on the academic motivation of these students
(Gaston-Gayles, 2004). A questionnaire designed to assess seven noncognitive
variables found to be related to college success for minority students was
administered to two successive samples of incoming freshmen at the University of
Maryland, College Park (Sedlacek & Brooks, 1976). For Whites, the noncognitive
dimensions of self-confidence, preference for long-range goals over short-term or
immediate needs, and realistic self-appraisal were most strongly related to GPA. For
Blacks, the only noncognitive variables that were related to GPA were positive self-
concept and realistic self-appraisal. For Whites, the Non-Cognitive Questionnaire
significantly adds to the prediction of grades, while for Blacks it is related to both
grades and enrollment status.
Tracey and Sedlacek (1996) examined the structural relations of the seven
noncognitive dimensions proposed by Sedlacek and Brooks (1996) and traditional
definitions of academic ability, SAT scores, to first-semester GPA and persistence
after three and five semesters. The resulting structural models for the Black and
White students were found to be notably different. For White students, academic
ability was the best predictor of first semester grades and these grades were the
major predictor of subsequent persistence. For Black students, traditional academic
ability was related to first semester GPA, but neither GPA nor academic ability was

42
related to persistence. Only the noncognitive dimensions were predictive of Black
student persistence. Noncognitive dimensions were unimportant in the academic
success of White students, but for Black students they were essential.
Social
Regarding African American male students, Jones (1994) found that students
at both historically Black colleges and universities and at private majority-White
institutions, who performed well academically, interpreted campus environmental
factors as being more important and intricately connected to their academic
achievement than their less successful peers. Thus, it appears that campus integration
is vital to the success of African American students at historically Black universities
to much of the same degree that is required at private majority-White universities.
Trippi and Cheatham (1989) conducted a study concerning the special
counseling needs of African American students at majority-White institutions. This
study consisted of 212 participants enrolled at a large, research institution in the
eastern part of the United States. The researchers found that the in-person contact
between counselors and African American students was critical to their academic
and social development. Moreover, this study also confirmed the importance of
advising and counseling for African American students during their first two
semesters of college.
Identity as a student
Identity is a means of organizing and interpreting social experiences,
regulating affect, and controlling behavior and is therefore a central part of one’s

43
self-concept. Self-concept researchers (Marsh, 1989) have established that one’s
perception of ability in a domain is a crucial contributor to one’s self-concept in that
domain. Self-concept is developed by unique individual experiences that are
primarily molded by family and a social network of friends and associates.
Regarding African American students, schools have played a major role in
the development of their self-concept. Campbell and Comer (2000) stated that
schools are in a position to strategically influence the development of self-concept,
self-image, self-worth, and self-esteem of African American students. Others have
expressed much disdain and contention concerning the way that school systems have
misplaced, mislabeled, and ignored the needs of African American students,
particularly males (Campbell & Comer, 2002). Other educators have argued that
many of these problems are associated with the lack of respect that typifies the
relationship between teachers and students.
Racism involves a sense of being excluded or negatively judged and a sense
that because of one’s group membership one’s chances are limited. Awareness of
racism allows one to draw negative interactions away from the self and discount
negative self-attributions to be made as a result of setbacks or failures. Students high
in achievement as an African American stayed on task longer, particularly if their
identity as an African American also included awareness of racism and if identity
was made salient. Early Black persistence was found to be related to having support
for college plans and having long-term goals. Later Black student persistence was

44
also predicted by having an understanding of racism and having participated in
community service of some type.
When focused on similar others who are successful in school, youths might
be able to visualize more possibilities for success than when focused on similar
others who are doing poorly or even failing in school. Is it more advantageous to
focus on similarities between the self and successful others or on differences
between the self and failing others? Males who dwelled on the similarities between
the self and a similar other who was failing in school or on differences between the
self and a similar other who was succeeding in school, voiced more pessimism about
the future. One possible interpretation of this is that African American males, while
still in middle school, scan the social environment for information about the self in a
manner that protects them from negative feedback. Only when their attention is
drawn to similarities between the self and others who are failing or differences
between the self and others who are succeeding, do they begin to develop negative
self-perception.
A number of studies have shown that a positive self-concept correlates with
grades, retention, and graduation, particularly for African American students
(McNairy, 1996; Milem & Berger, 1997; Sedlacek, 1999; Tracy, Sedlacek, & Mairs,
1983). As Sedlacek (2004) posited, having a positive self-concept is important for
any student, but it becomes even more salient for students of color and students with
nontraditional experiences. Sedlacek further explained this salience by highlighting
the added complexities and challenges that students of color and nontraditional

45
students typically encounter. In addition to school pressures, these students usually
experience racial, cultural, and gender biases (Sedlacek, 2004). Experiencing one or
more of these biases typically causes these students to become frustrated with
“handling the system.” According to Sedlacek (2004), students’ ability to handle
systems and structures of discrimination and bias in the classroom inevitably affects
their self-concept. Thus, having a positive self-concept correlates with the academic
success of students of color and nontraditional students.

African American Male Student Athletes
Social
According to Messner, “African American athletes can offer White male
spectators a symbolic identification with a shared concept of their ‘naturalized’
superiority over women while at the same time serving as the radicalized ‘other’
against whom privilege men define themselves as modern” (p. 170). This dual role is
particularly significant within college and professional basketball where African
American male athletes are dominant as players, but socially inferior as men in
society. Hoberman (1997) argued that the prominence of African Americans in
sports has kept them believing that athletic success equates to overall success in a
racially bigoted society. Hoberman claimed that the community is complicit with its
own regulation to the arena of sports. They are passive in their attempts to curtail the
ills of sports in the African American community by embracing it as a viable career
choice. Hoberman claimed that the African American community tends to accept

46
beliefs about the physical superiority and intellectual inferiority of African
Americans. In addition to Hoberman’s assertions, Dworkin and Messner (1999)
reported that African American choice to embrace athletics creates the racial notion
that places these men in a socially subordinate position.
Other research has suggested that African American male student-athletes are
often stereotyped by faculty as being low achievers in the classroom. African
American student-athletes feel majority-White campuses are more isolating and
discriminating towards them. Adler and Adler (1991) found that the athletes in their
study experienced feelings of antagonism from their professors. This classroom
dynamic indicates another facet of emotional isolation and personal development of
African American college student-athletes. At one urban university, De Francesco
(1996) examined the perceived differences between the needs expressed by student-
athletes and the perceptions of nonathletes. When compared to other undergraduates,
52% of African American student-athletes stated that they were not taken seriously
as students. Data from this study revealed that faculty members did not have high
expectations for this group of students. Fifty-three percent of the faculty felt that
compared to other students, it was harder for African American student-athletes to be
regarded as quality students.
Research has indicated that African American student-athletes are subjected
to discrimination because of their race, status, and academic ability (Hyatt, 2000).
Person and Lenoir (1997) described this challenge of being a minority as
“negotiating the dualism” or the conflict of being an African American student and

47
an athlete. Both of these roles are a minority on campus, and both roles are subject to
prejudices and discrimination (Leach & Connors, 1984; Olsen, 1996). These
challenges are intensified when time constraints, physical exhaustion, and
psychological stress are factored into the lives of student-athletes. The struggle of
“negotiating the dualism” is also posited by Perlmutter (2003), who contended that
the pressures of being an athlete today are increased by the students’ dual identity
and the growing professionalization of college sports. He further asserted that
because African American students at private majority-White institutions are
disproportionately likely to be athletes, these students carry an extra burden. These
findings are consistent with Sedlacek’s (1992) evaluation of the noncognitive
variables that predict persistence in African American students. He argued that one
factor that consistently forecasts persistence in African American student-athletes is
their ability to recognize and deal with racism.
African American male athletes are seen as especially embodying the
stereotype of being physically “strong, but intellectually dull” (Hall, 2002). In
assessing levels of perceived racism on campus, Mack and Pittman (1993) found that
African American students tended to describe the overall campus climate as hostile,
uneasy, and uninviting. The American Institutes for Research (as cited in Snyder,
1996) study found that AfricanAmerican football and basketball players on
predominantly White campuses are apt to feel racial discrimination, as well as to
perceive themselves as isolated from other students.

48
Academics
In addition to these challenges, many African American student-athletes also
struggle to perform well academically. As a result, many of these students are
funneled into the least challenging courses so that they can maintain their eligibility
(Smith, 1980). Although this allows these athletes to remain eligible, most make
little progress towards graduation. This lack of degree attainment led many scholars
and faculty members in the late 1960s to argue that African American student-
athletes were being exploited. Edwards (1969) accused colleges and universities of
operating a new “plantation system” in which African American male student-
athletes worked like slaves to bring rewards into a system that gave them nothing in
return. Moreover, during this period, the small percentage of African American
athletes who actually completed their degrees, did not earn them in academically
challenging majors. Edwards (1984) found that of the 25%–35% of African
American student-athletes who did eventually graduate from the schools they played
for over half of them graduated either with physical education degrees or with “easy
majors” specifically created for athletes.
In 1990, low graduation rates among certain student athletes prompted an in-
depth study of college athletics by the Knight Commission (as cited in Hyatt, 2003).
The Knight Commission established that in Division I universities, there were no
significant differences between the graduation rates of all students and student-
athletes (52% versus 53% in 1990). However, all African American males graduated
at the rate of 28%, while all White males at the rate of 54%. Moreover, White males

49
in football graduated at the rate of 55%, while African American football players
graduated at the rate of 35%. The statistics were even more disturbing for male
basketball players where Whites graduated at the rate of 53% and African Americans
at the rate of 29%. Thus, the problems with student-athlete academic motivation and
achievement appear to be concentrated among the male minority revenue-generating
athletes, namely those playing football and basketball. This finding has been
confirmed by several other studies that have consistently shown that nonrevenue
athletes are superior to revenue athletes in terms of high school GPA, SAT scores,
and college GPA (Hood, Craig, & Ferguson, 1992; Purdy, Eitzen, & Hufnagel, 1982;
Simons, Van Rheenen, & Covington, 1999; Snyder, 1996). Importantly, these
problems have been isolated to Division I universities (Snyder, 1996), which have
been nicknamed as sponsoring the nation’s “big-time” sports programs (Purdy et al.,
1982).
Several studies by Sedlacek and various collaborators demonstrate the
validity of noncognitive variables in predicting the persistence of African American
college students and student-athletes (Sedlacek, 1987; Sedlacek & Gaston, 1992;
Sedlacek & Webster, 1978; Tracy & Sedlacek, 1987). Through the use of an
instrument called the Non-Cognitive Questionnaire, they demonstrated that
noncognitive variables are stronger indicators of continuing enrollment in African
American students than SAT scores. Moreover, Sedlacek and associates discovered
that later in the student’s college career, persistence was associated with his or her
ability to manage discrimination and involvement in the campus community.

50
However, Young and Sowa (1992) evaluated cognitive and noncognitive
variables as predictors of academic success in a large group of African American
student-athletes at a large Division I institution and found that both noncognitive and
cognitive factors should be used to evaluate the academic achievement of this
population. Although cognitive factors should be included in the academic
evaluation of African American student-athletes, Young and Sowa argued that they
do not provide us with a complete interpretation of a student-athlete’s academic
ability or potential. Cognitive factors do not indicate the special needs of students
(i.e., support, campus involvement, or self-esteem considerations). Noncognitive
measures are needed to offer equitable assessments of students, particularly racial or
ethnic minorities.
A contributing feature to the achievement discrepancies may be the fact that
minority males participating in revenue-creating sports are admitted with
significantly lower SAT scores than White males (Eitzen & Purdy, 1986; Purdy et
al., 1982). Specifically, Purdy et al. (1982) found that only 29% of football and
basketball players at Colorado State University had even taken the SAT exam, and
47% of those that had taken it scored below 700. The American Institutes for
Research (as cited in Snyder, 1996) similarly found that about 58% of the African
American football and basketball players scored in the lowest quartile (400–752) on
the SAT and that they were twice as likely as non-African American players to
report high school GPAs in the lowest quartile of the grade distribution (B- or
below). Thus, minority male athletes generally enter Division I universities being

51
significantly less prepared for the challenges of college than their nonminority peers
and, as a result, perform significantly worse in college (Purdy et al., 1982; Sedlacek
& Gaston, 1992). Specifically, Purdy et al. (1982) found that African American
athletes’ mean college GPA was 2.11, while the White athletes’ GPA was 2.61.
African American student-athletes in revenue-generating sports generally
enter college with significantly lower GPA and SAT scores than other student-
athletes (Eitzen & Purdy, 1986; Purdy et al., 1982). Their high school experience is
likely to include a pattern of low achievement and even failure. The cognitive
variables measured by lower preparation, however, do not seem to completely
explain the problems faced by minority male athletes in revenue-generating sports.
Gaston-Gayles (2004) showed that after controlling for precollege characteristics,
such as GPA, gender, profile of sport, and parental education level, ethnicity and
academic motivation were found to explain an additional 9% of variance in college
GPA. Similarly, Sedlacek (as cited in Gaston-Gayles, 2004) found that noncognitive
factors predicted academic performance over 4 years, while cognitive factors, such
as SAT scores, were only predictive of performance during the first year. Based on
these results, there is growing evidence to support the use of noncognitive variables,
such as motivational factors, in addition to traditional precollege measures, such as
SAT scores, to understand success at the collegiate level for all students, but
particularly for minority student athletes.
Sanoff (1982) reported that a longitudinal study conducted at USC found that
only 29% of African American football players graduated during the years of 1960–

52
1977. In a study by the NCAA (1994), overall graduation rate for athletes increased
from 51% to 57% for all student-athletes entering college in 1986. For Black
student-athletes, the rates went from 33% during 1983–1985 to 45% for those
entering college in 1988. For male African American student-athletes, the figures
went from 31% to 43%. These graduation rates are still comparatively very low.
Snyder’s (1996) report on the athletic and academic motivation of 327 White
and African American male student-athletes selected from five campuses of a
university system. Of the White population, 40% participated in revenue sports. In
the African American male sample, 72% participated in revenue sports. The
researcher administered questionnaires to assess differences in athletic and academic
motivation. Results show no difference between African American and White male
student-athletes in the amount of time chose to study after returning from a weekend
roadtrip, making up missed work, and take advantage of preregistration. Significant
difference occurred however when participants were asked about continuing college
and finishing necessary units after eligibility, the value of the bachelor degree, and
choosing nonathletes as roommates.
Identity as an athlete
Psychological identity as an athlete has been related to one dimension of self-
concept (Brewer, 1991; Harter, 1990; Linder, 1991, 1993). Markus and Wurf (1987)
explained that individuals choose to participate in activities that are consistent with
more highly developed and central aspects of their self-concept. As a result, these
individuals will be more satisfied with relationships that confirm or validate their

53
self-concept. This suggests that having an athletic identity will inevitably affect the
development of self-concept, influencing social relationships, the activities one seeks
out, and the way one’s experiences are possessed (Cornelius, 1995).
Before exploring the identity conflicts among college student-athletes, it is
imperative to underscore the significance of adolescent athletic experiences. Several
scholars have expressed concern that the psychological centrality of athletics within
an adolescent’s social system and a community’s value system may contradict
educational goals and the psychological development of the adolescent (Chandler &
Golberg, 1990; Danish, 1983; Goldberg & Chandler, 1989). Moreover, young
athletes must cope with the stresses of choosing peer groups with different value
expectations (Hill & Hansen, 1988). Similarly to Sellers and Nelson’s (2002) study,
Nelson (1982) examined the crucial period of identity versus role conflict and its
effects on adolescent athletes. Nelson found that the issue with adolescent and high
school athletes is that role engulfment (i.e., high participation in athletics) reduces
their motivation to explore alternative roles. He further contended that a role conflict
can lead to identity foreclosure, which can impede the development of the skills
needed to deal with challenges and new situations in college. Unfortunately, the
demands of college athletics, particularly revenue-generating sports, perpetuate these
role imbalances for student-athletes.
According to Howard-Hamilton and Sina (2001), college athletes typically
form an ego identity based on how well they perform in a particular sport. Campbell
and Comer (2000) contended that the collective views of leaders within social

54
networks and the policies and practices they establish determine the core self-
concept that influences an individual’s performance in all facets of daily life.
Consequently, minority male student athletes’ self-concept as students, given their
low self-perception of ability, is likely to suffer. Hyatt (2003) found that African
American student athletes marginalized themselves as students and 52% of them felt
it was hard for them to be regarded as serious students by faculty members. Student-
athletes receive positive reinforcement and rewards from family members, coaches,
and the media based on their performance in athletic events. This support might
appear to be positive—but when recognition comes only for athletic competence, a
person’s entire sense of self-worth hinges on making big plays and winning the game
(Howard-Hamilton & Sina, 2001). This type of recognition can be problematic,
because it often impedes a student’s overall development during college. As noted by
Pearson and Petitas (1990), ego identity can become fragile when society defines a
developing personality based on superficial values.
Summary of African American Male Student-Athletes
The history of poor performance and the resulting perception of low ability,
low academic self-concept, and low goals in the context of a demanding academic
setting, such as at a Division I school, are likely to contribute to a low level of
expectancy for minority male student athletes. As a result, their academic motivation
and performance can suffer. Student-athletes are subjected to discrimination,
stereotypes, and prejudice from not only other students but from professors as well.

55
They are also subjected to alienation, racism, and isolation on predominantly
nonminority Division I campuses. The problem with student athlete academic
motivation and achievement appear to concentrated around the minority male
revenue-generating athletes.
Minority males generally enter Division I universities as significantly less
prepared for the challenges of college than their nonminority peers and, as a result,
perform at a significantly lower level in college. Cognitive factors only explain an
additional 9% of variance in college GPA between minority males student-athletes
and the general student population. There is growing evidence that noncognitive
factors predict academic performance over 4 years better than cognitive factors.
Motivation is directly embedded in the student-athletes beliefs and
perceptions about how well they will do. Academic expectations are future-oriented
but embedded in past experiences and in the student-athletes’ interpretations of these
past experiences. Stereotypes and other factors such as isolation, prejudice, or
racism, affect both academic expectancy and motivation. Minority student-athletes’
expectancy to succeed is low due to many environmental, academic and economic
factors and thus, their motivation suffers.

Possible Selves
If identity is self-theory then identity formation should involve the
exploration and testing of hypotheses and then adjusting self-theories accordingly
(Epstein, 1973). It has been proposed that self-hypotheses take the form of possible

56
selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986). Some models suggest that the self is one mode
among many in an associative memory network, while others suggest that it is a
system of self-schemas or generalizations about the self that are based on one’s past
social experiences (Markus & Sentis, 1982). Despite the differences in the definition
of the self, the modern approach to understanding the self clearly states that one’s
self-concept is an active one and that it does not just reflect on-going behavior.
Instead, self-concept mediates and regulates this behavior (Markus & Wurf, 1987).
Social
According to Markus and Nurius (1986), possible selves are images of what
people hope, expect to become, and fear to become in the future. Possible selves are
representations of the self in the future (Markus & Nurius, 1986). They represent not
only one’s aspirations but also one’s concerns for the future. These images motivate
behavior since individuals are energized to pursue images they hope for and strive to
avoid images they fear. It is thought that they provide a link or bridge, from the
present self to the future self. Possible selves are domain-specific and are critically
important to behavior as they represent abstract goals and specific strategies, plans,
and associated affect for the actualization of that goal (Yowell, 2000). Possible
selves emerge in early adolescence as individuals gain more abstract thinking ability
(Anderman, Anderman, & Griesinger, 1999) and continue to be important for older
individuals (Cross & Markus, 1991). Possible selves are thought to influence the
individual in two ways: first, by providing a clear goal to strive for and, second, by
providing a clear goal to avoid. The positive or hoped for selves could include

57
satisfaction with work, being a good student, and having a healthy family. Negative
or feared selves could include failure in school work, loneliness, or poverty. Some
possible selves are symbols of hope, while others are reminders of bleak, sad, and
tragic futures that are to be avoided. For many youths, the self one could be as an
adult is rapidly bounded by an increasingly detailed array of plausible alternative
past and current attainments and resources available in one’s sociocultural context
(Crane, 1991; Oyserman & Markus, 1990). Thus, though sometimes conceptualized
as a psychosocial moratorium in which a limitless array of identities are “tried on,”
adolescence seems to involve a general restriction of alternatives for many youths.
This bounding process tends to involve a reduction in one’s belief in one’s ability to
succeed in school and a parallel decline in interest and involvement in school
(Harold & Eccles, 1993)
Possible selves mediate long-term motivation and supply direction for the
achievement of a desired goal (Wurf & Markus, 1991). The construct of possible
selves has produced a large amount of literature in a wide range of areas. Possible
selves have been studied in relationship to well-being (Plimmer, Smith, Duggan, &
Englert, 2000), in relation to optimism and pessimism (Carver, Reynolds, & Scheier,
1994), as contributing factors to identity exploration (Dunkel, 2000) and deviant
behavior (Oyserman & Markus, 1990), and as important in career choice and
planning (Trentham, 2000). Academic achievement stands out as one of the primary
areas investigated in relation to possible selves (Anderman et al., 1999; Leondari,
Syngollitou, & Kiosseoglou, 1998; Oyserman, Bybee, Terry, & Hart-Johnson, 2004).

58
Self-esteem can be looked at as a function of the valences of self-schemas or
possible selves that make up the working self-concept at one particular moment
rather than as a stable overall estimation of one’s worth as an individual (Knox,
Funk, Elliott, & Bush, 1998). It is the self-system that is at the center of motivation
and action. Markus and Ruvolo (1989) stated that the crucial element of a goal is the
representation of the individual approaching and realizing goals. While children
develop some sense of self, once they become adolescents and acquire increased
abstract reasoning ability, they begin to establish a sense of the future selves they
will become based on current appearance, skill, and competencies (Oyserman, 2001).
In late adolescence, these possible future selves become increasingly central to
motivation and self-regulation (Oyserman & Fryberg, 2005). Future selves were not
a focus of research until the 1980s when Markus and Nurius (1986) first introduced
the concept of possible selves.
Possible selves are rooted in one’s past and present experiences. They reflect
the underlying achievement motives, such as fear of failure and need for
achievement, which are based in early childhood experiences (Atkinson, 1957).
Possible selves reflect recent and current life circumstances and behaviors.
Academically, students with past and present high performance may have an easier
time imagining positive academic selves than students with low performance
(Leondari et al., 1998). Possible selves reflect the ways in which the self is socially
determined and constrained. These socially constructed selves rely heavily on the
backing of important others in the social environment, both as models, as purveyors

59
of messages about what characteristics of the self are valued and important, and as
resources, providing experiences of success and competence in roles relevant to adult
status and attainments. The social environment is also the context in which youths
are provided with educational, economic, and other resources, which enable them
obtain the skills and characteristics necessary to become the kind of adult valued in
their sociocultural niche. Significant others, role models, and media images are
examples of the models used to created possible selves. In addition, racial, ethnic,
and gender identities are important in the creation of current and future possible
selves. When social contexts lack images of specific possible selves, possible selves
in this domain are likely to be missing entirely or to be useless as a self-regulatory
mechanism (Oyserman & Fryberg, 2005). Hence, possible selves are social in nature
and as social contexts shift, so too do possible selves.
An interesting findings about the social context and the balancing of positive
and negative possible selves stem from Oyserman and Markus’ (1990) and
Oyserman and Saltz’s (1993) studies with delinquent and nondelinquent youth.
Oyserman and Markus found that nondelinquent youth showed significantly more
balance between their positive and negative possible selves than did incarcerated
youth. Specifically, more than 81% of the nondelinquent youth had at least one
match between their positive and negative possible selves, whereas this was the case
for only 37% of the delinquent groups. Of the delinquent youth in Oyserman’s
sample, 33% to 37% feared becoming a criminal. This feared possible self was not
balanced by expectations that focused on avoiding crime and attaining conventional

60
achievement. As a result of lack of balance between positive and negative possible
selves, delinquent youth felt a sense of hopelessness (Oyserman & Markus, 1990).
Similarly Aloise-Young, Hennigan, and Leong (2001) looked at the relationship
between possible selves and health-risk behaviors, such as cigarette smoking and
alcohol consumption. They established that youth who smoked and drank more had
significantly fewer balanced possible selves than those who engaged in such risky
behaviors to a lesser degree.
African American
Young Black males are at increased risk for school failure and dropout,
arrest, and incarceration. In addition, being Black in America is likely to mean being
an urban dweller, and inner city youths must seek out and sustain a sense of positive
academic possibilities for the self within a stark social context. More African
American young men occupy our nation’s jail and prison settings than occupy our
nation’s college or university settings. Far from independently crafting a self of one’s
own choosing, identities are negotiated within the framework of one’s central social
contexts (Markus & Nurius, 1986). Identities are constructed from the scaffolding of
one’s social contexts and are specifically instantiated in relationships with others.
Thus, African American adolescents are likely to experience social contexts that do
not afford them the construction of positive future academic selves in which school
success leads to success in adulthood (Oyserman & Markus, 1990).
In the case of African American youths, identity negotiation involves the dual
task of assembling a positive sense of self while discrediting negative identities

61
attributed to African American males. These negative identities cannot simply be
ignored or viewed as irrelevant to the self, because they are woven into important life
domains. Failing to take these identities into account can seriously impede the basic
functions of the self, such as its ability to organize, interpret, and integrate
experience and regulate affect. This need to consistently disavow group-based
negative feedback is proposed to have important consequences for identity
construction, making self-protection an important focus for African Americans.
African American youth develop their identity to (a) make sense of the self as a
group member, (b) lend meaning and organization to racism, and (c) organize self-
relevant knowledge about personal effort and the meaning of being an African
American male. Congruent with cognitive development that occurs during this
period, adolescents are able to conceive of themselves along multiple dimensions,
can begin to visualize various hypothetical possible selves, and take multiple
perspectives on the self. Derived from one’s experience in the social contexts of
family, peer group, school, and neighborhood, these knowledge self-schemas are not
only generalizations of one’s characteristics, actions, and skills, but also claims of
responsibility for current and future characteristics, actions, and skills in particular
domain (Cantor & Zirkel, 1990; Markus & Wurf, 1987).
Gendered African American identity schemas are central to school
persistence. These schemas are viewed as the scaffolding within which balanced
possible selves in the achievement domain are generated and strategies for their
attainment are sketched out. Gendered African American identity schemas, as

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schemas, are likely to also have a more direct impact on one’s subjective sense of
what is probable and plausible for the self. As schemas, these gendered identities are
the lenses or prisms through which adolescents make sense of the world. One’s
everyday social contexts are scanned within the vocabulary of one’s emerging
identity. Current action is scripted by what is viewed as a good, important, and
plausible outcome within one’s context. There is some empirical support for the
assumption that academic possible selves are rooted in part in racial identity. At least
three elements of racial identity, (a) awareness of racism, (b) positive sense of in-
group connectedness, and (c) embedded achievement, have been shown to buffer
low-income African American youth from a loss of academic self-efficacy
(Oyserman et al., 2001a), disengagement from school, and reduced persistence on
academic tasks. Recently, more attention has been directed toward the process of
identity formation and the possible mechanisms involved in the transition between
identity statuses (Kroger, 1993; LaVoie, 1994). Lavoie (1994) put forth a number of
possible mechanisms that could employed during transition or to trigger identity
transitions.
Identity
Markus and Nurius (1986), the originators of the construct of possible selves,
described self-concept as a system of affective–cognitive structures called schemas
about the self that lend structure and coherence to an individual’s self-relevant
experiences. Self-schemas or self-conceptualizations are constructed from an
individual’s past experiences in a particular domain. Specifically, individuals

63
construct self-schemas about their attitudes and dispositions while observing how
they act and react (Markus & Wurf, 1987). Self-schemas may be cognitive or
affective, they may take a verbal, image, neural, or sensorimotor form. Some self-
schemas are directly accessible to conscious awareness, and others may be so well
rehearsed that they have become automatic. The various self-schemas organize an
individual’s perception of the world. Specifically, self-schemas function to determine
which stimuli are selected for attention, which are remembered, and what type of
inferences are drawn. People with a self-schema in a specific domain are better able
to appraise a situation and prepare to use the appropriate task-related skills and
strategies than people who are aschematic (that is, who do not have a self-schema for
a specific domain; Cross & Markus, 1994). Moreover, self-schemas facilitate the
storage and retrieval of domain-relevant information (Bargh, 1982). For example, if
an individual activates a self-schema related to being a football player, he will be
best able to store and later retrieve information about how to read opponents
defensive formation or execute offensive plays.
Theorists state that self-relevant information gets encoded in one’s self-
schemas along with affect associated with that information such that affect and
information are intimately linked in an associative network (Forgas, 2000). Several
researchers have tied affect directly to motivation and performance (Forgas, 2000;
Ford, as cited in Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Specifically, negative affect is seen as
providing a distraction to the task at hand, thereby decreasing the attentional
resources of the already-limited working memory (Pekrun, 1992) and resulting in the

64
decreased probability of using deeper, more elaborative learning strategies. As
students use rote learning and other nonelaborative strategies, they process
information in a shallow manner, which manifests itself in low performance. Positive
affect, in contrast, is likely to result in more task engagement and deeper strategy
use. Specifically, Fiedler (as cited in Pintrich & Schunk, 2002) found that positive
affect facilitated more assimilation processes, such as generative, top-down, and
creative thinking processes, while negative affect resulted in an avoidance
orientation to information processing.
Possible selves, in the context of self-concept, are future-oriented self-
schemas or self-conceptualizations that are based on but distinct from past and
present self-schemas (Markus & Nurius, 1986). Studies have found that self-schemas
significantly affect one’s motivation and performance (Relich, Debus, & Walker,
1983). Markus and Nurius conducted a study in order to determine the relative
contribution of future-oriented self-schemas and possible selves, while controlling
for the “now selves and ever considered selves” (1986, p. 959). They established that
possible selves add explanatory power beyond that which past and present self-
conceptions offer to account for differences in individuals’ affective and
motivational states, confirming that past, present, and future selves are independent
dimensions within the self-concept. Markus and Nurius suggested that the power of
possible selves lies within them “being cognitive representations of mastery” (p.
962) and, thus, functioning as incentives for behavior.

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The question of whether self-concept is malleability has been an important
one for applied researchers for decades (Markus & Wurf, 1987). Research has shown
that self-concept has become a multidimensional, dynamic structure. This emphasis
on the multidimensionality of self-concept has led to the term “the working self-
concept” (Cantor & Kihlstrom 1986, Rhodewalk, 1986). This formulation allows for
self-concept to be seen not as a fixed or static self, but only as a current self-concept
constructed from one’s social experiences and based on current situations. Possible
selves function as they become part of the working self-concept. The working self-
concept is drawn from the self-system that contains a vast repertoire of self-
representations, plans, strategies, and rules for behavior. Self-representations,
including possible selves, become active when they are triggered by self-relevant
events, such as an exam or another academic performance evaluation situation.
Adolescence has sometimes been conceptualized as a time of unfettered
identity negotiation. Youths are said to “try on” various identities, convey various
self-conceptions to others, and receive moderating feedback on these conceptions
(Stryker, 1987). In this way, youths synthesize childhood identities with what they
know of their skills and abilities and construct adult selves that are at once plausible
and at least reasonably satisfying (Curry, Trew, Turner & Hunter, 1994). The self
thus constructed functions to (a) lend meaning and organization to experiences, such
as thoughts, feelings and actions; and (b) to motivate action by providing incentives,
standards, plans, strategies, and scripts for behavior (Markus & Wurf, 1987;
Oyserman & Markus, 1993).

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Research has shown that developmental paths, but not mechanisms, exist for
identity change. Berzonsky (1989) hypothesized that identity is self-theory and that
an individual tests their hypothesis and adjusts self-theories accordingly. Taking an
identity as self-theory perspective, it is proposed that these self-hypotheses take the
form of possible selves. LaVoie (1994) put forth a number of possible mechanisms
that could be employed during transition or that could trigger identity transitions.
These mechanisms included equilibration, a readiness for change, individuation, and
conflict. One could argue that the production of possible selves is a mechanism
associated with Marcia’s exploration process.
Individualism as a worldview may not be advantageous to African
Americans, because it focuses on separateness and achievement as the essence of
personhood, making one vulnerable to self-blame or depression if one does not
achieve. Engstrom and Sedlacek (1991) conjectures that African American youths
need to create a positive sense of themselves and what is possible for them as
African American students, particularly within social contexts that may define school
success as acting White. Moreover, African American youth need to create a positive
sense of themselves and what is possible for them in an economically strained social
context in which unemployment is becoming increasingly normative and school
success has been defined by the middle-class. Eitzen and Purdy (1986) posits that
there is an identity struggle for African American youth in which the individual must
connect the self to the group and make sense of stereotypes while struggling to find a
means of conceptualizing plausible paths towards academic success. Thus, when

67
social context is limiting and group membership functions to shape the selves one
tries on, being aware of stereotypes and limitations and developing a perspective of
one as succeeding as a group member, can facilitate managing the social context and
creating positive academic selves.
Academics
The most prevalent findings about the relationship between possible selves
and academic achievement are that, first, academic possible selves are of the utmost
significance amongst all school-aged individuals (Cross & Markus, 1991; Oyserman
& Markus, 1990; Yowell, 2000) and, second, the presence of positive academic
possible selves has been linked to better academic achievement. Oyserman et al.
(2004) sampled middle school high-risk students from backgrounds of poverty. They
found that when youth had more academically focused possible selves and had the
strategies to attain them, they had significantly higher grades, when controlling for
previous year GPA, as compared with youth lacking these possible selves.
Oyserman (1996) began to explore the ways in which socially contextualized
identity relates to school performance. Participants from an undergraduate
psychology class completed open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires. Open-
ended questions were completed first and focused on possible selves and strategies to
attain them, while the closed-ended questions focused on ethnic identity,
individualism, collectivism, and Protestant work ethnic. Black students who used
achievement-related possible selves were predicted by lower endorsement of
individualism and higher endorsement of collectivism and tended to correlate to

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ethnic identity. Moreover, Blacks’ strategies for avoiding feared achievement related
to possible selves were highly correlated with balance in possible selves. This is
different from Whites who focused on integration and accommodation and whose
individualism scale focused on achievement.
Leondari et al. (1998), studying high school students, found that those who
imagined themselves successful in the future and who had well-elaborated, specific
academic possible selves were more successful academically and demonstrated
higher persistence than those who lacked positive possible selves. Lips (1995), in a
study of female college students, found that positive math and science possible
selves were systematically linked to a variety of outcomes: performance on in-lab
math tests, confidence with respect to career possibilities in math and science, and
intention to take more math or science courses. In samples of high-risk students from
backgrounds of poverty, when youth had more academically focused possible selves
and strategies to attain them, they had significantly higher grades as compared with
youth lacking these possible selves (Oyserman et al., 2004).
Research about the relationship between possible selves and school
attainment has primarily been correlational, comparing outcomes for students who
differ in possible selves rather than attempting to change possible selves and assess
the effects of this change. Recently, Oyserman, Terry, and Bybee (2002), as well as
Hock, Deshler, and Schumaker (2003), have implemented programs that
manipulated individuals’ possible selves and assessed whether these changes would
improve school engagement and achievement. Oyserman et al. (2002) developed a

69
program that promoted the development of detailed, plausible, academically focused
positive possible selves among low-income African American youth that could help
the youth feel connected and involved with school. During the sessions, students
were given concrete experiences imagining adulthood and opportunities to concretize
the connection between current behavior and the future. Both Oyserman et al. (2002)
and Hock et al.(2003) found that a possible selves’ intervention effectively enhanced
academic possible selves and improved engagement.
Possible selves affect academic achievement by focusing on attention and
affect. Possible selves attempts to focus an individuals’ attention on certain kinds of
stimuli and while motivate us to avoid others. Moreover, possible selves, along with
the other self-schemas, are related to affect such that hoped for selves stimulate
positive affect and feared selves negative affect. When a student has a positive
academic possible self, the associated positive affect is likely to energize and
motivate behavior. The student will expand effort and demonstrate the persistence
necessary to pursue his or her hoped for self. Negative affect is likely to bring about
anxiety that decreases the student’s attentional resources and disrupts the processing
of information, An example of this is test anxiety (Zeidner, 1998).
Research on the relationship between possible selves and school attainment
has been primarily correlational (Lips, 1995; Oyserman, Terry, & Bybee, 2004),
comparing outcomes for individuals who differ in self-concept rather than attempting
to change self-concept directly. However, Oyserman et al. (2002), as well as Hock,
Deshler, and Schumaker (2005), have implemented programs that attempted to

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manipulate self-concept via possible selves in order to determine whether changes in
possible selves are possible and whether these changes would also improve school
engagement and achievement.
Oyserman et al. (2002) developed a program that promoted the development
of detailed, plausible, academically focused possible selves that could help the youth
feel connected and involved with school. They focused specifically on low-income
African American youth due to the combined risk of fewer minority role models for
success and more neighborhood exposure to unemployment, crime, and other risk
factors. Oyserman et al. (2002) developed a sequence of activities and tasks that
would provide youth with experiences of creating and detailing more explicit
academic possible selves. In addition, the program gave the students an opportunity
to create comprehensive, plausible strategies to achieve a positive academic self in
the short term and then connect that self to one’s hoped for adult selves in the long
term. The program took place weekly after school during a 9-week period. During
the sessions, students were given concrete experiences imagining adulthood and
opportunities to concretize the connection between current behavior and the future.
Students were exposed to racial–ethnic minority adult role models from their
community. By the end of the school year, intervention youth reported more bonding
to school, concern about doing well in school, balanced possible selves, plausible
strategies to attain these possible selves, better school attendance, and, for boys, less
trouble at school. In summary, Oyserman et al. (2002) found that a short group-based

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intervention can effectively enhance academic possible selves and improve
engagement.
Hock et al. (2005) developed the possible selves program and assessed its
success with student athletes in a 6 year longitudinal study. The activities of the
program guided students through the process of thinking about their hopes,
expectations, and fears for the future. Once the students described their possible
selves, they created a possible selves tree, a picture with branches and other elements
representing their possible selves. The tree was used as a metaphor for expectations
and fears for the future. As the final step, the students were challenged to evaluate
and take action to nurture their tree so that it could become strong and well balanced.
In effect, the students began to view learning as a pathway towards their hopes and
as a way to prevent their feared possible selves from becoming a reality. Through
this process, learning became more personally relevant, and students increased their
willingness to invest effort and commitment. The possible selves program took 6 to 8
hours and was presented to students in one-on-one interactions with a counselor. At
the end of 6 years, the possible selves group earned higher GPAs, had higher
retention and graduation rates, and outperformed the control group on measures of
role identification and goal setting in personal, academic, and athletic life.
In trying to provide an explanation of how possible selves actually enhanced
academic engagement and performance, Hock et al. (2003) suggested that the
possible selves intervention is related to cognitive goal theory (Blumenfel, 1992).
Specifically, research related to cognitive goal theory (Bandura, 1997; Dweck, 1986)

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suggests that academic motivation is directly related to the pursuit of meaningful and
specific goals. Based on these findings, Hock et al. (2005) argued that once students
begin to see the relevance of academic skills and knowledge to their future goals as
represented by their possible selves, a commitment to learning follows. Recent work
has also tied goal attainment theory to the construct of hope (Synder, 1994). Hock et
al. (2005) suggested that possible selves may create actual hope for the students
where there was none before and that this hope may translate into agency and will
power for goals.
Motivation
Possible selves are hypothesized to function as an essential link between
motivational and cognitive (Garcia & Pintrich, 1994). Specifically, Markus and
Nurius (1986) suggested that the enduring, but often impersonal and even
unconscious, motives, such as fear of failure and need for achievement, have their
cognitive manifestation in possible selves. Thus, possible selves are viewed as
specific cognitive forms that give focus and direction to the underlying motives.
What distinguishes possible selves from other forms of personal goals is that they are
highly self-relevant. As previously mentioned, possible selves are correlated to fear
of failure and need for achievement, since possible selves is one of the few
constructs that looks at both goals to achieve and futures to avoid (Elliot & Thrash,
2002).
When we are faced with the question of what motivates learning there are a
variety of theories and approaches. With the knowledge of the academic history of

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an at-risk student-athlete population, as in Dembo and Seli, (2002) study, the
problem lies in active goal choice. Dembo and Seli (2002) subjects are given all the
resources necessary to facilitate the changing their academic behavior, the intention
is present, and the solutions are recognized, but nothing is implemented and no
action is generated. The construct of possible selves addresses both the psychological
and environmental variables associated with this motivational problem by exploring
and committing to ideas about what one might become in the future. The solution to
increasing the individual’s psychological motivation is to explore and discover the
values (e.g., importance, interest, usefulness, and cost belief) of the task. To address
the environmental variable, the individual must self-selected concrete, current, and
challenging goals for the achievement of the task. Essentially, possible selves
provide a link between self-concept and motivation by providing the impetus to start
and persist in an academic task. This construct is usually measured by asking the
students to predict how well they will do in the future on some task or in some
domain.
Markus and Nurius (1986) suggested that the hoped for and feared selves can
be very motivational, particularly as possible selves are hypothesized to fuse aspects
of both performance and behavior. Experiencing a hoped-for possible self can
produce positive affect and activate plans and strategies relevant to achieving this
outcome desired state. Experiencing negative possible selves may be associated with
anxiety that can hurt performance by reducing the amount of attention a person can
give to the task. In general, in contrast to hoped-for possible selves that are likely to

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carry information about what to do to become the desired self, negative possible
selves are more likely to reflect what not to do and not to carry information about
how to avoid the feared self.
Oyserman and Markus (1988) have further proposed that a given possible self
will have a maximal motivational effectiveness when it is balanced by a
countervailing possible self in the same domain. Individuals with balanced possible
selves have both a positive goal to strive for and are aware of the personally relevant
consequences of not meeting that goal. This balance “may preserve motivation to
attain the positive possible self and therefore avoid the negative self, leading these
youths to make more attempts to attain expected selves and to avoid feared ones”
Oyserman & Fryberg, 2005, p. 7). Only strategies that simultaneously increase the
possibility of attaining the positive self and avoiding the negative self will be
successful (Oyserman & Markus, 1990). Further, when a positive possible self is
available to counter a negative one, the negative possible self and the associated
anxiety can actually have beneficial effects on performance. The individual with
balanced possible selves in the same domain may actually use their anxiety as a
stimulus for better performance, whereas those without a balance will be
overwhelmed by anxiety.
Summary of Possible Selves
Possible selves are images of what people hope, expect and fear to become.
These images have been identifies as having a motivating effect on behavior.
Possible selves are rooted in our past and present experiences. They are considered

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self-schemes that make up the working self-concept. Self-schemas can carry both
positive and negative affect. Positive affect facilitates storage and retrieval of
information while negative affect decreases attention and use of elaborate learning
strategies which results in avoidance information process orientation. Possible
Selves are domain specific and are anchored in the individuals’ social context.
These images facilitate the organization of an individual’s perception of the world.
Oyserman et al. (2002) have demonstrated that the presence of positive
possible selves is predictive of better academic achievement and behavior. First, in
addition to inter- and intrapersonal possible selves, academic possible selves are of
the utmost significance among school-aged individuals. Second, studies have shown
that the presence of positive academic possible selves is linked to better academic
achievement. The fact that possible selves are malleable and academic outcomes
may be changed when a person changes one’s possible selves. Oyserman found that
middle school high-risk students could be academically successful if they had
formulated academically focused possible selves along with corresponding
strategies. When a student has positive academic possible selves, the associated
positive affect is likely to energize and motivate behavior such that the student will
expand their efforts and demonstrate the persistence necessary to pursue his or her
hoped for self. Possible selves enable the elaboration and exploration of
noncognitive factors to facilitate academic motivation and performance.
Dunkel, Kelts, and Coon (2006) attempted to examine the process of change
and how it relates to possible selves. The researchers hypothesized that a curvilinear

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relationship might exist between the stages of change and the number of possible
selves. Results showed that there was no relationship between time spent in therapy
and behavior change. The number of hoped for possible selves correlated to the
contemplation score, with the number of hoped for possible selves accounting for
over 20% of the variance in contemplation scores.
A review of the literature concerning possible selves reveals that a growing
body of research has used possible selves to predict health related outcomes and
behaviors. Based on the relationship between possible selves and behavior, other
researchers have developed interventions and possible-selves therapy techniques to
change behavior in areas such as adolescent school involvement (Oyserman et al.,
2002), career counseling (Packard, 2003), identity issues and development (Dunkel,
2000; Nurius & Majerus, 1988), and academic achievement and improvement (Hock
et al., 2003). Although there are a large number of articles that have been written
about the role played by possible selves in the process of health behaviors and
therapy, research is lacking concerning possible selves and indicators of change.
Through narration, this study is an attempt to add insight into the use of the
transtheoretical model of change and how it could relate to possible selves
Summary of Review of Literature
Key points in the review of Transtheoretical Model of behavioral change
literature consist of the importance of matching stages to process in order to move
individuals to change their behavioral. Perhaps the services that are being provided
to our student-athletes are geared more towards individuals that occupy the action

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stage of change while our African American male student-athletes lie more in the
precontemplation or contemplation stage of behavioral change. Individuals that
occupy the precontemplation or contemplation stages need more exposure to
experiental processes such as consciousness-raising or self-reflection. These
processes have a common denominator of self or identity. We also know that some
common denominators or themes for academically driven African Americans are
themes such as role of self and distinct identities.
Research has shown that identity processing style is related to psychosocial
development of exploration and commitment of college-aged students. Studies
support that a person’s identity style may be related to a person’s willingness to
engage in academic self-regulation and how they make decision. How a person goes
about making a decision is also critical to the behavioral change process.
Investigating how a person processes information could have implications regarding
what is important to them and how they evaluate the pros and cons of changing
behavior (decisional balance).
Research supports African American male student-athletes are subject to
discrimination and isolation because of their status as an athlete. Research also
supports that African American male student-athletes are subject to racism and
prejudice on college campus. This research strengthens the one dimensional identity
these participants possess as an athlete. This creates a contradiction in identity
between the dual role of being a student-athlete or an athlete-student.

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Possible selves is a program that research supports help facilitate academic
achievement in low socioeconomic minority middle school children. Recent
research has shown that a possible selves program also increased college GPA’s in
academically at risk student-athletes. Research supports contribution of possible
selves to identity exploration which is instrumental in moving forward in the
behavioral change process. It could also be suggested that possible selves could
facilitate exploration and commitment which could move an individual towards a
different decisional balance process and a different processing style which could be
more conductive to academic achievement. Possible selves has been linked to
increasing academic motivation and facilitation of changing academic behavior.

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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODS

The research method chosen to study a problem should be compatible with
the questions being asked. In accordance with Gall, Gall, and Borg (2003), “The
research question you are posing and the state of research knowledge in your area of
inquiry should dictate your decision” (p. 27). A researcher will choose a
methodology on the basis of its appropriateness to the research problem, and this
methodology should service the kind of knowledge being sought. Whitt and Kuh
(1991) suggested that qualitative studies are more appropriate and particularly useful
for student affairs professionals and others who are interested in understanding the
quality of the undergraduate student experience. The environment of a college
campus and its student culture represents a very rich and complex social structure
that cannot be readily studied holistically by statistical means alone. It has become
clear that the interior life of the college student is inaccessible to objective
instruments and quantitative approaches. In order to understand people’s behavior,
Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) argued we must use a naturalistic approach that
gives us access to the meanings that guide behavior. For student affairs
professionals, an increased utilization of a qualitative methodology, such as
interviews, could lead to an expanded range of important researchable questions.
Qualitative research approaches thus appear to be most appropriate for the study of
complex organizations, such as high caliber Division I athletics and student-athletes.

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In relation to Prochaska’s transtheoretical approach to behavioral change,
Hofer, Yu, and Pintrich (1998) pointed out the need for investigating resistance to
change by “more process-oriented studies, which will probably involve more
qualitative and ethnographic observations and interviews” (p. 81). Dembo and Seli
(2004) recommended that future researchers conduct qualitative investigations to
better understand what motivational factors are hindering students from changing
unproductive academic behaviors. Instead of us assuming that we know what is best
for these student-athletes and assigning them into an academic program that we hope
will help, the present study looked to listen to the Division I student-athletes in order
to describe their academic beliefs and perceptions and how college experiences are
processed and interpreted over the course of a semester. Though this research we
might be able to assess what stage of change these student-athletes currently occupy,
how they process self-relevant information (i.e., experiences and crisis), and how
they represent this information in the form of possible selves and thus lending insight
into how to promote behavioral change.
The purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs and perceptions of
academically at-risk African American male student-athletes as they experience their
first semester of college. Areas of interest will be identification of Berzonsky’s
identity processing style, Prochaska’s stages of change and possible selves. To this
end, qualitative methods seemed most appropriate as a data collection method. It is
the attempt of this comparative case study analysis to produce knowledge relevant to
the understanding of the academic beliefs and perceptions of these individuals. It is

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also an attempt of this study to look at the constructs of the TTM model of
behavioral change, identity processing style and possible selves and the roles these
construct play in the student-athlete’s academic behavior. Regarding the research
goals of the present study, qualitative methods were chosen for the following
reasons: (a) few studies of African American males student-athletes have used a
qualitative research approaches; (b) existing research regarding changing academic
behavior has not used process-oriented investigation; (c) the constructs of identity
processing style and possible selves have had limited investigation among African
American student-athletes.
Methodological Approach: Comparative Case Study
A case study is a detailed intensive analysis of a person or group, especially
as a model of medical, psychiatric, psychological, or social phenomena, that stresses
factors contributing to its success or failure. Case study research excels at bringing
us to an understanding of a complex issue or object and can extend experience or add
strength to what is already known through previous research. Researchers have used
the case study research method for many years across a variety of disciplines. Social
scientists, in particular, have made wide use of this qualitative research method to
examine contemporary real-life situations and provide the basis for the application of
ideas and extension of methods.
Researcher Robert K. Yin defines the case study research method as an
empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life
context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly

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evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1984, p. 23). This
study follows a multiple case study design and must follow a replication rather than
sampling logic. Yin (1994) pointed out that generalization of results, from either
single or multiple designs, is made to theory and not to populations. Multiple cases
strengthen the results by replicating the pattern-matching, thus increasing confidence
in the robustness of the theory. Applications of case study methodology have been
carried out in numerous High-Risk Youth Programs (Yin, 1993) by several
researchers.

Site
A large multi-cultural Division I University in California was the site of this
investigation. This university was chosen due to its academic prestige, high-caliber
athletic programs, and convenience. This university currently is categorized as a
highly selective, private, research 1 institution and has a 27% admit rate for
applicants. The university has 16,500 undergraduate students, 49% male and 51%
female. The 2005–2006 freshmen class numbers 2,770, with 527 National Merit
Scholars and 226 Merit Finalists. The mean GPA for the 2005–2006 freshmen cohort
was 4.09 with an average SAT score of 1395. The ethnic breakdown of the 2005–
2006 freshmen class was 48% Caucasian, 18% Asian, 17% International, 16%
Latino, 7% African American, 3% nondisclosure, and 1% Native American/Pacific
Rim. Athletically, the university is categorized as a NCAA Division I institution, and
the university’s Athletic Department has finished in the top 10 nationally in Sears

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Director Cup points over the past 4 years. (The Sears Director Cup is a
comprehensive scoring system used to determine the best overall athletic program in
the nation.) Over the last 2 years, the Athletic Department has produced four NCAA
national championship teams, has finished in the top 10 nationally in 4 additional
sports, and finished in the top 25 nationally in eight other sports.
Participants
Four incoming freshmen African American male football players were asked
to volunteer to be participants in this study. These participants were used in order to
ensure purposeful sampling. All participants were 18 years of age or older and were
attending the university on a full athletic scholarship. These five males were
members of the 2006–2007 recruiting cohort that was voted the nation’s best
recruiting class by the Collegiate Football Coaches Association. All five were
assessed as academically at-risk based on a high school GPA of 2.75 or below, SAT
scores of 1000 or below, and recommendations from the Admissions Committee for
Athletics. Recommendations from the Admissions Committee are based on a variety
of variables, such as high school institutional factor, high school curriculum factor,
referrals from high school counselor or learning disability support services,
downward academic trend during high school, or first generation to attend college.
The admissions of these student-athletes into this university were under the
following conditions: becoming NCAA Clearinghouse eligible, maintaining a
specific GPA during their entire senior year in high school, and participating in the

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Structured Curriculum Program and Freshmen Success Seminar during their
freshman year at the university.
Recruitment
Permission and endorsement to use members of the football team was
attained from all key administrative personal before the start of the recruitment
process. These individuals included the Athletic Director, the Head Football Coach,
and the Director of Football Operations. Presentation of the study was arranged
during a freshmen football meeting in August 2006 attended by all incoming
freshmen football student-athletes. One athletic administrator and one football coach
were present during the meeting and spoke briefly to endorse the study. The team
meeting lasted approximately 1 hour with my presentation being the first agenda
item on the meeting’s docket. Since I had met all of the football players and parents
during their official visits to the university, limited time was allocated to introduce
myself. During the meeting, I shared the purpose and intent of the study and
illustrated the reciprocity that will exist between the investigator and participants. I
reviewed the format of the study, expectations, requirements, and time demands that
could be anticipated when volunteering to be a subject of this study. I assured each
participant that all information gathered during the study will remain confidential
during and in the years following the study. Student-athletes who were interested in
volunteering were asked to email or stop by my office to set up meeting times to
begin the interview process.

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Data Collection
Four students stopped by my office within 48 hours of my presentation.
Participants were asked if they had any follow-up questions regarding the study. If
they did not, I asked the participants to sign an inform consent form approved by the
Institutional Review Board. Taped interviews were the only source of data for this
study. The interviews followed the design, protocol, and procedures outlined in
InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing (Kvale, 1996).
Semi-structured, open-end interviews were conducted once a week with each
individual for the entire 15-week semester. One of the four volunteers met with me
in my office, while the other three met with me in one of the football position rooms.
The participants’ average attendance rate was 80%, which was attendance in 12 out
of the 15 possible meeting sessions. The questions during the interview process
primarily focused on the academic beliefs and perceptions as the individuals
experienced their first semester of college. The secondary focus pertained to the
theoretical framework of behavioral change and the construct of identity processing
style and possible selves. Participants were allocated a suitable meeting time in
consideration of their demanding academic and athletic schedules. Interviews were
as conversational as possible in order to allow the participant to feel comfortable
with expressing their beliefs and perceptions concerning academics and their
experiences over their first semester of college academics. Most interviews lasted
approximately 40 minutes. However, some were allowed to last 10 minutes, while
others lasted 1 hour.

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All sessions were professionally transcribed under a confidentiality clause
with a transcribing service. Using pseudonyms for each participant protected the
identity of all participants. All ethical considerations and standards were adhered to
during the duration of the study. The informed consent form stated that direct quotes
from the interviews could be reproduced in a dissertation or journal article. Students
were interviewed individually on a weekly basis, beginning early September and
continuing to the end of the fall semester. Being mindful of my research question, I
encouraged the participants to reflect deeply on their beliefs and perceptions about
academics, the academic environment, the university culture, and their own
academic behavior. I asked the participants to reflect about the past and project into
the future in terms of academics and academic behavior. As the semester progressed,
I encouraged the participants to expound upon experiences that were occurring
within their lives and noted how they were processing this information and how
these experiences altered their current beliefs and perceptions along with their feared
and hoped-for possible selves.
The basis for my initial meeting questions (see Appendix A) was as follows:
Questions 1 and 2 were asked in order to investigate both historical and past cultural
experiences within the home and high school. These questions illuminated what was
salient for the individual with reference to family and academics. Question 3 was
asked to gain a sense of a baseline measure of what participants’ academic behavior
looked and felt like in high school. Questions 4 was the preliminary investigation
into what the students think and believe college academics are going to be like.

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Questions 5 and 6 were an initial attempt to address the construct of possible selves.
The question was used to facilitate the process of having the student articulate their
hoped-for and feared selves.
Sample Questions with Probes
1. Tell me about your family?
- What is your parent’s marital, educational, SES status?
- How many siblings do you have in your family?
- What was the academic culture in your home?
2. Tell me about your high school experience?
- Was it academically challenging for you?
- What was the culture of academics within your high school?
- How did you balance athletics and academics?
3. Tell me about your academic behavior in high school?
- Did you attend and engage in class regularly?
- How much in-class and out of class work was expected?
- Describe the behavior that was needed to be successful?
4. What are your perceptions and beliefs regarding academics in college?
- Describe the behavior that you feel will be needed in college in
order to achieve academically success?

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5. Tell me what you hope to achieve academically as you enter college?
- Describe to me what is possible for you academically?
- What do you envision for yourself here at this college?
6. Tell me what you fear academically and athletically as you enter college?

The rationale for the subsequent interview questions (see Appendix B) was as
follows. Questions 1, 2, and 3 allowed the student the freedom to describe what
academic experiences and challenges are salient for the individual. This allowed the
investigator to understand how they processed information under stressful situations
and to see what strategies the individuals were equipped with. Question 4 addressed
the balancing of multiple identities. Questions 5 and 6 allowed aspects of academic
beliefs to emerge.
Sample Questions with Probes
1. Tell me about your experiences thus far in the area of academics?
- What have your classes been like?
- How are your tutoring/ learning specialist sessions progressing?
- What does your in-class and out of class academic behavior look like?
2. What do you feel are your academic challenges in your first semester of
college?
- time management
- workload
- emotional and psychosocial issues

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3. How are you handling these challenges?
- What are your strategies?
- What does this require of your behavior?
- Have you been successful in changing your behavior?
4. How do you balance the academic, athletic, social demands of college?
- How do the athletic/ social challenges affect the academic demands?
5. Have any of your perceptions and beliefs about college academics changed?
- How have they changed from the beginning of the semester?
6. Do you feel that what you hoped for academically is still possible?

In the initial interviews, the six questions were strictly followed which
allowed me to collect similar data from all four participants. For the remaining
interviews, the questions were used as a guide for the interviews. During the first
few sessions the structure of the interviews were governed by the questions.
Although my research questioned guided my study, it was my goal to make the
interviews as conversational and exploratory as possible. I encouraged the
participants to reflect upon their experiences and to reassure the participants upon the
confidentiality of responses. The participants were also encouraged to talk about any
non-cognitive factors that influenced them in their first semester of school. This
allowed the participants to be comfortable expressing their beliefs and perceptions of
their academic, athletic and social experiences in college life.

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The specific questions played less and less of a role in directing the path that the
interview followed over the course of the semester. As the participants began to feel
comfortable and more trusting of me, the interviews consisted of what was pressing
on the minds of the participants which in turn lead to what was affecting their
behavior. When this occurred, the courses of the interview took many different
avenues not specifically outlined in the questions. However, if the participants
began to speak repetitively about a specific subject and the interview stalled for an
extended period, I would ask one of the specific interview questions in order to move
the participant to another topic.
Data Analysis
Each week taped interview sessions were transcribed by a professional
transcription service, Absolute Research Service. This company was chosen based
on their confidentiality agreement and a guaranteed 72-hour turn around time for
transcriptions. This meant that tapes that were sent out on Thursday night were
returned to the investigator by Monday night. The interviews were transcribed word
for word from the mini-cassette tapes. Before reading the transcripts and analyzing
the data, the investigator underwent thorough examination of myself as an
investigator. This self-examination or reflection process known as epoche allows,
according to Patton (2002), the researcher to remove or at least become aware of
prejudices, viewpoints, or assumptions concerning the phenomenon under
investigation. It was important for me to enter the analysis phase with a fresh and

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open viewpoint excluding any prior knowledge or experiences that I had with the
population under study.
After much reflection in the epoche process, I used the techniques of content
analysis followed the procedures detailed by Kvale (1996). In the first stage, the
transcribed interview were read through in it’s entirety in order to achieve a sense of
the whole. The next step was to embark on the approach of meaning condensation
which entails an abridgement of the meaning expressed by the interviewees into
shorter formulations. Kvale (1996) termed these shorter formulations as ‘natural
meaning units’. I read the subject’s dialog without prejudice and thematize the
statements from their viewpoint as understood by myself. Attention was given to
any special vocabulary used by the participants. Next I examined the natural
meaning units in order to determine themes. I stated these central themes in the
margins of the transcriptions in simplest wording possible. The natural meaning
units were not mutually exclusive and many units could fit under more than one
theme.
The next stage consists of interrogating the meaning units in terms of the
specific questions and purpose of the study. The themes of the meaning units were
addressed with respect to such questions:
1. What are the major themes within the entry beliefs and perceptions of at-risk
African American male student-athletes concerning academics and their
academic behavior?

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2. How do these beliefs and perceptions evolve and influence behavioral
change, processing style, and possible selves, as this population experiences
their first semester of the academic life of college?
In the final step, the essential redundant themes of the four participants were tied
together in a descriptive manner and illustrated in the findings chapter.

Evaluation
Lincoln and Guba (1985) offered four terms for evaluating the quality and
trustworthiness of a qualitative inquiry: credibility, transferability, dependability, and
confirmability. According to these researchers, these four terms are the naturalist
equivalent of internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity (Lincoln
& Guba, 1985). Credibility addresses the importance of the inquirer providing
assurances of the fit between respondents’ view of their lives and the inquirer’s
reconstruction and representation of them (Schwandt, 2001). Dependability and
confirmability focuses on the investigator’s responsibility to ensure that the
investigation process will be logical, suitable, and traceable. In order to address all
three of these dimensions, a two-person peer-review team was established to verify
the initial meaning units and essential redundant themes. This two-person team
consisted of two African American males. One of the males was an associate athletic
director, and the other was an academic counselor within the academic support
service center in the athletic department. On two separate occasions during the
semester, the peer review team provided interpretations of the transcribed interviews

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to validate the meaning condensation system. Each time the peer review team was
provided with a different participants’ transcribed interview notes so that each
member of the peer review team was given a chance to view notes from each of the
four participants. Transferability was addressed by the in-depth demographic profiles
included in the study.
Limitations
The first limitation of the study will be the fact that as an investigator I am a
White female. This might have an effect on the development of trust and respect
between the investigator and the participant and interfere with and limit the openness
with which these individuals talk to me about their feelings, beliefs, and perceptions.
A second limitation would be the inevitable differences of entering another
person’s perspectives, views, and thoughts. I truly have no clear, specific, first-hand
knowledge of what the historical, socio-economical, and cultural aspects are of what
it is like to be a Black male. This may have an effect on my interpretation of the
participants’ experiences and jargon.
A third limitation would be the transferability of the results. These athletes
are the most highly sought-after high-school athletes in the nation. Many of them
rank in the top three nationally at their respective positions. Collectively, these
individuals made up one of the top recruiting classes in the country for their
respective sport. Moreover, the school they attend is a highly selective private
institution, with very rigorous academic standards. These are the highest caliber

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athletes at a highly selective academic school, so thus the transferability of results
may be limited.

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CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS

The interview data from four academically at-risk African American male
student-athletes are presented in this chapter. Throughout this chapter, the first
semester experiences of the student-athletes are revealed mainly through the words
of the participants themselves. These findings provide a rich and meaningful view of
what it is like to be an academically at-risk African American male student-athlete at
a large, highly selective Division I institution. Although the participants came from
different backgrounds, many of their perspectives, challenges, and goals were
shared. Additionally, the findings from this chapter provide preliminary answers to
the following research questions:
1. What are the major themes within the entry beliefs and perceptions of at-
risk African American male student-athletes concerning academics and
their academic behavior?
2. How do these beliefs and perceptions evolve and influence behavioral
change, processing style, and possible selves, as they experience their
first semester of the academic life of college?
This chapter is an attempt to give a comprehensive in-depth description of
each participant. The chapter will be presented in two distinct sections with
numerous subsections under each heading. The subsections were designed to
correspond to the areas of focus within the interview questions. The first section will

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provide an in-depth review of all four candidates with respect to demographic,
economic, athletic, and academic histories. Section two of this chapter will dialog the
individual experiences of each subject during the semester. Specific issues that will
be looked at are (a) entry beliefs and perceptions, (b) academic challenges, and (c)
developmental issues (i.e., plans for college and possible selves). Since this study
used a qualitative semistructured interview approach, this chapter will concentrate on
dialogue from the participants in each of these areas.
Participant Profiles
David
David is an 18-year-old African American male from western part of the
nation. He comes from a single parent household. The family was eligible for an
application fee waiver along with SAT and ACT testing fee waivers. The family was
also eligible for a Pell grant in addition to a full athletic football scholarship.
Athletically, he is over six feet tall, weighs over 250 pounds and plays on the
defensive side of the ball . He was a five-star recruit who was ranked 2
nd
in the
nation at his position. He had four football scholarship offers from other Division I
universities that have attended a BCS bowl game within the last 3 years.
This participant came from a public high school with an enrollment of 2472
students of which 30% were White, 20% were Hispanic, and 22% were Black. The
average class size was 31 students. Eighty-three percent of the teachers were fully
credentialed, while 8% were on emergency credentials. The high school’s Academic

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Performance Index (API) score is 637, and 38% of the students are on free or
reduced lunch.
Academically, this participant remained at his high school all 4 years until
graduation. David had to retake one course in high school due to a failing grade and
received one grade change during his senior year. He had to complete five core
courses during both fall and spring terms his senior year in order to fulfill the 14 core
academic course requirement required by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility
Clearinghouse. David also took one Brigham Young University (BYU) online course
to ensure meeting NCAA initial-eligibility standards.
David retook the SAT four times and the ACT once in order to achieve his
top score of 400 points for critical reading and 410 points for math. This combined
total of 810 required a Clearinghouse GPA of 2.525 in order to become eligible to
participate in Division I athletics. He received a Clearinghouse GPA of 2.571 and
thus was deemed eligible to play Division I football. His senior year class rank was
226 out of 437 students.
The university’s football program had high expectations of David. He had
attended many football camps sponsored by the university and had performed
extremely well. The coaching staff expected him to accumulate numerous minutes of
playing time during his freshman year. David had to work extremely hard during his
senior year in order to qualify through the NCAA Clearinghouse. His first 3 years of
high school were far below average academically which left him with a large deficit
when calculating his GPA. David had to successfully complete five academic

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courses during the fall and spring terms his senior year. During his free period,
David was studying and completing a BYU online course. He came to this university
for the second session of summer school approximately 3 weeks after high school
graduation. He arrived tired, academically burnt out, and developmentally
overwhelmed.
David has never met his father nor, according to him, would he care to.
Karen, David’s mother, is a White female and has raised him alone working two jobs
during David’s high school years. She now works a traditional nine-to-five job.
During the off-season, Karen would come home to find David home alone skipping
school. David was described by his coaches and mother as a loner. David feels that
the only real male role models during his life have been his coaches. He seemed
skeptical of my motives during the first few interview sessions and did not elaborate
on many of his responses to my questions. Although large in stature, David has a
quiet personality and took a long time to trust and relax with me. He describes his
high school education as “a joke.”
Steve
Steve is an 18-year-old African America male from the western part of the
nation. He came from a two-parent household. The family was eligible for an
application fee waiver along with SAT and ACT testing fee waivers. However, the
family was not eligible for a federal Pell grant. Athletically, Steve is over six feet
tall, weighs over 200 pounds and plays on the offensive side of the football. He was
a five-star recruit who was ranked 2
nd
in the nation at his respective position. He had

99
four football scholarship offers from five other Division I universities that have
attended a BCS bowl game within the last 3 years.
Steve came from a rural public high school with an enrollment of 1505
students of which 82% were White, 9% were Hispanic, and 2% were Black. There
were no API scores available for the state of Utah. Eighty-seven percent of the
teachers were on full credentials, and 7% were on emergency credentials. The
average class size was 24 students. Twenty-one percent of the students were eligible
for free or reduced lunch.
Academically, Steve attended three different high schools before graduating.
He also had to retake five courses due to failing grades and he received four grade
changes during his senior year. If he had not received those grade changes, Steve
would have never graduated from high school. Steve received three F’s on his third
quarter grade report after signing his National Letter on Intent. He had to take four
BYU courses in order to fulfill the GPA requirement to meet the NCAA initial-
eligibility standards. His BYU GPA for all the additional courses was a 4.0.
Steve took the ACT twice and received a total score of 77 points when
combining his subscores of 19 in English, 18 in Math, 19 in Reading, and 21 in
Science. With this ACT score, he needed to receive a corresponding NCAA Initial-
Eligibility core course high school GPA of 2.250. His final Clearinghouse GPA was
a 2.607, and he was approved for participation in Division I football. Steve ranked
346 out of 470 students in his graduating class.

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Simply put, if Steve didn’t win a starting position on the offensive squad it
would be a huge disappointment. The coaching staff made it clear that the
expectation for Steve was to be the first freshmen starter in the history of the
program. In high school, Steve gained 2,652 all-purpose yards with over 1,500 in
rushing and 1,000 in receiving. His record of 32 touchdowns during his senior year
stood as a national high school record. Steve describes football as the only consistent
thing in his life. Steve came across as a very sweet individual. He is somewhat soft-
spoken and in some instances shy. He referred to me right from the beginning as
“Miss Donna” and was always very polite.
Steve was named after his father since he was the first male born into the
family. He, along with his younger brothers and sisters, moved from three different
homes within an 18-month period. Although they moved around a lot, the family
stayed very close. Steve’s father had a hard time trying to find a job. His father is
Tongan and rather large in stature, while his mother is African-American. Steve feels
that this had an effect of where the family felt comfortable and where his father
could get a job. Steve’s mother doesn’t work and his father is a bus driver. Steve
also felt an overwhelming responsibility to help protect his younger brothers and
sister during their parent’s financial hardships.
Victor
Victor is a 18-year-old African American male from eastern part of the
nation. His parents’ divorced and custody was awarded to his father. The family was
eligible for an application fee waiver along with SAT and ACT testing fee waivers.

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The family was also eligible for a Pell grant, in addition to a full athletic football
scholarship. Athletically, he is over 6 feet tall, weighs under 200 pounds and plays
on the offensive side of the football. The subject was a five-star recruit who was
ranked 1
st
in the nation at his respective position. He had five football scholarship
offers from other Division I universities that have attended a BCS bowl game within
the last 3 years.
Victor graduated from a private all-boys Christian military academy with an
enrollment of 424 students from Grades 7 to 12 where 80% of the students were
White and 15% were students of color. The student-to-teacher ratio was 7 to 1. All
teachers at the school were fully credentialed. This subject went to three different
high schools before graduating from the military academy. This subject graduated
from high school with a GPA of 1.91. No API scores were available for the high
school state that the participant attended. Learning disability testing and an
individual educational program (IEP) were performed at the military academy due to
concerns over academic performance and low college test scores. His class rank was
not calculated due to his diagnosis of a learning disability.
Academically, Victor received eight failing grades in high school and had
three grade changes during his senior year of high school. He also completed five
BYU online courses during his senior year. He took the SAT four times and the ACT
four times with accommodations. Victor was approved for the following two
accommodations prior to his final three ACT and SAT testing sessions: a reader and
triple time on each test. Victor’s ACT scores started out with a combined four

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subject score total of 52 points and progressed to a 92 as the final score after the
fourth attempt. His SAT scores ranged from combined critical reading and math
score of 510 to a final score of 710 points. With the ACT score of 92, Victor needed
to achieve a Clearinghouse GPA of 2.0. With the addition of five BYU online
courses his NCAA Clearinghouse GPA was calculated to be a 2.10, thus making his
eligible to participate in Division I football.
Victor is an only child and lived with his mother while he was in middle
school. He remembers his mother using drugs and drinking heavily while he was
growing up. The neighbors and family members would make sure he would get to
school when his mother “did one of her Houdini’s.” When his mother was arrested
and imprisoned, his father re-entered his life. Victor’s father started imposing strict
rules and moved him around from a private catholic high school to a public school,
back to a private school, and then to a military academy.
When his mother was released from prison, Victor went back and spent
summers with her in the eastern part of the nation. During the recruiting process,
Victor’s mother did not want “her baby” to leave and go across the country for
school, so she constantly made Victor feel guilty. Victor’s father, Derek, did not
want him to come to this university due to it’s proximity to a large city with many
distractions. Victor states that “then my dad saw what was happening with Reggie
and Matt and he changed his mind.” Ultimately, it was Derek’s name that appeared
on Victor’s National Letter of Intent. Victor seems to fit the description of a player.
He is a good looking individual with a nice smile and seems to be somewhat of a

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lady’s man. Publicly he seems self-assured, but from the first interview Victor
complained about being home sick.
Richard
Richard is an 18-year-old African American male from the western part of
the country. He came from a two-parent household but has seen his father only “now
and then” during his high school years. The family was eligible for an application fee
waiver along with SAT and ACT testing fee waivers. Richard’s family was also
eligible for a Pell grant in addition to a full athletic scholarship. Athletically, Richard
is well over six feet tall, weighs over 250 pounds and plays on the offensive side of
the football. He was a five-star recruit who was ranked 2
nd
in the nation at his
respective position. He had four football scholarship offers from other Division I
universities that have attended a BCS bowl game within the last 3 years.
Richard came from a public high school with an enrollment of 2659 students
of which 53% were White, 28% were Hispanic, 10% were Black, and 7% were
Asian. The average class size was 29 students. Ninety-nine percent of the teachers
were fully credentialed, and 1% were on emergency credentials. The high school’s
API score was 768, and 24% of the students were on free or reduced lunch.
Academically, Richard remained at his high school all 4 years until
graduation. He had to retake two courses in high school due to a failing grade and
received two grade changes during his senior year. He had to complete five core
courses during the summer session of his sophomore and junior year in order to
fulfill the 14 core academic course requirement required by the NCAA Initial-

104
Eligibility Clearinghouse. He also took one BYU online course to ensure meeting
NCAA initial-eligibility standards.
Richard retook the SAT two times and the ACT once in order to achieve the
top scores of 400 points for critical reading and 450 points for math. This combined
total of 850 required a Clearinghouse GPA of 2.450 in order to become eligible to
participate in Division I athletics. He received a Clearinghouse GPA of 2.571 and
thus was deemed eligible to play Division I football. His senior year class rank was
439 out of 615 students.
Richard was a local legend in his home town, and his mother was always
very proud of him. His mother and siblings live in a very small apartment in the city.
His mother took care of everything regarding his football career, his applications to
colleges, and the NCAA Clearinghouse. Richard is the first in his family to go to
college. He is looking forward to playing football with some of the best players in
the nation because “I can now test myself against the best.” Richard explains that he
“is focused on showing the coaches how strong I am and how I will be the one that
will win when put to the test.” Richard seems like an angry individual that is focused
on proving that he is “a man.”
Richard is the oldest, with two younger siblings. He denies that he “is a
momma’s boy.” His family was held together by his mother, and Richard always
tries to do what makes his mother happy. He has almost self-appointed himself as the
surrogate father to his brother and sister and as the family provider to his mother. He
didn’t really go out when he was in high school. Richard’s mother would have to

105
work frequently on the weekends, so he always tried to stay close to home to help his
mother with his brother and sister. He constantly uses the terms “Yes, m’am” and
“No, m’am” when beginning or ending a statement.
David
Background
David is an 18-year-old African American male from an area about a 4-hour
drive from the university. David has one sister aged 13. He was born in Washington
but relocated to California with his mother around 6 years ago. His mother is a
claims adjuster for the Automobile Association of America and has never attended
any form of college. His parents were never married and his mother always use to
preach to him the value of school, but David really didn’t “get the connection.”
David sees his mother as being an intelligent woman who has had no college
experience but has had a successful career in business. In an indirect way, his mother
has influenced him to pursue his education past high school. David stated that “she is
blessed to have accomplished what she has with basically just a high school
education.” His mother told him all the time how hard it is to be a single parent and
to raise a son all by herself. David sees all of the responsibility she has to handle,
such as “paying bills and buying groceries.” David is scared of the “real world and
having to be on my own two feet.” He feels that by going to college he will have
more time to mature and prepare to be an adult. When David gets lazy he just thinks
of what his mother has to go through and asks himself, “Are you ready for all these

106
responsibilities?” After seeing all that his mother has gone through, David believes
he is not ready.
The area where David lives has very limited amount of real opportunities. He
wants to get as far away from there as possible and knows that “there is so much
more out there for me in the world than what this place has to offer.” David has
heard too many stories and seen too many people fail. When it came to “crunch
time” the people with the big stories couldn’t get the job done and wound up in low
paying jobs and “pretty much did nothing with their lives.” One of David’s favorite
things in life, besides playing football, is going to church. He gets “a big rush out of
it.” He feels that his future is pretty much being handed to him on a silver platter and
it’s his for the taking. David loves to go to church and play football. He feels that
football has allowed him to continue his education for free, created opportunities for
him, and has allowed him to see parts of the country he would never have seen.
Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
David had a hard time trying to articulate what his beliefs and perceptions
were about starting college and college academics. He states, “I feel like I just got
through it [high school], man. . . . I can’t even begin to think about starting over
again.” David noted that his grades and test scores in high school were low, but he
was “hoping that all the other guys had similar scores and grades.” David believes
wholeheartedly that his athletic talent was the key to getting him into this university.
He knows that he has to get passing grades in order to be eligible, but when
questioned further really doesn’t (or did not) have a thorough understanding of what

107
that all means. David mostly received C’s in high school. He is hoping the structure
of college is the same as high school but he doesn’t think that this is so. David
doesn’t think that he will be able to get away with the stuff he did or turned in during
high school. “I think that school is going to be tougher but I’m sure I’m not the worst
football player that they ever let in,” explains David.
David does not think that his high school was very good. He feels that there
were too many kids and that the teachers really didn’t teach very well. David
describes his classmates “from all different backgrounds. . . . black, brown, white”
and the teachers as “trying to get us to pay attention.” He believes that college will
be harder than high school and that he will have to do more work. David feels that he
is coming in not on the same level as most of the other student-athletes, since his
high school was so bad.
Academic Behavior and Information Processing
Although David signed “some form” for a program, he has no idea what the
Structured Curriculum Program is or what it does. When I explained the program to
him, his interpretation was that it was something that would “help us get by.” David
believes that he will get help from the “academic people downstairs.” When asked
what kind of help David stated that they “would watch over us and make sure that
everything got done.” When asked if he feels prepared academically for college,
David simply states “No,” but adds that he unsure whether he is prepared for “all the
other new stuff.”

108
When asked about his academic behavior in high school, David admits that
he “never even cracked a book.” When he did go to class, he would just sit and listen
and never took notes. Sometimes he would look at his books, usually the night
before a test. Almost all of his tests in high school were multiple choice. For the
most part, he would answer the questions or guess at the answers that he could recall
from class lectures. The rest of the questions he would either guess on or look on
another person’s paper. David would never ask for help but sometimes there were
girls that would volunteer to help him out. If there was any homework assignments,
David would get the assignment from his teammates or from a girl in class who liked
him or who liked the fact he was a football player.
Plans for College and Possible Selves
Regarding his plans for college, David really didn’t look at the academics of
the university, he just looked at the quality of the football program. He recalled that
he never thought he could get into the university with his grades. However, now that
he is here at school he thinks he would like to major in communications or get a
business degree. David feels that:
If I major in business I was leaning towards business management because
someday I want to start my own business or try to become head of some
major corporation. With my communications degree I want to be either a
sports analyst or a newscaster. I’m the kind of person who likes to start off on
the bottom and work my way to the top, because I like to look back on things
and look at what I’ve accomplished.

109
David believes that there is a stereotype that follows you around when you
are a Black male. In his opinion, “people don’t expect too much out of Black males,
especially young adult Black males.” He knows that there are a lot of Blacks that
don’t have high expectations for themselves and other Blacks. David feels that
“society has low expectations for African Americans and I refuse to be another
statistic.” He is “going to take care of business so if I do fail I won’t have anybody to
blame but myself.” David feels that if he doesn’t let any dumb distractions get in his
way, he will have no choice but to be successful in whatever he does.
When I ask David about what he feels is possible for himself, he responds by
saying that “his dream job is to play in the National Football League.” I then ask how
he is going to get there, and David’s response is that he has taken the first step by
getting a scholarship to this top football university. He knows that this school has
had many athletes that have gotten drafted. So David feels that if he listens and
executes what the coaches want him to do, he will have a really good shot. As far as
business and sport broadcasting, David really doesn’t know how he would get into
those fields.
Steve
Background
Steve believes that to be something in life and to make a difference in society
you have to excel at your passion. For him, his passion is football and his family.
Steve views football as the way out. When Steve was growing up, he explains “our
family did not have the things that other families had.” Both his mother and father

110
are from Tonga and Tongan is the language that is spoken at home. Many times
Steve would come home to nothing on the dinner table. He sees football as a way of
“getting my parents out of this dump.” Most of his friends were able to do what they
pleased and found themselves getting involved with drugs, alcohol, and gangs. Many
of Steve’s friends are in jail and a few actually died. His parents had nothing, but
were very strict with Steve, often forbidding him to go out at night and forcing him
to do his homework.
Steve feels that football has kept him on the road to success and has opened
doors for him. He states that “he will participate in football for as long as possible
until I am physically unable to play.” Steve wholeheartedly believes football will
elevate him to do great things. Steve is very close with his family and is a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He believes that he is culturally
different than many of his friends and that has been an influence in his family
closeness. During his time in high school, Steve would go to church “as many as
three to four times a week.” His dream job would be to play with his future kids. He
is the first generation to attend college. His favorite quote of all times is, “One’s true
character shows when his back is against the wall,” and this is a quote he lives by
and believes in. He believes that this philosophy has helped him get through the
tough spots in both football and academics.
Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
In regards to his entry beliefs and perceptions of college Steve thinks that “he
is going to do okay. It’s going to be a little bit harder than high school but I think that

111
I can pass.” Steve believes that he did okay in high school and that he is adequately
prepared to pass all his college classes. When I reminded him that his high school
GPA was a 2.4, he looked at me confidently and said, “Yeah, like I said I did fine.”
Steve explains that he basically just “floated through high school.” If he needed to,
he could get good grades. If he didn’t like a subject, class, or teacher, he would put
out no effort at all, which included not even showing up to class.
Steve thought that he would just “cruise through” the rest of high school after
signing his National Letter of Intent. This attitude got him into trouble in the third
quarter of his senior year in which he received 3 F’s in core academic courses.
Steve’s GPA during his senior year went from a 3.7 to 2.6 down to a 1.8. When the
football coaches made him aware of the fact that his actions might have jeopardized
his NCAA Clearinghouse eligibility, Steve signed up for BYU online courses. “I got
a little nervous, but I knew everything would turn out okay. All I would have to do in
the end was to put a little effort into it,” explains Steve.
With regards to entry beliefs and perceptions, Steve feels that the class work
will be the same but a little harder. He knows that the timing of tests and assignments
are going to be different, that sometimes things will be due at the same time.
Referring to the previous statements, he doesn’t want to know what is due in a month
or when the final is, he wants to know what is at hand now. Basically, all Steve cares
about is what is due by Friday or more importantly “is anything due tomorrow.” For
Steve, the hardest part is all the other stuff that “always seems to get in the way of
doing what I need to do in order to get my work done.”

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Academic Behavior and Information Processing
Steve can’t really remember when he first heard about a Structured
Curriculum Program. He doesn’t remember if it was something that he signed or
something that he heard the coaches talk about during the NLI process. Either way,
his academic counselor said it wasn’t really a “program” but simply a class that you
have to pass. Steve feels no real stigma with having to take the class, and he feels
that hopefully it will help him.
When asked about his academic behavior, Steve admits that he really doesn’t
have the best study habits. In fact, he doesn’t know if he has any, but he adds that he
is sure he can learn them quickly and be a good student. In high school, he really
didn’t take too many notes during class. At home his mother and father would
sometimes ask him if he had any homework and most of the time he would say
“No.” Then they would ask him to help with the kids. According to Steve, if a
teacher liked him, he would get a good grade. If the teacher didn’t like him, he would
get a bad grade.
For the most part, Steve relied on his memory to get by on tests. He did very
well in classes that had in-class assignments and where they would be allowed to
work in groups. Steve would always try to get into the group with the smartest girls
in the class. Math was always a problem for him because “on tests you would always
have to show your work.” When asked about what he would do if he needed help,
Steve states that he “would first ask a classmate or just try to listen in on what the
smart people were saying.”

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Plans for College and Possible Selves
As far as college academics and career are concerned, Steve plans on “taking
my generals and seeing what I would like to pursue. As soon as I find out what I
want to pursue I will pursue it with all my heart.” When I ask Steve to tell me more
about these statements, he speaks as though he is reiterating a speech. He is going to
“stay ahead of the game, do my homework, stay organized and not fall behind.” I ask
if he has ever felt like he had done these things in high school, and he answers by
saying that he never really felt like he had to, but he was sure that he could. Steve
feels confident that he can graduate but has no idea what he is interested in or what
he wants to become.
Victor
Background
Although his parents lived together for awhile while he was growing up,
Victor thinks of himself as being raised by his father. Victor’s father was a military
man stationed in Staten Island, NY. His mother was a cosmetologist and addicted to
drugs and alcohol. There was one passion in Victor’s life and that was football. He
recalls one day sitting in front of the TV watching the preview channel and seeing an
ad for 5
th
grade football. He wrote down the number and asked his mother to call.
His mother never called due to her addiction to alcohol, so he called himself and
acted as though he was his father.
Victor is able to recount almost every game of his 5
th
grade season. He
remembers scoring around three touchdowns a game and having all the PeeWee

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coaches wanting him on their team the next season. Victor states, “I was a good
player that all the coaches wanted.” He credits his father with teaching him loyalty,
so he decided to stay with his local coach. Victor feels that this loyalty paid off,
because this PeeWee coach paid for his tuition to one of the best high schools in
New York City.
His junior year was the best for his career. He believes that “his passion
turned into great things.” Victor feels that his junior year was when “the college
scouts began to recognize my talents and wanted me to play for their team.” During
his senior year, Victor “had every scholarship one could name to many major
universities. Colleges would do anything to get me to go to their school.”
Victor remembers the structure of the military academy but not too much of
what he learned. He spent most of his time afraid of his superiors and trying not to
get kicked out. Victor befriended his college counselor, Diana, and was constantly in
her office. She would guide him through all his homework and writing assignments.
The reason why Victor was able to increase his test scores dramatically was due to
the fact that the ACT didn’t change the version of the test for learning disabled.
Victor would just remember and memorize the passages and stories and score better
each month he would take it. Victor acknowledges that if it wasn’t for the help of
Diana and the flaw in the learning disability testing, he would have never cleared the
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Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
Victor spent the first year and a half at a catholic school. Victor states, “He
couldn’t stand the nuns as teachers.” He got mostly C’s and D’s in his classes.
According to Victor, “It was just hard to stay awake in class, I’d start to space within
five minutes and usually be asleep after about ten minutes.” When asked why he
thought this was happening, Victor said that he was just not interested in anything
they had to say. He felt that nothing was really relevant. “I could tell that the nuns
didn’t like me at all, especially the principal. School just wasn’t for me,” states
Victor.
Because of the negative environment, Victor’s father decided to transfer him
to a rival public high school. Victor pointed out “that it was terrible. I thought that
they would be happy to have me playing football for them, but they didn’t give me
any respect.” After only 2 months (February and April), Victor transferred back to
the private catholic school for the remainder of the school year (April and June). His
academic record consisted of 5 F’s for his sophomore year and a battle between the
two schools surrounding which one was going to award Victor credit for his spring
term. He really doesn’t remember anything about his academics during that year.
Victor transferred to the military academy at the end of his sophomore year.
Academically, Victor believes that he is going to have trouble making it at
this university. His past history has left him with a feeling that school is not a
friendly place and that it is not a place for him. He states:

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At Catholic school, I felt like the teachers hated me . . . same with the public
school. At the military academy, I just got yelled at a lot. I guess now that I
really think about it I haven’t had any really good times at high school. Well,
I mean in class. When I’m playing football I always had great times. When
I’m out there I not scared, it’s the other guy that is scared. People don’t yell
at me out there, they yell for me.
At this university, Victor is hoping that everything will be okay for him to
play football. His belief is that everyone knows what his grades were and knows that
he “kind of cheated” on his ACT tests. He informs me that the coaches have told him
that he will get help. He is assuming that it will be like someone like Diana that will
help him with all of his assignments. He states, “I think there is going to be lots of
help. Most of the teacher should be cool and know you. I just hope to survive. I
really don’t think school is for me. I just need some help in getting through what I
need to get through in order to get passing grades.”
Academic Behavior and Information Processing
Victor had no idea what the Structured Curriculum Program was nor was he
really interested. He doesn’t remember signing a form at the beginning of school or
the coaches or the academic counselor mentioning anything about it. When I asked
Victor about his academic behavior in high school, he says he hated the period
between his freshmen and sophomore years. He does not remember taking notes,
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Once at the military academy, Victor begins to talk about his “successful”
academic behavior. However, when pushed to describe this behavior, Victor only
describes showing up at Diana’s office. Because of his learning disability, Victor
would be allowed triple time on all of his tests and the school would allow him to
complete his tests in Diana’s office. Many times she would administer the tests
verbally. In addition, Victor was allowed other special provisions such as a
notetaker. Victor describes his day as “showing up to classes, sitting and listening to
what the teacher was saying and then going to Diana office so she could help me
with my assignments.” Victor explains that there really wasn’t any time when he
needed to find or get any information, as most of what he needed was provided for
him by the school or by Diana.
Plans for College and Possible Selves
Victor feels that football has opened the door to his college career. He states
that he has worked hard to get where he is today with football and that he has
sacrificed time he should have spent on school work. Victor thinks that he is now
trying to catch up on that, but with the right balance he will continue to play football
and get a college education. However, his first priority is football. His career plans
for football are to be drafted into the National Football League. His career plans
while at college include sports broadcasting, because it’s something that he already
does well. Victor feels that since he has followed football all his life, sports
broadcasting will be an easy field for him to enter.

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Richard
Background
The most influential force in Richard’s life was his high school football
coach. Richard had received help from many people, but it was his football coach
that really stood out. As Richard stated, “His guidance made me feel special and his
words and ability to change things around really lead me to play football instead of
baseball.” All his life, Richard wanted to play baseball and make it in the major
leagues. His coach told him he had a perfect body shape and size to play football,
which was different than what Richard thought. He thought that he was too small to
play. The coach turned him from a baseball into a football player in a couple months.
Richard feels that “he set me in the right direction and put me to the test of seeing if I
could be a man.” He further explained that “he taught me everything I know and put
me where I belong.” He attributes everything that is right in his life to his football
coach and assured him when he left high school that “I will make him proud and I
will not fail.” When I ask Richard what is important to him, he says that “talking
with his girlfriend because it keeps me closer and it trains us for when he leaves for
college.”
In speaking with Richard, he seemed to have a dual personality. Richard
equates playing football and all other forms of physical activity with being a man. He
also has an unyielding view of what behaviors are gendered male. He is somewhat
aggressive with his answers, like he is angry at someone or at anything that could get
in his way. However, during the interviews Richard never made eye contact for any

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significant length of time. He also seemed to get embarrassed at even the smallest of
probing questions. Richard had a hard time relaxing with me. Richard seemed
uncomfortable when I would shut the door to conduct our interview sessions. His
answers during the whole interview process were very short, even when followed up
by probing questions.
In the initial interview session, Richard wouldn’t elaborate on any topic. At
first I felt that this was due to his anger, but after a month of meeting with him I
began to feel differently. I began to feel that Richard had very little insight into
himself or how he truly felt about things. He relied on his mother and on his high
school football coach to tell him how he felt. When we would talk about academic
beliefs and perceptions, Richard responded with clichés such as “a man’s got to do
what a man’s got to do.” When I ask him what exactly that means, he replies that he
is here for the job on the football field and he will do anything he needs to do in
order to keep him out on the field.
Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
As far as academics are concerned, Richard states that he is not afraid of
anything that the teachers have to throw at him. He knows that in college you pretty
much make your own schedule. Richard is interested in becoming a broadcaster and
“hopefully making it.” He feels that college will be a little bit harder than high
school, but he thinks he can handle it. Richard relates being a man first to being
successful in football and secondarily as being successful in academics. When asked
about his beliefs and perceptions, he says that he knows that he will be able to pick

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his own classes so that he can make his own schedule. This is very important to him
so that he can schedule time to lift. He remarks that in high school he basically lived
in the weight room with his best friend. The reason why he likes lifting so much is
that he enjoys being sore and taking pain.
Richard thinks that his high school was “not too tough but he had to put a lot
of effort into it.” He felt as though he “was in a battle with his teachers. I could tell
that they wanted me to fail but I won’t surrender to them. I stayed strong so they
couldn’t fail me.” He reminds me that he had to retake seven courses in high school
“because the teachers gave me D’s.” Richard had to pass three semesters of English
during his senior year spring term. When faced with the decision of going to class or
going home early to watch his younger brother and sister, Richard would always
choose to go home “because that is what a man has to do.”
Academic Behavior and Information Processing
Richard would only go to the classes that he thought were important. Then he
would go down to the football office during the other ones that he knew he could get
a good grade in because of his good relationship with the teachers. Some of the
teachers really liked athletes, some did not. During his senior year he was absent
from class 64 times. Sometimes Richard would take notes in class, but doesn’t
remember how or if he used them to study. If Richard had a test the next day, he
would take the book home and try to study. He describes his tactic as just waiting
until the last minute and cramming by himself.

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Richard would never ask the teachers for help. If he did need help he would
pick up the phone and call a friend to talk about a paper or assignment. Richard
would never go to the library. The only time that he was in the library was for study
hall because it was assigned there. He would spend study hall playing football with a
small paper football on a desk. The hardest classes for Richard were math and
English. In math, if he didn’t know the answer, he would look off another
classmate’s paper, copy their answer, and then try to work backwards. As far as
English classes are concerned, Richard feels like he can’t write and often did not go
to class and did not turn in assignments.
Plans for College and Possible Selves
Richard made it clear that he is at this university to play football and get into
the NFL. He would love a job where he “could lift weights and play ball all year
long.” He confesses that “he always wanted to major in business and sociology.” Yet
when pressed he has no idea what that would look like or what job that could lead to.
He doesn’t think that he will graduate from the university “since he will probably be
leaving for the draft after his junior year.” Richard feels that he will have plenty of
time to graduate from college after his pro football career is over if he needs too.
Summary
All four of these participants grew up in low socioeconomic areas that did not
offer many career opportunities or model a connection between schooling and
success. Most came from hometowns that had no models for the importance of
education. Their parents that are present in the participant’s life occupy blue collar

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jobs that require a high school education. The participants felt that since their
athletic talent was the key to admission into this university that they needed to focus
primarily on athletics. They considered themselves an athlete first and a student
second thus creating a contradiction in terms and roles of the label student-athlete.
All the families has a strong sense of God in their lives and believe that he will watch
over them and guide them in all of what they do. During many interviews the
participants referred to the fact that there ability to play football was a God given
talent.
All the participants felt that college would be harder than high school. The
participants could not articulate in what ways the course work would be harder, they
just knew it probably would be harder. One student thought that they could attain
average grades while the three other students felt that they really weren’t
academically prepared. All subjects admitted that they just floated through high
school. All subjects revealed that they rarely, if at all, took a book home in high
school. The only real subject that they had to put any effort into was math because
they always asked to show their work. Their idea of successful academic behavior
consisted of sitting and listening to teachers and then finding someone that would
help them with their assignments or actually do their assignments for them. Most of
the subjects carried a negative sometimes hostile sentiment about some of their high
school teachers and principals. The participants recalled maybe one or two adults,
other than their coaches, that were positive towards them in high school. However

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the majority of the participants thought that teachers and principals were not on their
side and they were going to have to find a way to beat them.
With regard to high school academic behavior, all the subjects would do little
to no work during the entire semester. They would rely on looking off someone
else’s test, group projects or copying other people’s papers in order to get through
the semester. Then, at close to the end of the semester, the participants would try to
make up work, retake tests or hand in extra credit work in order to achieve a passing
mark. This behavior was repeated in almost every class during their high school.
There was definitely an attitude with these student-athletes that some high school
teachers didn’t like athletes and those teachers would not give you good grades and,
in contrast, there were high school teachers that liked athletes and they would give
you good grades. . They also felt that if a teacher was going to test you on
something they would tell you about it. In looking towards college, they hope that
they are not the ‘dumbest’ one on the team. They just look to fit in amongst the
others and think that somehow all the other guys had made it through and somehow
so would they. In summary they wanted to standout athletically but blend in with
their teammates academically.
As far as career goals were concerned, all of the individuals chose careers
that were either sports/ entertainment related or would make them a lot of money.
Not one of the individuals could articulate a clear understanding of the path
necessary to achieve a specific job. Some students talked of sports broadcasting
while others talked of owning their own businesses. However in interviews, the

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subjects dreamed of being drafted to play professional football and their major focus
was to put themselves into a position to be drafted.
Academics
David
David lives in a university apartment with two other football players as his
roommates. He did not know either of his roommates from before but “sort of
remembers one of the guys” from his recruiting visit. David reported getting mostly
C’s and D’s in high school with an occasional B. He never took any AP courses or
test preparation courses. Derek referred to his high school performance as somewhat
below average, but feels that his high school has adequately prepared him for
college. From the beginning of our interviews regarding academics, Derek impressed
me as someone who was uncertain of himself and his abilities.
Challenges-Academic
As far as academics are concerned, David is very uncertain about himself. He
states, “I just don’t know what the hell I’m doing . . . things are coming at me so
fast.” He feels a lot of anxiety, and it gets in the way of his thinking. He says he just
gets all jammed up. David feels nothing can come out because everything is spinning
around inside of his head. He is experiencing difficulties in studying and keeping
things organized. David claims that he is on a very heavy lifting schedule and that he
is tired all the time. By the time he gets down to Student-Athlete Academic Services
(SAAS) at 7 o’clock at night he is ready for bed.

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David has experienced difficulty with studying and with the writing
assignments right from the beginning of the semester. When having difficulty,
David’s first response is to blame those around him rather than himself. He would
look to fault the teacher for not explaining the assignment, the TA for not providing
more direction, or his learning assistant for not providing more help. David’s lack of
writing ability set him up for problems with his writing assignments right from the
beginning of the semester as well. After what David perceived as hours of labor over
his first essay, he ended up short of the assigned five-page minimum. When asked
how many hours of actually writing he does for his papers, David admitted it was
“around 2 to 3 hours.” David feels that 3 hours should be an ample amount of effort,
since it is triple the amount of time he “put in” during high school.
Another academic challenge for David is that he procrastinates throughout
the entire semester which gets him into the following predicament:
D: Tell me about your academic challenges this past week?
I: I procrastinated for the last two weeks so I have three papers due. The first
paper was excellent, the second one was not so good and the third one was
terrible. I took all the papers to my tutor appointment at SAAS last night and
we got through around maybe two paragraphs of one paper and our time was
up. Afterwards I kind of got depressed cause my tutor said that “if you read
this over you can fix this and if you read this over you can add this and I’m
sure you can figure this out on your own.” I said, “No I need more time,” but
of course it was late and I was tired. So when I got home I looked at my

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paper and then looked at my computer and said I don’t want to do this, I
basically cracked. I can’t do this now, I can’t do this anymore, so I wrote
enough to make it long enough but I knew what my grade was going to be. I
just said “Oh man this sucks.”
David repeats this kind of behavior over and over the entire semester.
Whenever heading into an assignment, David always says that he is going to start
early and have the assignment done in plenty of time for review. Although he talks a
good game, his actions never match his words. David waits until the last minute and
let’s the lack of time dictate the quality of the assignment. When asked why he can
not make the crossover from saying he is going to do something to actually doing it,
he responds, “I don’t know.”
Challenges-Physical Demands
David can’t believe how tired he is all the time. He feels he is walking around
all day in a constant state of sleep deprivation and anxiety. He feels that everything
in his life requires an enormous amount of effort. He has to get up early, fend for his
meal, walk to class, and keep up with academics and tutoring and practice. This is
different than high school in every way. His priority is football, since he feels that
this is the reason that he got into this school. In high school, he was able to put out a
certain amount of effort and succeed. However, this level of effort is no longer good
enough because the people around him are as good as or better than he is. This new
level of effort that he must perform at during football practice is foreign to him, very
stressful, and extremely tiring. David feels that he is dragging himself everywhere

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each day on campus. If he sits still for more than 15 minutes, he usually falls asleep.
Unfortunately, this always seems to happen in classes since they are lecture type
classes. Thus, he sits in the back of classes, because he knows that he is going to fall
asleep and he doesn’t want the teacher to know about it.
Challenges-Environment
David’s belief was that he would have more one-on-one contact with his
professors, but he doesn’t have any contact with them. David states the he and other
students “just have contact with their TAs and they can be good or they can be
clueless.” He cites one time that he worked with the TA to study for a test. She told
him what to study and what to read. He did everything that she said and David
wound up with a D on the test. He will not listen to her anymore. As David says:
In football there is a right way and a wrong way to block or tackle . . . this
foot goes here and this shoulder goes there . . . I can do that . . . but in school
I don’t know where my feet and shoulders are suppose to go . . . so I get
knocked on my ass a lot. My high school didn’t teach me the first thing about
how to block and tackle college . . . or maybe I just wasn’t listening.
David further explains:
I don’t think that you can tell somebody what college is going to be like. It is
just an experience they have to go through. Sort of like you can’t tell
someone what it’s going to feel like to jump out of a plane or what it’s going
to feel like when someone dies . . . you just have to go through it . . . then you
understand. Maybe if you went to a really hard high school it would be the

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same but not for me. For me, I just don’t understand how my high school
thought it was getting me ready for this . . . it didn’t. Basically what I did in
high school is goof off until the last two weeks and then ask the teacher what
I should do . . . like extra credit or something . . . it always worked. I think a
lot of kids think they can do the same and no matter how many times you tell
them that they can’t, they are still going to do it. Maybe they just have to fail
before they get it.
Time Management
David has no problems with time management when it comes to events
surrounding football. He has never missed 6 o’clock weights and has never been late
to film sessions, sports medicine appointments, buses, planes, or afternoon practice.
Regarding time management around academics, Derek feels that he does not have a
time management issue with going to classes; he just has a procrastination problem
with assignments. At the beginning of the semester, he feels that he did not
procrastinate with any of his assignments. He feels that studying for a test should
take him around 2 to 3 hours and that writing a paper should take him about the same
amount of time. Derek states that a common belief among most student-athletes is
that waiting until the last minute helps them work better. He elaborates that
when my back’s against the wall, that’s when I do my best work. That’s
when my brain works the best. It forces me to step up and that is when I do
my best work. It’s sort of like game time. At practice you perform at a certain
level, but when it’s game time that is when I really shine.

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Strategies
By the middle of the semester David’s thinking changes regarding
procrastination due to the fact that writing assignments are taking more than 4 hours
and studying for a test is taking more than 3. These changes have forced him to
pursue other strategies for coping with academic assignments in college. David feels
that there is not enough time in the day for him to get everything done which
includes all of his academic work. He knows that he is suppose to be studying or
writing or trying to get ahead, but he waits until the last minute to complete
assignments and write essays. David explains that this is due to his day being filled
with morning lifting, classes, eating, treatment, and afternoon workouts. When it
comes down to the last minute assignments, David begins to barter with himself. At
the beginning of the semester, David tried to complete his assignments in one of two
of the following ways. David explains the first: “What I decided to do was to go to
bed early, like at 10 PM, and set my alarm for 4 AM. Then I will get up and type up
my paper and hand it in.” This strategy did not work, due to the fact that David
would never get up.
The second strategy that David adopted after the abovementioned tactic
failed was the following:
Well, I would procrastinate until the last minute and then I’d say to myself,
Okay, I will stay up late and get the assignment done. I will set my alarm to
go to weights at 6 AM and after that I will go hand in my paper. Then I will
skip my classes for the rest of the day and sleep until practice.

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This pattern is repeated throughout most of David’s first semester even though the
strategy does not produce success. His papers wound up short of their required
length and his test grades are consistently below average. Even with these concrete
results in front of him, David still feels that he will successfully pass all of his classes
due to the fact that “how can they fail me when I’m turning in all the assignments
and taking all the tests.” For David, this behavior produces the adequate amount of
effort necessary for passing a class.
At the end of the semester and heading into finals, I ask David about his
strategy for finishing out the year. He informs me that his learning specialist has
worked out a plan for him to finish all of his work. David knows that he just needs to
put this plan into action and that this is where he knows he needs help. He can work
on his action plan with his learning specialists, but “putting the plan into action is
where I fail all the time.” David explains that he “hopes” that he can “pull it off.” He
explains that he is just going to go with the plan because he thinks it’s going to help
him, but he’s really not sure. His strategy is “I’m just kind of going with the plan and
whatever happens, happens.”
Balancing Academics, Athletics, and the Social
David finds that college life has too many distractions. He explains that:
I come to SAAS for my tutoring and I get to see all the other athletes that I
haven’t seen all day or all week. It’s a time for us to connect. I’m just so tired
from the day I just want to kick back and chill. But they want us to focus on
our class. It’s like when do I get time for myself? I put out all day, when do I

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get some time for myself? College is supposed to be a time for getting to
know yourself, so I think I got to spend some time getting to know myself.
As the semester entered into the sixth and seventh week, David becomes
anxious about his football experience thus far at college. He had thought he would be
getting playing time during the games. The coaching staff told him at the beginning
of the season that he would be getting time, but now they have convinced him that he
should redshirt his freshman year. David thinks it is because he hasn’t been able to
learn all the plays. He states that “in high school we had twenty five plays tops . . .
now I have to learn over 100 plays . . . it’s a lot.”
Even with the pressure of playing off, David has struggled all season with
where he is supposed to fit in at practices and games. He states the many of the
freshmen struggle with similar issues. Since there are so many sophomore and junior
high-caliber players, many of the freshmen recruits are asked to redshirt their first
year. The players feel somewhat displaced in all aspects of college. They are not
playing in games, they are not established socially, and they feel inadequate
academically. He doesn’t know how he feels or what he feels. Although David feels
like he has lost himself, he does not know how to identify, articulate, or handle this
situation. This feeling only adds to his challenges trying to balance the social,
academic, and athletic pieces of his personality and environment.
Reflecting on Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
With regards to entry beliefs and perceptions, David feels like college is
nothing like his high school. He basically feels that he “can’t keep everything

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straight . . . everything comes at you at once.” Every teacher thinks that they are the
only one that is giving you assignments. David assumed that the teachers would be
just better than high school teachers, but they are not. He states:
My teachers go at such a fast pace and they don’t seem to care if anyone is
listening or paying attention. They don’t stop and ask if we understand what
they are saying. When people don’t understand they just look around at
everybody else and see if they understand. Sometimes I ask some people in
my class if they “getting it,” they say no and I don’t feel as bad. And I don’t
understand the whole thing . . . I think I’m trying but I’m just not “getting it.”
When I ask what he means by “getting it,” he replies, “The way to the right answer
or the right way of doing things.”
David says that it is really interesting seeing the difference between high
school and college. He had no idea that some of his teachers would not be native
English speakers. David comments that some of his high school teachers were bad,
but some of his college professors are really bad. “They stand up at the board and
just talk, they don’t even face you, they don’t care if you understand, they just want
to get through it and get back to what they really would rather be doing,” states
David. He comments that teachers use PowerPoint presentations and syllabi, both of
which he has never seen before. Since some teachers hand out outlines, David thinks
that he doesn’t have to take notes.

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Attempting to Change Academic Behavior
David articulates that he is going to change his academic behavior at the end
of each writing assignment. He always states that next time he is going to start his
writing assignments at least a week in advance, but he always ends up repeating the
same behavior, as is illustrated in the following dialogue.
D: So what happened with your last writing assignment? I thought you were
going to start it early, use your tutor and make sure you had it completed by a
day before?
I: I don’t know what happened. I stayed up all night doing my paper and just turned
it in the next day. I know that it will probably be no good but I’m just hoping for the
best. I know I said all those things before about starting early but I can’t put it into
action. Why can’t I do that? I don’t know . . . something must be stopping me or its
just things that come up that are more important . . . maybe I just didn’t ever learn
how to do that and I just need time to learn it . . . I just don’t know.
Identity Processing Style
When David started the semester he was so burnt out from his senior year, he
found it hard to get himself engaged in any aspect of academics. Although he
attended all of his classes the first few weeks, his identity processing style seemed to
resemble that of diffused. David approaches any identity relevant problems related to
academics by doing a lot of distancing. During all of the interviews, David did not
demonstrate any ability to self-explore. David also shows no capacity to problem

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solve by using problem-focused coping strategies. Instead, he concentrates on
everything around the problem that was making him ineffective.
David is very simple in his cognitive thought process and oblivious
concerning his decision-making process. Academically, he is careless in his
assignments. He is also reluctant to confront personal problems and decisions and
uses avoidant coping, self-handicapping, or maladaptive decisional strategies. David
also elicits dysfunctional cognitive strategies and engages in task-irrelevant

behavior,
such as distancing and wishful thinking. During some of the interview sessions, he
displays some signs of being in a mild state of depression. David constantly makes
decisions on a situation-by-situation basis and is far from understanding the need for
master advanced planning.
Possible Selves
Although David has spoken about becoming a broadcaster or the head of a
major company, he has no concrete idea of what is entailed in either one of those
jobs. David’s idea about being a broadcaster is summed up by his statement that he
“would like to sit in front of a camera and talk about sports” and that the career
would offer a chance “to watch a lot of games.” He has no grasp on the amount of
work that goes into a sports broadcast and the knowledge base that is needed to
excel. He feels that since he is a good athlete and knows the game of football, he
would be a good broadcaster. When I talk to David about the scope of his career
choice and about what traits and knowledge are needed in order to succeed, he reacts

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as though this is the first time that anyone has ever talked to him about his career
choice.
As the semester progresses, there is little talk about his career choice and the
connections between academic work and the future. All that David is focused on is
the immediacy of what is at hand. This thinking pattern lasts throughout the whole
semester. David is overwhelmed and anxious by the newness of everything in all
aspects of his life. He is incapable of thinking in advance more than 1 to 2 weeks at a
time. When asked about the connection between his possible self as a broadcaster
and what he is studying now, David sees no real connection. He just basically hopes
that a college degree will get him a job as a broadcaster.
Steve
Steve lives in a double dorm room with one other teammate. This dorm is
home to many student-athletes from a variety of different athletic teams. He knew
his roommate fairly well before moving up to the university. Steve met him during
his recruiting weekend, and they got along really well. Steve did not take any AP or
advanced courses during his high school years. He feels that his high school did an
“okay” job of preparing him for college. From the beginning of our interviews, Steve
impressed me as someone who was confident that he was going to do well enough in
school to have no academic eligibility issues. He feels that “he can turn it on when he
has to” and pass all his classes.

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Challenges-Academic
Steve has a hard time with the amount of reading that is required of him. Of
all the things that can be delayed as far as academic assignments are concerned, he
always pushes the reading assignments to the back burner. Steve explains that “when
it comes to crunch time you have to make a decision to either do your reading or
don’t do your reading.” He feels that most of his teammates don’t read at all but he
feels that most of the other “regular” university students finish their reading
assignments. Steve’s philosophy is that somehow things will get done. He feels that
this philosophy developed in high school, because it worked, and it has now
persisted into his first semester of college.
As the semester progresses, Steve becomes overwhelmed with everything. He
can’t remember all the new things that are being thrown at him and his lack of time
management skills are becoming more evident. He doesn’t use a calendar, forgets
things constantly, and his assignments are late, especially his writing assignments.
Steve has never had to use a calendar. He has tried to write things down but was not
really sure what he was suppose to be writing down. Steve explains that he has
basically always thought in 1-week intervals. He feels he has gotten that from
football. Steve says it was the “routine each week with our football opponents.
Monday was studying opponents, Tuesday was learning new plays, Wednesdays was
pads . . . Saturday was the game and then you forgot about them on Sunday and
started fresh on Monday.” This was a rather interesting insight. Steve’s tests in
football were always on Saturdays immediately after a week of learning.

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Towards the end of the semester, I ask Steve about his academic effort. He
responds that when he has an assignment due he starts doing it but then he “distracts
himself on purpose.” Steve cannot explain why he would elicit this type of behavior.
He further explains that this was why he takes long periods of time to complete
assignments. I ask him to elaborate on this and he explains:
When I’m getting ready to write my paper, or update it, I’ll start writing it
and then I’ll see someone and think I know I shouldn’t talk to them, I should
keep writing, but I go and talk with them or I’ll think I’d better go to the
lounge ‘cause my roommate is going to come home soon and I won’t be able
to work . . . so I go to the lounge and that takes time and then I start working
and get up to go to the bathroom and then come back . . . and then I get bored
and walk around and then come back . . .and then I get hungry and leave and
then come back. Then I say to myself how much did I really get done, I’ve
been in the lounge all night and I was only able to write two paragraphs of
my paper.
In this conversation, Steve is able to identify his dysfunctional behavior. I
then ask Steve if being able to identify this behavior helps you get control over it. He
just laughed and said no, it probably just pushes him into it a little bit more. When
asked to clarify this statement, Steve explains now that he can identify the situation it
creates so much more anxiety in him that this sends him further into his
dysfunctional behavior. He feels that it is better to not know what you are doing
wrong than to know what you are doing wrong and not be able to fix it.

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Challenges-Physical Demands
Steve claims that he can’t meet his academic assignments due to being
pressed for time. He states that:
many times when I get back to do work, I’m just dead tired . . . like I just
want to go to sleep. You know that is why I was late today, I overslept. I
went to bed last night like at 1 and I know for sure tonight that I’ll probably
not get to bed before 12. I’ll get home and just pass out so it’s really going to
be hard for me to do anything.
When I ask if this was similar to what he felt in high school, he responds:
Not really cause my days weren’t so long. I would get out of school at 2:30
and go straight to practice until 4:30 and be home at 5:00. I could waste time
and still get my homework done. I can’t waste time here. I’m not home until
9 o’clock at night and all I want to do is pass out.
Steve is so exhausted from the day that frequently he does not even attempt to study
and bargains with himself that he can fall asleep and still get his assignments done
for the next day.
Challenges-Environment
Although there is a desk in his room, Steve has not designated this area as his
study area. The only area that Steve sees as a study area is the tutorial room at
SAAS. Steve has never used the library and really doesn’t plan too. He feels like
anything that he needs to get with reference to writing a paper, he can find on the
Internet.

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At the conclusion of one of our sessions, I ask Steve if there was anything
else that he was experiencing that he never thought he would experience in college.
He notes the lack of the ability to explore. Steve explains that he had this idea that
you’d learn inside the class by talking to the professors and outside of class by
talking with people. However, his schedule is such that he has no time and feels like
he is missing out on conversations. Steve feels like it’s tough to take advantage of all
the things and resources that are available to you when you are an athlete. He was at
a lecture and started to think of all the things that he was missing because he is an
athlete. He feels that athletes just go to practice and go to class. Steve also feels that
all the effort he has put into his work is not reflected in his grades. The grades have
nothing to do with what changes have occurred in him since high school. Steve feels
that grades are just a way of judging you.
Time Management
Steve feels that he has no time management skills at all. He does not have
any area in his room or on campus where he goes to study. He admits that the only
time that he thinks about his academic work is when he is in tutoring sessions or
meeting with his learning assistant. Steve really isn’t sure what good academic
behavior feels like. He knows how to describe it, but he doesn’t know how to do it.
Yet when asked if he is going to be successful in his college courses, Steve replies,
“Yea, I think so.”
Steve was injured during the beginning-to-middle part of the season and did
not play for the remaining games. This gave him more time on his hands than his

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typical teammates. It was interesting to talk with Steve regarding time management
issues. With the other participants, the issue of not having enough time due to
football demands was always presented as one of many excuses as to why
assignments were not completed. When Steve was faced with a mid-week decision
between going to a Clippers game and spending time on academic assignments, the
following dialogue occurred:
D: So how did you come to the decision to go to the game?
I: Last night some people from the dorm came in and asked if I wanted to go
to the Clippers game and I said “no way.” And then I thought to myself
“Why are you doing this to me?” I can’t go or maybe I just think I can’t go.
My RA came in and convinced me that since I’ve had such a tough and
boring day I should go. So I wound up going and having a really boring time
except for meeting this guy that worked there. So maybe it was just my
destiny to have this conversation with this guy for some reason. Maybe I met
him for God to show me why it’s important to study and stay in school . . .
because I don’t want to end up doing a maintenance job.
When asked if he returned home to finish the assignments due for the next day, Steve
replied that he called up SAAS and cancelled his tutoring appointment and then tried
to finish his paper but fell asleep. However, he is glad he went.
Strategies
I ask Steve about the strategies he uses when he has a paper due and why he
always waits until the last minute to write his papers. He explains that he doesn’t feel

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that he waits until the last minute. His routine involves spending time thinking about
his topic and how to organize, and then he spends time talking about the paper to his
tutors. Steve tries to structure the paper in his head, but on the last day he feels that it
falls apart and he just submits whatever he has. Steve knows his papers are too short
but questions what he is suppose to do when you have a page minimum and you
empty out all your thoughts and still come up short.
I pursue this line of questioning further as we moved into the middle-to-late
part of the semester:
D: Why do you think that you waited until the last minute to do everything
when you know what you have to do and you know when it is due?
I: It was like this . . . you have three assignments, one on Monday, one on
Wednesday, and one on Thursday. The first one, I focused on the whole time.
I would look at the others once, take a glance and it was like “Okay no, I got
to get this first one done.” So you work on that one until the night before it’s
due and you get it done. Then you start the next one and do the best you can
until it’s due. Then you do the same for the next one. I guess I could have
done it a little bit better, but I can’t handle a week without saying hi to
someone.
I ask Steve how he would strategize concerning his papers from this point on.
He replies that he would start even earlier and organize and brainstorm better. Maybe
he will even change the due date in order to fool himself into starting earlier. When I
readdressed this strategy in the final weeks of the semester, Steve admits that he

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never tried to do this and was just brainstorming during our earlier session. He didn’t
even remember saying it.
When I ask Steve about his strategies for studying for tests he provides me
with the following example:
D: So how are you doing on your tests? What are your strategies for doing
well with your tests?
I: I got back one test already and I was disappointed in the grade. I got a 68
which is a D+, so after class I went up to the TA and said that I really worked
hard on this and I was wondering if they could look it over again and see if it
would be possible to get 2 points in order to get a C. So he looked it over and
he gave me 11 points and said he was grading too hard and just make sure
that I am a little more specific next time.
Towards the middle of the semester, I further explored Steve’s strategies for
getting better grades on his tests. He explained that he needed to apply himself more
and focus better. I brought up the fact that this strategy is what he explained he was
going to do in the beginning part of the semester.
D: Didn’t you know and say that before you went though this rounds of tests
and papers?
I: Kind of . . . I just didn’t know how much like it would take to review and
write and do problems and stuff. I thought I was on top of it. Oh well.

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Balancing Academic, Athletic, and Social
In the first sessions of the semester, Steve was involved solely with football.
He talked about the rigors of practice and weights, while rarely ever mentioning the
rigors of academics or social interactions. The only social interactions that Steve
would mention were evening study hall hours and how they served as an avenue for
him to see all the other athletes. The real change towards the social aspect of college
came after the first bye weekend of the football season when the team was allowed to
have a full weekend off. During this weekend, the third week of the semester, Steve
discovered the joys of being away at college and on his own, basically the joys of
women and not having to go home at the end of the night. After that weekend, Steve,
with the coming of the first round of academic tests, began to feel the strain of the
balancing all his responsibilities.
After the fourth week, Steve was faced with a season ending injury, a broken
leg. Although this isn’t what he envisioned for himself during his freshmen year, he
agreed with the coaching and medical staff that he should not try to make it back for
the Bowl game. When asked about how he is balancing the three major areas of his
life, Steve states the following:
D: How are you balancing all the areas? What are some issues with these
areas?
I: Academically, I fear not getting good enough grades so I can’t play
football anymore and have to drop out of school. I fear that I don’t know how
to study. I need to catch up really quickly and I fear that I won’t catch up. It’s

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the third week and I feel so far behind that I doubt I can catch up at all.
Athletically, I guess I fear getting hurt and not being able to play football
anymore. I don’t know where I fit anymore since I’m not going to be playing
on game day. It feels weird being on the sideline during the game without the
pads. Socially it would be not fitting in . . . I just want to fit in . . . with the
guys at practice and people at parties . . . if you’re not really established with
anyone you really can’t enjoy a lot of what college has to offer. To me, I
consider myself established since I am a member of the football team, but
there are always other people, like women that you would like to hook up
with.
In the above, Steve rambles on about what his fears are as opposed to how he is
going to balance the major areas. He seems lost with the question. His decisions
about all three of these areas are made by chance, what is happening in the area at
the time. This manner of thinking persists throughout the rest of the semester. Steve
is governed by the immediacy of the moment. If there is an assignment due in a
couple of hours and he is in SAAS, he is in the academic aspect of his persona. If
there is a social interaction, he forgets the academic and moves to the social.
However, overriding it all is the football and the football aspect of his personality.
Nothing is more important to him and his time than football.

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Reflecting on Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
Steve was unable to be interviewed during the fourth and fifth weeks of the
season due to his operation and recovery time after surgery. When he resumed his
normal schedule for interviews, I asked him the following question:
D: Is what you are experiencing right now what you thought college was
going to be like?
I: Actually when I was coming in the first day, just moving in, I was kind of
nervous in the fact that I knew that I came from a high school that wasn’t
very good academically and I felt that everyone else was better than me.
They came in here and they are as smart as possible. I guess that I felt that
maybe I wasn’t going to be able to make it. Like maybe this place is too hard
for me and no matter what I do I’m not going to be able to make it. But then I
thought that SC has to have something or someone to help me out.
Steve felt that everybody knew his grades and knew his test score and if they were
“still going to recruit me than they must have people to help if it really is that hard.”
Towards the end of the semester, heading into finals, I broach the subject again.
D: Have your entry perceptions changed?
I: Yes, I feel a little more mature. I guess I’m really just more aware of what I
should be doing. Now it’s just up to me to change. Before I wasn’t aware but
now after the semester I’m aware of what needs to be done. So I’m hoping
that this understanding some how makes me change. I need to start making
studying a habit even when you are not interested in it.

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This exchange was the first sign of Steve beginning to process the situation and
beginning to self-explore. Even though he still is “hoping” this understanding will
transcend into a change in behavior, I believe Steve now has a clearer concept of
knowing what he needs to change and identifying the aspects of his behavior that
need to be changed.
Attempting to Change Academic Behavior
Steve talks at length about knowing that he has to change in getting things
done earlier. I ask this question of Steve around week 6 of the semester:
D: So what happens? Where is the breakdown between knowing it needs to
get done and doing it?
I: I don’t know . . . I think I’m doing what I need to do to get by. I show up at
my classes and tutoring sessions. I try to write but people say I need to
explain it more . . . and I know there is a way to explain it better, but I don’t
know if I’m capable of that yet or I haven’t learned how to do that yet so like
I’m clueless in that area . . . I don’t know, it just never turns into action.
Steve states that he thinks about changing his behavior. However, when he
has free time and someone is around and distracting him, he will “take” that
opportunity. He feels that someone will offer him an opportunity and he will just “go
with it” unless he really gets lucky and focus on what he has to do.
With the volume of work that needs to be completed in order to perform well
on Saturday, Steve seems to be always pushing academics to the bottom of the list.
This is why he feels that it never moves to know what to do and doing it. Steve talks

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of his decision-making when it comes to athletics and academics and his numerous
failed attempts at changing his behavior.
D: Why do you constantly make the same mistakes with your academic
assignments?
I: It’s not like I’m consciously choosing to blow off academics during the
week but when you have weights at this time and film at this time and a
doctor’s appointment at this time, you have to make priorities. Put yourself in
my shoes . . would your priority be a paper that was due in four days or
getting yourself ready to play a game in front of 90,000 people in two days?
Identity Processing Style
Steve uses wishful thinking and hoping as strategies for dealing with his
academics. Steve uses other avoidant-oriented coping strategies such as distancing.
Steve approaches many of his difficult assignments with an emotion-focused
technique. At the beginning of the semester, Steve really didn’t take any time for
introspection. Steve managed all identity relevant decisions by hoping. Steve seemed
to possess an elementary ability to be a critical thinker in some areas. However, until
the end of the semester, he showed no ability to self-explore.
Steve is more interested in the quantity of his assignment (i.e., meeting the
page requirement) than the quality of the work. He admits that his assignments are
sometimes sloppy. Plainly put, Steve uses avoidant coping strategies. Steve’s
decisions turn into action at the last moment possible and at that point it is much too
little much too late. Moreover, Steve lets daily events dictate his decisions, and he

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shows a very limited grasp of any form of complex planning. During the middle of the
semester, Steve seems to be suffering from a slight state of withdraw. His sessions
become very short, and he states that he doesn’t really “have too much to say.” I
believe that this was due, in part, to his injury.
After his injury, Steve became a follower and possessed a low levels of self-
exploration. While he is committed to finding a career path, he is unsure of what that
career path is or what it involves. When Steve is faced with challenging situations,
he is reluctant to confront personal problems and often procrastinates in making
decisions, allowing the time to run out on his ability to have any type of say
concerning what is happening to him.
Steve cannot function with any degree of independence within the academic
setting. The focus is totally on football, and, after his injury, his mind set switched
from “playing” to “how to heal quickly.” He has little or no sense of educational
purpose. Since Steve has spent so much time around other football players, he seems
somewhat socially immature with faculty and with other students whose interests lie
outside of the athletic realm. Steve, as with all of the participants, battles
procrastination and situation-specific reactions on every single assignment that is due
regardless of the subject.
Possible Selves
Steve suffers a season ending injury during the fourth game of the season. As
he waited for the confirmation of his injury, I ask him the following questions:

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D: Any fears pop up this week?
I: Ya, I really was scared about the x-ray and MRI, the trainer thinks I broke
my leg. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I broke it. I guess I’ll probably
be out for the season. It kind of scares me to think about the fact that
someone hit or tackled me so hard that it broke my leg. I’ve had small
injuries before but this is a big one and I don’t know what I’m going to do.
D: What do you think is possible for you this year?
I: I don’t know. Every time I’ve seen myself at USC it was in a football
uniform. I don’t know what I am going to do if I don’t have that in my life.
I’ve always seen myself as “in action” and that’s not the case anymore.
Maybe I can just get stronger up top . . . I don’t know.
There is no real mention of any career or major plans during most of the fall
semester. Once the football season was deemed over for Steve, he could not anchor
himself to anything else. His enthusiasm for exploration of majors disappeared, and
he seems lost for the rest of the semester. However, there is a certain amount of
movement within Steve’s ability to introspect and self-explore. How this culminates
in the next semester’s behavior will be interesting to watch and could be a subject for
additional research.
Victor
Victor lived in a university dorm room with one other football player. He had
never met his roommate prior to move-in day fall semester. Victor had come up for
his recruiting visit when no other football players were attending. He did not take

150
any advanced or AP courses in high school. Although he feels that the first two high
schools that he attended were not good, Victor feels that since he has made it through
military school he should “probably” be okay, but quickly adds, if he has some help.
In our first few interviews, Victor presents himself as someone who is very confident
in his athletic ability but not fully confident in his academic ability. He also seems
emotionally immature and battling homesickness.
Challenges-Academic
During most of the interviews, Victor battles with his writing assignments.
The following is an example of the repetitive dialogue regarding the subject:
D: How about your writing class? How are your assignments going?
I: My papers are always too short and my grades are low passes or fails. I
don’t get how to write well. My tutor says things like I have to be more
creative or ask myself more questions, I have to go deeper . . . what does that
mean? Am I suppose to know how to do that?
The tone of the conversation would always turn to anger. Since Victor was
not able to write well, he would become angry at everyone and everything. This is
illustrated in the following passage:
D: Tell me about your academic challenges?
I: My professor talks way too fast and I can’t really understand her ‘cause
she’s not from this country. How am I supposed to do well when I can’t even
understand my professor?

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When I ask Victor what strategies he would use to facilitate the challenges he
faced, he doesn’t seem to understand the question. When I try to equate it to athletics
and use the term “game plan,” Victor immediately get the meaning:
D: So what strategies are you using?
I: What do you mean by “strategies”?
D: What are you doing in order to do well in the class since your teacher talks
so fast? What is your “game plan”?
I: I tried to take some notes, but it didn’t work so now I just sit and listen and
maybe try to get notes from someone else. I just hope when it comes to the
test I can remember everything that the teacher talked about . . . maybe I can
get some help from Mimi [a learning specialist].
In a following interview, Victor talks about the battle that goes on inside
himself when he has an assignment due. This passage addresses the issue of
academic challenges, but also addresses the issue of balance between academic and
athletic demands.
D: Tell me about the battle that goes on inside?
I: When you are in the room and trying to study and you hear the guys or
girls talking and laughing, it’s just so hard to concentrate. You just think,
what am I missing out on? So, I took a lot of breaks and talked to people and
really got nothing done. On Sunday night, I was so tired from Saturday’s
game that I went to bed at 7:30 and didn’t wake up until 8:00 Monday
morning. Tonight I have a mid-term to study for so I’ll try to stay up all night

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. . . it’s hard cause you have practice everyday and that is the immediate thing
so you need sleep now. The work seems to be something that you can put off
cause it’s in the future.
Throughout the entire semester, Victor spent much time looking for the
easiest way to complete assignments. The usually pattern was to look for the easy
way out until the last minute and then throw something together and hope for the
best. Victor would always choose the path that required the least amount of effort or
the path that would rely on the efforts of the learning specialist or tutor. Even during
the final interviews, he failed to comprehend that if he just took the time and put
effort into the task from the beginning he would be halfway finished with the
assignment. Victor never learned the lesson that most of the time the easiest way
falls through and then you are left with nothing.
Challenges-Physical Demands
Victor doesn’t really know what happened after the start of the football
season. He was doing really well during camp. There were lots of sportswriters
around and he was catching passes and returning kick-offs for touchdowns.
However, once the school year started, things seemed to change. Victor has been
getting a little homesick of late, and the physical demands of football have begun to
take their toll along with the fading novelty of being “the new guy.” During camp, all
Victor had to think about was football. Now the reality of academics has interrupted
his “flow.” The last week of practice the team has been in full pads and Victor has
been tackled by teammates that are double his weight and strength. He has never

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been hit by anyone that hard before, and it has shaken his confidence and has
affected his performance. Victor has been dropping passes and feels that he will not
win a starting position. He complains of headaches, injuries, and being tired
constantly during the whole semester.
Challenges-Environmental
Victor is repeating the same type of academic behavior that he used in high
school. The only thing that is different is that his SAAS learning specialist has
replaced Diana from his high school. Generally speaking, he shows up to the
appointments each day and tries to complete the assignments during the course of the
hour long meeting. If the assignment is due the next day, it is the learning specialist
that asks him to come back at night to her office and complete the assignment. The
learning specialist that is covering that night usually stops in to see if he is being
productive. Victor admits that the only time he does any type of academic work is at
SAAS during his appointments. The rest of his day is filled up with classes, eating,
practice, training room, and sleeping. He keeps some of his books in her office or in
the bottom of his football locker.
As Victor prepares for his upcoming tests, he feels that he will perform
adequately. When I ask him why he feels this way, Victor replies that “he has pretty
much gone to all of the classes.” Victor feels that if he attends all the classes he will
pass the class. When Victor received his failing grade, he became somewhat angry at
the whole college process. Victor felt that he shouldn’t be held responsible for things
that the teacher does not go over in class, and he exploded with statements such as:

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Like what the hell is this Blackboard crap . . . they [professors] think you just
know what the hell they are talking about . . . I ain’t never heard of anything
like that. If the teacher wanted us to know something they should just tell us.
Why do have to do searching for it? It’s just another way that the teacher is
trying to beat me down.
Victor feels that “sometimes, somehow, like when I wait and do things late or
in the middle of the night, they turn out really well.” Victor’s strategy for studying
for tests is memorization. This is also the method he uses to remember football plays.
Most of his days are spent studying and trying to memorize all the new football plays
for the upcoming week. Victor doesn’t know the names of any of his teachers, and he
is not sure if the teachers are really professors or if they are TAs. The following
dialogue is an example of the decision-making strategy that Victor employs when he
is faced with an academic challenge:
D: So what about your OT class, how are you doing with that?
I: Well, the teacher is really pissing me off about the amount of work. I mean
come on it’s a two frickin’ credit course, and she is having us do just as much
work as a four credit course.
D: This pisses you off?
I: Yes, the teacher is suppose to not give as much work. Isn’t that some kind
of rule or something? But she keeps on piling on the work and having us do
this final project. So what I’m doing is calculating what my grade would be if
I didn’t do the final project. I just feel that there is a certain amount of effort I

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should be putting out for a two credit course and I have reached that level
already and I don’t want to do anymore.
Time Management
Victor feels that he does not have a time management issues. Victor has no
problem getting to weights, practice, the training room, and the bus on time. His
problem is procrastination with things that he really doesn’t want to do. Victor tells
me throughout the whole semester that he is not into keeping up with all his work.
He explains that he just tries to keep up with football. Victor tells me that he tries to
keep up with his classes, but it’s too hard with something he’s not into. When asked
about this specific subject, Victor responds:
D: Do you think you do well with your ability to allot time for your
assignments?
I: Umm, I think I did okay for the amount of papers I had due ‘cause I kept
thinking and talking about all the papers I had to write, but I lost my
motivation to start or continue to write through all of the papers. Over the
past week, it kept growing to the point where my head started going crazy
and I’m just going to sleep and turning it in and trying to have a good day
tomorrow, but when you turn it in they tell you about the next paper that you
have to write. Um, I think the challenge was to schedule your time around
those papers, you really don’t have much free time at all. You basically lost
all of your free time that you usually have . . . it just means I have to practice
focusing for longer periods of time, but it’s just too much.

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Strategies
At the beginning of the semester, Victor’s strategies are summed up in the
following passage:
D: What do you think it’s going to be like in your classes?
I: I think that I’ll do okay. I think that the classes might be somewhat
interesting. I think if I go to class, hand in some assignments, and listen that I
will do well.
All Victor feels he needs to do at college is attend class, listen, and turn in
some of the assignments and the professor will give him “at least a C for the class.”
When questioned about this strategy after about 2 to 3 weeks had passed, Victor
informs me that the strategy really didn’t work due to the fact that it was very hard
for him to do the work that the tutor asked him to do in between the appointments.
He claims that just “too much stuff gets in the way of me doing the work.” When
asked about what stuff, he lists many examples of daily living activities and small
social encounters and football related events, such as doctor’s appointments and film
analysis.
As the semester progresses and the work tends to pile up, Victor’s strategy
towards all of his academic work is summarized in the following passage:
D: So you know what to do . . . so why don’t you do it?
I: I just want to minimize the task of studying. I don’t enjoy it at all. For me, I
know that studying is going to be painful and I want to put it off until the last
possible second. I don’t see where it’s going to get me. I know where doing

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well in football is going to get me, but I have no idea where getting a
“degree” is going to get me.
When faced with the reality of this strategy not producing adequate results,
Victor responds with the following:
D: How are you processing in your head not doing well with your classes?
I: I’m handling it just fine because I know that I didn’t put effort into getting
the grade, and I knew that the classes are kind of challenging and that I didn’t
really understand the professor. So I am like, “Okay, if this happens again,
it’s really going to be not very good.” But somehow I just hope I’ll get by
with help from my tutors and learning specialists.
When asked specifically about his strategy for his theater class, Victor states:
D: So how are you going to strategize to do better in your theater class?
I: I studied with a girl one time that takes such good notes, much better than
mine. . . so I think I’m going to hook up with her from now on and see if she
can help me with the test.
Balancing Academic, Athletic, and Social
I ask Victor to tell me about the challenges of balancing all the different areas
of his life at college. Victor explains that there is just so much stuff involved in all
three of these areas that he just focuses on one main thing in each area. Victor
enlightens me that everyone thinks it’s difficult, he just thinks it’s simple. I then ask
Victor to prioritize the three areas and list for me the one thing in each area that

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governs his actions. Victor places football first and states that “this is the reason that
I am here at this school.” He continues:
I didn’t get recruited because of good grades, I got recruited because of my
football talent. If I didn’t have football talent I would not be let into this
school. So that is why my priority is football. If I don’t excel at football none
of the other two areas matter at all, plus this is the area that I do the best, no
one likes to be forced to do things that they suck at, I suck at school, always
have, always will. As far as next would be social . . . everyone always said to
me that college was going to be fun, everyone always talked to me about
football and college not football and classes. Third would be academics . . . it
was just never that important . . . the only time it was important was to get
cleared by the Clearinghouse . . . and that came up during like my senior year
of high school.
As the semester is winding down, I ask him to sum up his balancing strategy.
Victor says that it would be focus on football, try to fit in as much as you can with
friends and “the ladies,” and do what you have to do to get by in the classroom.
Reflecting on Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
Victor did not comprehend that writing was such a big part of college. In high
school, writing was a big part of one class, English. However, all of the other classes
did not require any writing. He claims that all of his other classes in high school had
tests, like math and science. Victor has noticed that a lot of what you need to do in
college involves writing. He states that “you have to write all different types of

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essays and papers for all your different classes. I just don’t think I’m capable of that.
I feel like it’s pretty much a waste of time to do that.” Victor’s perception of his
writing in high school was that it was “fair.” But now he feels like it’s at a different
level. In high school, he felt that it was grammar and punctuation, but now writing is
about telling the story. He doesn’t know if he can do “that.”
When asked about the global differences between high school and college,
Victor responds with the following:
D: So is college academics what you thought it was going be?
I: I thought it was going to be overwhelming, and I was just going to try to
control the chaos. Well, what I found out is that it is overwhelming, but I
can’t control anything. Everything keeps coming at you at such a fast pace.
You need to do everything so quickly. I can’t keep anything straight.
Attempting to Changing Academic Behavior
At the beginning of the semester, Victor tries to “persuade” or “con” his
female friends into completing assignments for him. His thinking is that the girls
would want to help him out since he was a star football player. When this strategy
didn’t work, he went through homesickness, followed by irate anger regarding
anything having to do with academics.
Victor feels like he has tried to change before but “it” has failed, so he really
doesn’t try anymore. At the beginning of the semester, his academic behavior could
be categorized as doing just “what he needs to do to get by.” During the middle part
of the semester, I broach the subject again:

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D: Do you think you have changed your academic behavior since the start of
the semester?
I: A little . . . but when it comes to studying for mid-terms and finals . . . not
at all . . . I know I need to change that.
D: So you need to change it but you don’t. Why?
I: I don’t know, I think. I’m pretty sure it’s mental. I guess when it comes to
studying, you know that if you study it’s going to be good for you but when
you don’t see that effect right away or you always think you are going to
remember stuff and then you just procrastinate and then it comes down to the
wire and you realize you don’t know the stuff and then it is like “Oh no, I
hope I do well on this test.”
D: But before that when you know what to do and you are not doing it, what
are you saying to yourself?
I: I said that I can do this, I can wait, I’ll remember this better if I study it
right before the test . . . then I think maybe I’ll try to change my behavior. I
go back and forth. But someone told me once that it is kind of like getting
into the zone with running. You just tell yourself that you are not tired and
you can do anything.
Victor feels that he doesn’t know if he is capable of changing his academic
behavior. He feels like this is something that you have inside you that you have
learned somewhere along the way. Victor doesn’t feel that he has learned that yet so
he is clueless in this area. He also really doesn’t want to learn it at this late stage of

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the game; his future is football. He gets angry when the expectations of the teacher
are something that he feels he can not do. He asks: “How can I be responsible for
something that I didn’t get in life? I got to focus on what I have been given and that
is talent in football.”
Identity Processing Style
Victor approaches any identity relevant problems related to academics by
doing a lot of avoiding and distancing of himself from the problem. Victor responds
with anger as opposed to introspection. His anger is focused on everything around
him. He feels powerless and uses the strategy of hoping, while remaining inactive.
Victor is not handling the changes in his academic environment. He often talks about
his high school counselor, Diana, and experiences that happened during their
academic sessions. After the second week of the semester, Victor verbally shut down
during his sessions and showed signs of homesickness.
Victor has no idea how he decides upon a course of action. Perhaps his
decisions regarding his behavior are just like his decisions he makes on the football
field, “you just react and go where ever you see running room.” Victor displays
avoidance behavior in all of his academic assignments. He approaches assignments
casually with no sense of urgency, and the results are always a poor grade. Victor
uses self-handicapping frequently throughout the semester. Victor tries to distance
himself from the actual work that he needs to perform in order to complete any
assignments. Victor allows avoidance and the “running out of time” to push him into

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making a decision regarding assignments. He has become the master of trying to find
the easy way out of every assignment.
Possible Selves
During the beginning of the semester, his pathway towards the football career
and possible selves was foremost on Victor’s agenda. His physical talent had been
the talk of the preseason camp, and Victor was very aware of this fact. The idea of a
career in sports broadcasting was not really discussed at all. When I would mention it
in reference to the courses that he was taking, Victor had no patience for the
conversation. He dismissed it as a secondary option that could be picked and used at
a moment’s notice. As the semester progressed, the hoopla and fanfare that had
Victor in the spotlight during the preseason faded. Still, Victor never really thought
of sports broadcasting as a serious career for himself. It was his fall-back option that
had no connection to courses now or course choices in the future.
The following is Victor’s response when asked about his academic possible
self.
D: Do you think that what you thought was academically possible is still
possible?
I: Ya, but probably a little lower cause my writing is so bad and even though
I got a lot of low passes, I think I can still pass the class so that okay. I doubt
I can get the grades I thought I could get . . . when I go to write a paper . . . I
just struggle and I know it’s just something that I don’t have . . . you know
like a great writing style, a great writing whatever . . . I think writing is going

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to totally screw me in college, ‘cause writing is such a big part of college.
However, I do think I’ll be able to get by even though I can write very well.
D: So you still think a 2.5 is something that you can obtain?
I: Well maybe around a 2.0 is more like it. I think that is what I need each
semester . . . so if I get maybe one B and a couple C’s, then I can get one D. I
think I can do that.
I ask Victor what he thinks is possible for him at this school. He answers that
he doesn’t really see himself graduating after 4 years. He really doesn’t want to work
that hard to push it to 4 years. He maybe could see himself graduating in 5 if he takes
a redshirt year and can still play.
Victor holds tight to his career plan of being a professional football player
throughout the entire semester. Even in the face of the reality of such a small
percentage making it to the NFL, Victor truly believes that he will be one of the
selected few. He is realistic about his limitations in academics and enthusiastic about
his prowess in football. If he fails at the career path he has chosen, so be it. He feels
that he will probably be able to land a job after college with or without his degree. I
asked him why he feels that way, and he replies that somebody will give him a job at
the university due to his exposure with football. He feels towards the end of the
semester that maybe he could even get a job coaching here.
Richard
Richard lives in the university dorms with one other football player as his
roommate. Richard thinks his high school has semiprepared him for college, but to

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him that doesn’t matter because he is “going to handle anything they have to throw at
him.” Richard did not take any advanced or AP courses during his 4 years in high
school. Although Richard speaks about his confidence, to me his anger illustrates
that he is less than confident and ultimately very unsure of his academic abilities.
Challenges-Academic
From our first meeting Richard’s way of hiding his academic short comings
is with anger and false confidence. When speaking about school work and
assignments, Richard always replies with either anger towards the teachers or
circumstances or aggressive somewhat loud self-confidence that “he will get it
done.” Yet, with Richard the word never translates into action. Richard has mastered
avoidance behavior in that he waits until the last minute to do everything. He
completes his academic assignments in a state of panic, becoming angrier and
angrier with each failed attempt at completion. Richard complains that “things just
come at you so fast, my head just spins . . . I just get all clogged up in my head.” In
the following, Richard talks more in depth about this feeling:
D: So now is the beginning of the third week, tell me about your experience
thus far in the area of academics.
I: Well, so far, I feel like I’m so far behind cause everything is moving so
fast. A lot of the lectures move so fast I can’t take notes. You got teachers . . .
they are flying though the information so I can’t take notes. So I’m trying to
write down what’s on the board and understand everything that he is saying

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and I get so confused and a lot of the time I end up sitting there and just like,
I have no idea what is happening.
Richard feels that the only thing that he can do is to sit and listen and hope to
remember the information when it comes to “test time.”
When I ask Richard about other academic issues he responds with the
following:
D: Tell me some specific challenge that you have encountered now that we
are mid-way through the semester?
I: I can’t handle all the reading. I’ve never had to read this much. I try to read
at night, and I just fall asleep. So now I just don’t try to read at all. If the
teacher asks something that was in the reading, I’ll just guess at the answer
and if I get it wrong than I’m okay with that.
Richard sees no way that he can have any control over these academic
problems. In some cases, when faced with this dilemma, he becomes hostile; in other
instances he becomes aggressively self-confident. As with all of the participants in
this study, his dialogue each week tends to make no sense, even after clarification, or
it contradicts what has been said in the interview the week before. In Richard’s
interviews, he is all over the place with his thinking about the academic, social, and
emotional aspects of his behavior. His thinking regarding much in his life is
situational and determined by what has happened that week or that day. He is
somewhat immature and has explored nothing in his life outside of football. Yet he

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gives off the persona of being vehemently committed. He is committed to football
but to nothing else.
Challenges-Physical Demands
Richard experiences his world in a physical way. He is always aware of his
strength and physique. During all the interviews, Richard would spend time flexing
his muscles and feeling his body. In the beginning of our interviews, he felt like he
was getting into the best physical shape of his life and this was exciting to Richard.
He stated that he was “going all out in camp.” However, after the first few weeks and
subsequent scrimmages Richard started to fatigue greatly. Richard thought his body
was betraying him, and it was all he could think about. Since he was he so fatigued
and tired, every available second he could find in the day he would sleep. Richard’s
anxiety level was high due to the fact that he was worried about making it through
the next practice and “proving his worth to the coaching staff.” His academics took a
back seat almost immediately. Richard would talk about assignments with his
learning specialists for weeks prior to their due date. However, the only time he
started to actually do any work on his assignments was 2 to 3 days before they were
due.
At the beginning of the semester, Richard loved the physical nature of
practice and lifting. However, that love soon dissipated when the pain of practice and
lifting set in. Richard’s body, like the other participants’ bodies, could not handle the
physical demands of both football and academics. Richard illustrates one of his
challenges in this passage:

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I mean, I just try, you know. I just have trouble focusing when I am so tired.
So if I’m sitting down trying to read a book and what not, my mind will just
start to drift, not even a little drift to a different topic . . . but I could be
reading and I could like blackout when I’m reading. I could read a paragraph
and when I get to the second paragraph, it’s like I didn’t even read the first. I
start a book and I just can’t finish it. I have to read things three or four times
and it gets so frustrating and so time consuming . . . I will just quit and work
on an assignment that is due that week. I think it’s a waste for me to try to
read at all.
Challenges-Environment
During the first half of the semester, Richard’s responses to questions
regarding his environment and how it affects him were “I don’t know.” It wasn’t
until the ninth or tenth week of classes that he was able to articulate some of his
feelings.
D: Tell me about the distractions within the environment around you?
I: My mind has been all over the place since the start of school. I feel a lot of
family pressures and relationship pressures. There is the pressure to be an
individual, but there is also this pressure to hook up with girls. I have a lot of
pressures with living arrangements, I’m kind of thinking about getting
another roommate for spring and what I am going to do about that.
Psychology it’s kind of a hard thing . . . you are in a new environment . . . it’s
challenging to make friends, go to classes, and be an athlete. You are kind of

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all over the place, you kind of want to be established but you not quite
established with anyone yet, it kind of makes you feel insecure.
Later in the semester, Richard is able to elaborate even further some of the
social aspects of school and football and the isolation he feels from the rest of the
university students.
D: What about your social circle?
I: I really just hang out with other football players. You really don’t know
what the other people on the floor are after. They have like popcorn and
movie night, but you just aren’t really too sure about them. Coach’s rule #1 is
to protect the team at all times. We really just hang out together ‘cause we
got to watch each other’s backs.
D: What does rule #1 mean to you?
I: We are high profile, everybody is trying to take us down, you know chicks,
other students, reporters . . . we have to keep close . . . protect the team.
Time Management
When asked about his time management skills, Richard feels that he really is
not equipped with any skills related to time. He claims that he has had issues with
time his whole life, which gives me the impression that Richard feels that there is not
much that he can do to change his behavior. His repetitive issues with time
management are illuminated in this lengthy passage:
I used to be really good with time when I was younger. Then about when I
was 12 or 13 I started to go downhill. In high school, with my assignments, I

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would say okay, I have to write a paper that is due next week and it’s
Monday and I have another paper due next Friday. I can either watch TV or
start my paper, so I watch TV. Then the next night, it’ll be the same thing
because I got a whole week left. The next thing you know it’s the weekend
and you know my friends all want to hang out, so I’ll hang out with them.
Monday rolls around and I begin to panic, and I start saying to myself I’m so
far behind, I’m screwed, and I have no idea how I am going to get these
papers done.
Strategies
By the middle of the semester, Richard is beginning to identify that he needs
to put in a substantial amount of time in order to write papers. I ask how he
strategizes when he does not get his homework completed during his tutoring
sessions. At the mid-point of the semester, Richard answers by saying that he would
just wait until tomorrow or the next scheduled appointment with a tutor or learning
specialist to complete the assignment. During the final weeks of the semester,
Richard advances to the point where he understands that he needs to “try” to work on
assignments outside of SAAS. When the topic arose regarding all of the assignments
that where in need of completion prior to the last day of class, Richard responds that
he will “just try to go to the library and write some stuff,” and he “hopes” that he
doesn’t waste much time with his parents getting ready for the football game.
When asked to further articulate his “new” strategy, Richard replies that he
now starts to think about his paper before the due date. “I kind of just keep my

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thoughts up in my head . . . sometime I write a little bit down with my tutor but most
of it is half written down and half in my head,” states Richard. I ask him how this is
different from his old strategy. He explains that he used to float day-by-day in
school. Now, he plans a little beforehand and actually thinks about assignments
before they are due. For Richard, this is a large step. At the beginning of the
semester, he felt that the action of showing up to class and handing in anything
would get him at least a passing grade. Now he feels differently and realizes he
needs to begin putting in some “serious effort” into his work. When I asked him to
explain “serious effort,” he states, “You know, like, thinking about the paper before I
try to write it.”
Balancing Academic, Athletic, and Social
Richard feels that his social and athletics are more important than academics.
Picking classes that he doesn’t feel will be that hard so I can focus on my athletics
and social life. Didn’t want to be stress with a lot of work because you thought it was
more important to focus on making friends and athletics. College is supposed to be
fun and academics killed time during the day. Traveling is kind of hard. We bring
our books but its hard to focus. You naturally just hand out with friends. Talk to all
the media that are there. Coach says it all about the team and you need to have time
with the team. The focus is on winning the game and representing the
university…that is why you are there. In college there is a lot of catching up, right
from the beginning. You never felt like you were in control but in football I always

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felt like I was in control In both high school and now in college I just do the
minimum and what is due for the next class.
Reflecting on Entry Beliefs and Perceptions
Richard thought he would be able to handle the challenges of college even
though he knew that his school did not prepare him very well. The amount of effort
that he put into high school was nothing compared to what was necessary in college.
This understanding or comprehension of the effort was beyond him. With respect to
the reading Richard feels that:
Yeah, it’s different in high school when everything that’s given to you is key
and very important. There were no handouts that you’re given that you don’t
need to know for the test. Here, you are given everything. The reading is a
lot. In high school, I would do half of the reading and still get the gist of
what’s going on. Try that here and you miss 90% of everything.
With reference to his papers, Richard is frustrated by his bad grades.
Although the comments from the TA are that his papers are getting better, he is still
not receiving passing grades. At the beginning of the semester, Richard was having
trouble with sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation. His papers were
receiving no-pass grades. By mid-semester his fundamentals had improved
significantly, yet he was rewarded with only low-pass grades. His frustration comes
with the fact that he has made vast improvement but is not rewarded by a passing
grade. By the end of the semester, Richard’s enthusiasm to write begins to diminish
greatly, since he still is not receiving regular passing grades. Although his entry

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beliefs were that he would be able to handle anything that the teachers throw at him,
Richard feels that the writing is just beyond his comprehension. He states, “And I’m
just having trouble analyzing my papers. I think I’m doing it but I guess I’m not. I
think it comes from high school or something. I think that maybe I didn’t get that in
high school. It’s a smack in the face.” The fatigue factor seems to play a big role in
his frustration and willingness to persevere with all of his assignments.
Attempts to Changing Academic Behavior
At the beginning of the semester, Richard didn’t listen to anyone who stated
that he had to change his behavior because everyone had told him that all during high
school. They told him that if he didn’t change his behavior and start putting in more
effort he was never going to graduate from high school. Richard never changed, and
he made it through high school. So, now when people are saying the same things to
him he really doesn’t believe it. This scenario is true for all of the participants. They
have been told all through high school that they would have to change their academic
behavior. For the most part, none changed and they were all still able to graduate.
Thus, when they hear the same message again in college, they don’t feel that they
truly have to change.
Throughout the entire semester, Richard feels that the days are filled with so
much anxiety and pressure that he feels overwhelmed. The following is a typical
scenario that plays out night after night for Richard and illustrates his perception of
his inability to change:

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I’d think that I need to get thing done, like papers or reading or studying, like
what we have talked about, you know, changing my behavior . . . and I really
want to do it. But I get down to SAAS and I’ve had a really long day . . . and
it’s been filled with a lot of stress and just like tons of stuff, and I’m just so
tired . . . I just feel so overwhelmed and I just need to relax . . . so I just take
time for myself and I tell myself that I’ll get to all that tomorrow night
because tomorrow will be a less stressful day and I won’t be as tired, but the
next day I feel the same way. I try to slow things down, but it never works.
This just happens again and again until it’s the day before the assignments
due and now I’m tired and I just try to get it done. At this point in time, I’m
just thinking that I don’t need to get a good grade, I just need to get
something done so I will get a passing grade.
Richard knows that he needs to change but doesn’t know how to change. He
explains that the whole semester his tutors tell him that he needs to finish this
assignment by this time and write an outline by that date. But Richard remains
frustrated because no one shows him how to do it. Richard explains that he doesn’t
want someone to write the paper for him, but he needs guidance to accomplish this
and learn the step-by-step process. This frustration and ignorance is shared by many
of the participants. They need more than a tutor can provide for them and more than
the NCAA will allow for them.
The follow dialogue is just another illustration of the frustration that Richard
feels when asked about his lack of change regarding his academic behavior.

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D: What do you think you can do to change your academic behavior?
I: The thing is, I know what I’m doing wrong, I know what I need to fix it,
but I’ll say to myself, I gotta stay in and get this stuff done. So it’s Thursday
night and it’s 6:00 and I want to go out at 9 so I stay in to get three hours of
work done. But in these three hours I’ll probably do about a half an hour of
true work. I’ll say that I need to eat before studying, so I’ll go to Wendy’s
and that will take an hour and I’ll just wander around the dorm room for
around 20 minutes at a time, I’ll gaze out the window for a half hour, etc. So
I’m trying to change by behavior by staying in for 4 hours, but how do I get
help with the other stuff? How can you get help with only being able to get
two paragraphs typed when I stayed in for 4 hours? I don’t think anybody can
help you with that. All I want to do is talk and think about football.
Identity Processing Style
Richard demonstrates avoidance behavior when faced with any type of
identity relevant academic problems or decisions. At the beginning of the semester,
whenever he is faced with questions that would require the smallest amount self-
exploration, Richard possesses no ability to self-explore. His answers during our
interview sessions lack any depth and are filled with numerous clichés and sarcasm.
Richard’s anger is focused on other’s actions which in turn “make him stronger,”
because “sometimes everyone is against you.” This makes him feel powerful.
However, Richard is naive about the process of academic decision-making, and his
thought process is uncomplicated and simple. He does not spend time thinking or

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planning in advance what he needs to do in order to complete his class assignments.
Richard has it listed in his head, but it never moves away from this one-dimensional
item. Richard is lackadaisical in the way he completes his academic assignments,
and his decision strategies regarding his class assignments could be categorized as
maladaptive. However, despite all this, he is very calculating in regard to his athletic
decisions.
Although somewhat withdrawn at first, Robert became increasingly
combative towards everything academic. Towards the middle-to-end of the semester,
he seemed at times like he was ready to blow. It seemed as though Robert was at war
with the academic world and that he thought he could succeed by using his physical
prowess to beat his academic shortcomings. Richard expressed a dysfunctional
cognitive strategy in the aggressive way he dealt with assignments, with tutors, and
with studying for tests. On numerous occasions, one decision made in haste would be
in direct contrast to another rash decision. All he was here for was to keep himself
academically eligible during his football career.
Possible Selves
Richard’s career plans are to enter the draft and be selected to play in the
National Football League. He really doesn’t see an end goal or accomplishment for
his academic self. He just needs to keep himself eligible in order to showcase his
football talents. His passion is football, and there is nothing else in his life that he
feels so passionately about and can do so well. The environment is telling him he is
not a very good student and that he is a very great football player. Why else would

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he be recruited by a university that has ranked in the top 4 in the nation for the last 4
years? Why would he pursue anything else, and who are we for trying to tell him
anything different? As Richard states, “Concentrate more on being a C student,
please give me a break, I’d rather concentrate more on being an A+ football
professional.
Richard’s possible self is to be a professional football player, and he is
working day after day on his career plans. He studies plays, lifts weights, and gives
his all in practices. Richard has also situated himself in the LA market that has an
enormous amount of media coverage. Although he will play a limited amount during
his freshman year, Richard knows that he needs to keep himself eligible in order to
play his sophomore year and his critical junior year. He is not spending any more
time than he needs to on his academics, because he must become a specialist in his
field in order to excel. His mother and relatives have always told him to find out
what he is good at and go after it with all your heart. This is what Richard is doing.
This is Richard’s possible self.
Summary of Beliefs and Perception throughout Semester
Within this study there was an enormous amount of data that was collected.
Being mindful of my original purpose of this study, I would like to summarize the
relevant finding as it pertains to beliefs and perceptions throughout the semester.
At first when I first met the participant’s during the initial interview, their
behavior was somewhat arrogant. They all thought that they were going to start
because that was what they were told by the coaching staff. The athlete’s knew that

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they were the number #1 recruiting class in the nation and tried hard to mask their
academic shortcomings with their athletic accolades. The participant’s asked me
who else was participating in the study and occasionally wanted to know what the
other football players were saying. Right from the beginning of the semester the
students were interested in how they were comparing to the other participants in the
study. As the initial interview progressed, the student’s became aware of my
knowledge of their academic history and also the confidentiality of the other
participants responses.
All the students believed that their high school weren’t the best as far as
academically preparing them for college. This left the participant’s uncertain of their
ability or have a false sense of their academic ability in college. All subject believed
that they were told that they were going to receive help from SAAS in order to
succeed during their first year at school. The student’s perception of this was that
someone was going to help them with assignments, almost along the line of actually
completing their assignments for them. Usually the reality that SAAS will provide
only guidance hits the student’s during week three or four as they were writing their
first papers or studying for their first exams. By the third or fourth week of the
semester the students had given up any small attempt that they had made to read
assignments. In all of their classes they wanted to be told what they needed to know
for the test and shown how to do their assignments. They did not want to have to
gain that knowledge through reading it in a book or syllabi.

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Although each student experienced the first semester in different ways there
were similar beliefs and perceptions among all the participants. A common thread
that ran through all of the participant’s interviews during the first half of the semester
with respect to beliefs and perceptions is that their beliefs and perceptions were
always dynamic and sometimes contradictory. This could be due to the fact that the
subjects felt that they were being bombarded with new information from every area
of their lives (athletic, academic, social) and they did not possess the skills to steer
through these times. This inability always led to a feeling of being overwhelmed,
confused, and frustrated. What was their belief and perception one week was
dramatically different from their belief and perception the next week with both sets
of beliefs sometimes contradicting one another. In the first quarter of the semester,
one week a participant would come in and feel like they had gotten everything
figured out and under control. The next week the same subject would appear angry
and blame everyone else for their failures. Yet another week the individuals would
appear depressed and remorseful. Two of the individuals were highly emotional as
they progressed through the first semester of school.
The subjects would appear to be spinning in these cycles and it was evident
that these individuals did not have the skills to stop the spiral. Basically, their beliefs
and perceptions were all over the place and thus their behavior followed. Each week
for most of these interviews, I never knew what I was getting. However these pecks
and valleys of emotion and behavior seemed in part to replicate their participation
and successes in football practices or games. At other times the pecks and valleys

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resembled their stress and fatigue level in their academic, athletic and social
environment.
The participants were concerned about changing their behavior to some small
degree. Attempts were made in the beginning of the semester to understand and
navigate the academic slope at the college level but these attempts are soon
abandoned and survival mode kicked in. From week one to week three, the
subject’s were overwhelmed with the speed that information was hitting them. They
did not have the coping mechanisms to handle these aspects of transition to college
football, life and academics. From week three to week five, the subjects would
appear somewhat confident that they were going to be able to manage the academics.
Perhaps they were still operating under the false perception of academic support
services or perhaps they were thinking that they may indeed have the ability to
change and be good students, it was just never brought out in high school.
By the end of the week five, once the first round of mid-term test grades
came back, all subjects strictly focused on how they were going to survive as
opposed to how they were going to change. They just want to identify how they are
going to survive and who are the people that are going to help me get through it.
They come to the understanding that they are not going to be successful on their own
and they need to just avoid failing their first semester. They also seemed as though
they longed for the routine and safety of their high school setting. During the first
semester the participants had not internalized any new coping strategies, so they

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relied on old strategies that they had used in high school which was plagiarizing
papers, looking off other people test papers or locating people to help them survive.
During the weeks that the student-athlete’s felt as though they had everything
under control, their perception was that all they would have to do is sit and listen to
the class instructor, then go down to SAAS and someone would help you with your
assignments. They all believed that they were going to receive help in order to
survive college academics. Although not stated directly, the perception of SAAS
was that this was the place that was going to help the student’s with all of their
writing assignments. I believe that this belief was instilled within them during their
official visits during their high school year and also from the impression left by other
institutions recruiting them. When the reality that the staff at academic services
would not be doing their work for them, the focus became locating another
individual to help them along with their work.
The students felt a lot of anxiety regarding their academic place amongst the
team. The participants did not want to be perceived as the dumbest one on the team.
They did not want to standout as the one with the most academic issues, they wanted
to blend in. They also had anxiety and sometime anger towards the academic world
of the university. Perhaps this could be a carry over from their high school years.
The students seemed in a desperate struggle to survive and maintain their past
identities as athletes, with their dysfunctional (yet high school successful) ways of
coping with academics, with this ‘new’ identity of a collegiate student-athlete. This

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threat to their identity was mostly directed towards the University, faculty and
occasionally athletic academic personnel.
Their lack of academic behavior leads to anxiety, frustration and anger. This
leads to emotionally based coping mechanism such as procrastination. They blame
teachers for not explaining and showing them what to do. They blame SAAS for not
helping them as much as they thought they were going to. By the middle of the
semester, they seem to focus less on blaming and more on locating others outside of
the academic services to help them. They seemed to have gone somewhat
‘underground’ and have taken matters into their own hands. The dialogue that was
quoted in much of these interviews took place within the first half of the semester
when they were still making attempts in their academic worlds. After that time,
during the interviews, three of the four subjects would no longer specifically discuss
academics and focus more on themselves and general college environment.
Basically most of the participants believed that they had been pushed out of
high school ill prepared to handle college work and possess limited academic skills
regarding being a student. While these weaknesses have been masked by the ability
to graduate high school, they were exposed immediately in college due to the nature
of a highly selective academic environment. The attempts to change their academic
behavior illustrates the lack of knowledge that these students have about themselves
and their behavior. This leads to highly emotional responses from these students and
they rely on emotionally based coping mechanisms. They procrastinate, blame

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others and ultimately wind up relying on academic plagiarism and cheating to
survive.

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CHAPTER 5
EMERGENT THEMES

Data analyses as described in the methods section produced five thematic
categories from the interview data. These five themes provide insight into the
participants’ lived experiences. The thematic categories are as follows: (a) physical
exhaustion and sleep deprivation, (b) chronic procrastination, (c) inability to
understand scholarly academic effort, (d) diffused identity processing style, and (e)
disconnect between academic possible selves and career. Since some of the emergent
themes have not been discussed previously, a brief literature review of the current
research, on each of these specific thematic category will be presented.
Accompanying this will be dialogue from each participant to illustrate the five
themes through the participants’ shared experiences. A summary discussion
regarding implications of each category and how the research pertains to the subjects
will also be included.
Physical Exhaustion, Sleep Deprivation, and Cognition
Whereas researchers have examined stress extensively in university students,
exhaustion studies involving students are relatively few. Exhaustion has been looked
at in occupational studies regarding job burnout. Unlike stress in general, which at
certain levels can produce positive and negative affects on performance, exhaustion
results in only negative outcomes. Researchers have associated exhaustion with

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adverse physical and emotional problems, deterioration of interpersonal
relationships, negative attitudes towards others, absenteeism, reduced performance,
and turnover. Extensive research has shown that fatigue from exercise has effects on
cognitive and decision-making ability. It has been suggested that fatigue and
exhaustion due to exercise has a negative effect on a person’s cognitive and decision-
making performance. For student-athletes, fatigue and exhaustion are prevalent
themes within their lives because of the intense physical nature of their sport.
Physical Exhaustion
Cian et al. (2000) studied cognition in participants after running 2 hours at
60% of their VO2 maximum. Participants were allowed to drink during the exercise
in order to protect against dehydration. The results showed that the participants’
tracking abilities along with perceptual discrimination and short-term memory
functioning were impaired. Even after a 2-hour recovery period following hydration,
the subject tracking was still impaired and free-recall memory was impaired. Cian et
al. (2003) performed numerous other studies that elaborated on his earlier findings
that extended exercise that leads to dehydration compromises both information
processing and memory functions. Delignieres et al. (1994) reported declines in
cognitive performance as a function of exercise intensity for high caliber fencers.
Issacs and Pohlman (1991) had participants run on a treadmill to voluntary
exhaustion. They found degradation of participants’ coincidence-timing performance
and coincidence-anticipation timing performance. Intense exercise appears to have
transient detrimental effects on processes that control response preparation.

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Tennebaum et al. (1993) measured problem-solving ability in 40 elite handball
players and found that exercising to exhaustion significantly diminished the
participants’ ability to perform math problems. Phillips (2005) conducted a
phenomenological study of the emotional experience of freshman student-athletes at
a Division I university. This study examined the experiences of males in revenue and
nonrevenue sports, focusing on their own perceptions and descriptions of their lives
and needs as student-athletes. Results of the interviews and considerations of the
drawings produced in the study indicate that the following areas were prominent
themes for student-athletes: exhaustion, isolation, stereotyping, misconceptions
about their population, and racial and academic issues.
Gopinathan and her colleagues performed a series of experiments that were
prompted by the observation that thermal stress manipulations producing
dehydration and more than a 2% loss in body weight resulted in significant declines
in cognitive performance (Gopinathan, Pichan, & Sharma, 1988). Exercise that led to
dehydration led to significantly poorer performance during a psychomotor tracking
task and during a short-term memory digit-span test and participants responded more
slowly during a perceptual-discrimination task. In summary, long bouts of exercise
that lead to dehydration and its accompanying metabolic changes are associated with
impaired information processing and cognition.
Sleep Deprivation
For many beginning college students, sleep schedules are one of the first
daily habits to change (Pilcher, Ginter, & Sadowsky, 1997). For student-athletes, the

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effect of sleep issues are compounded due to the demands of athletic participation.
Between 1969 and 2001, the median hours of sleep reported by students dropped
from 7.75 to 6.65. Within the nation’s university population, surveys show that only
6.6% of all students in 2001 reported that they sleep for any consistent length of time
(Hicks, Fernandez, & Pellegrini, 2001b). Research conducted on college students has
found that most college students typically have high variability in their sleep
schedules and that sleep-related problems are common.
Restricted sleep time affects many different aspects of waking cognitive
performance, but especially behavioral alertness. Performance on psychomotor
vigilance tasks requiring careful attention is very sensitive to sleep loss in general
and sleep restriction in particular. Many experiments have demonstrated that sleep
deprivation increases behavioral lapses during performance. Behavioral alertness as
measured by psychomotor vigilance tasks has proven to be very sensitive to sleep
restriction. In the experiment by Belenky and colleagues, 10 commercial truck
drivers were kept in the laboratory for 14 days and randomized to seven nights of 3,
5, 7, or 9 hours of sleep per night. Those on the 3- and 5-hour cycle had growing
daytime deficits over the week in response to speed and number of lapses on the
psychomotor vigilance task and working memory performance. Participants allowed
7 hours of sleep per night had a significant decrease in psychomotor vigilance task
response speed. A similar finding was observed for cognitive capacity performance
on a working memory task.

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One study estimated that college students manifest symptoms of delayed
sleep phase syndrome at a percentage twice that of the general population (Brown,
Soper, & Buboltz, 2001). Restricting sleep below an individual’s optimal time in bed
can cause a range of neurobehavioral deficits, including lapses of attention, slowed
working memory, reduced cognitive throughput, depressed mood, and perseveration
of thought. Neurobehavioral deficits accumulate across days of partial sleep loss to
levels equivalent to those found after 1 to 3 nights of total sleep loss. Recent
experiments reveal that following days of chronic restriction of sleep duration below
7 hours per night, significant daytime cognitive dysfunction accumulates to levels
comparable to that found after severe acute total sleep deprivation.
Results of one study suggested that students who tend to fall asleep in school
or who experienced high levels of sleepiness during the day were significantly more
likely to experience decreased academic performance, negative mood states,
psychological difficulty, and increased vulnerability to substance use (Jean-Louis,
von Gizycki, Zizi, & Nunes, 1998). The same results also suggested that there is a
significant relationship that exists between poor sleep and anxiety, depression, and
cognitive arousal. In addition, sleep patterns have been shown to have a significant
relationship with stress (Cartwright & Wood, 1991), and an examination of aspects
of stress that affect sleep patterns has revealed that emotional responses to stress are
highly related to those sleep patterns (Verlander, Benedict, & Hanson, 1999). A
study of the sleep habits of medical students indicted that there was a significant
correlation between academic performance and sleep onset, irregularity, and length

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(Medeiros, Mendes, Lima, & Araujo, 2001). Similar to the demands placed on
medical students, these student-athletes have increased outside pressures that exerted
heavy influence on the amount of time they are able to sleep.
Pilcher and Walters (1997) conducted an intriguing study regarding the
perception of effort in sleep-deprived participants. Participants completed the
Watson-Glaser critical thinking appraisal after either 24 hours of sleep deprivation or
approximately 8 hours of sleep. After completing the cognitive task, the participants
completed 2 questionnaires, one assessing self-reported effort, concentration, and
estimated performance, the other assessing off-task cognitions. As expected, sleep-
deprived participants performed significantly worse than the non-deprived
participants on the off-task cognitive task. However, the sleep-deprived participants
rated their concentration and effort higher than the non-deprived participants. In
addition, the sleep-deprived participants rated their estimated performance
significantly higher than the non-deprived participants. The researcher’s also found
that sleep deprivation could negatively affect a student’s ability to perform on an
exam and be alert during class. This study could lend some insight into the theme of
inability to understand scholarly effort. Perhaps, sleep deprived student-athletes’
perceptions of the effort they are exerting is skewed and their performance suffers.
This could contribute to the student-athlete feeling that what they are providing
adequate academic effort.

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Participants’ Experience
During a majority of the interviews conducted for this study, the theme of
being physically exhausted along with the subject’s dysfunctional sleeping habits
were discussed regularly. Much of their daily lives were governed by sleep issues
such as napping before and after practice, staying up all night to finish assignments,
and sleeping all day for recovery. During some of our interviews, the subject would
appear to be on the verge of passing out or missing the appointment due to
oversleeping. The following are examples from interviews that illustrate the four
participants recurrent dialogue.
Concerning sleep deprivation:
I: On average when do you get to sleep at night?
D: I always usually go to bed around midnight, later on the weekends.
S: I probably go to bed at around midnight when I have morning weights at 6
AM. When I don’t have morning weights it’s probably closer to 1:00 or 2:00
o’clock in the morning. On the weekends when we don’t have a game I
usually go home and go out with my friends until like three or four in the
morning and sleep mostly all day.
V: I usually go to bed at 11:30 or 12:00 o’clock most nights. On the
weekends when we have games we sleep in a hotel and it’s usually around
10:00 PM when we have lights out. The thing that’s hard for me with away
games is the fact that we can’t leave until the day before the game, some
NCAA rule. I really have never been on an airplane before . . . it kind of

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freaks me out. So I need time to adjust. It’s hard . . . practice, flying, dinner,
sleep, practice, eating, game time then back on the plane to fly home.
R: I usually will try to go to bed at around 11 but it is useless . . . so I just
hang out on the couch until everyone else goes to bed . . . somewhere around
12 or 1 AM. I sometimes fall asleep during my study hall hours or I just sit
there and zone out. I usually fall asleep in class when we have 6AM practice.
And concerning physical exhaustion:
I: Tell me how you feel physically during the day?
D: During the day I’m always so tired. I sleep whenever and wherever I can.
S: Most of the time I feel as though I could pass out at any minute.
V: If I sit down or lay down during the day . . . I’m gone . . . so I just keep
moving.
R: I’m just so tired all day. The only time I have to sleep is during class. I sit
in the back row and try not to let the teacher see me.
Summary of Findings
Exhaustion is a part of these student’s daily lives and the negative outcomes
of exhaustion was illustrated in many of the interviews. Physically, during the
semester all of the student-athlete’s reported several injuries that would limit their
practice time. This could have been caused by the vulnerability of an athlete
suffering from exhaustion. Even though most of the subjects tried to sleep before
practice, all admitted to being physically exhausted during at least half of the weekly
practices. Emotionally, the participants showed signs of emotional instability as

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illustrated by their weekly mood swings and their somewhat elevated emotional
responses to teammates, coaches, teachers, parents and even myself, the interviewer.
On more than one occasion both Richard and Victor became anger enough for me to
consider stopping the interview. Physically, diet and water consumption was a
problem for all of the students. Rarely would any of the athletes come to the session
with a water bottle even though many would lose 2-3 pounds a day during practice.
They athletes would always be hungry and complain about not having enough time
to eat during the day.
Exhaustion may also have had an effect on their academic performance by
affecting their decision-making ability inside and outside the classroom. The
students would skip classes and tutoring session, even in lieu of monetary penalties,
in order to get ready for practice. Students would report falling asleep constantly in
classes. Their decision-making ability was always stressed when having to choose
between resources that needed to be used for academic assignments verses athletic
assignments. As stated in the Transtheoritical Model of Change, decisional balance
and the way in which an individual makes decisions are critical to the change
process. Always with these students the pros of getting ready for a highly
competitive practice outweighed the academic aspect of school.
Identity issues also played a part in these decisions because the students saw
themselves as an athlete first and a student second. The TTM states that in order to
change behavior of a contemplator one must work on the decisional balance aspect
along with process such as consciousness-raising and dramatic release. Exhaustion

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and sleep deprivation makes the work that needs to be done regarding shifting the
student decisional balance more difficult. The immediacy of relieving the negative
outcomes of exhaustion will always outweigh resources necessary for academic
issues. Especially since their identity is wrapped up in the athletic side and not the
academic side. These students came to this school with limited academic skills.
With exhaustion these physical skills are taxed due to the depleted physical and
mental resources needed to perform them.
Sleep deprivation manifest itself in these athletes in the form of short-term
memory, depressed and negative mood swings and lapses in attention. During
interviews, there would be instances when I would refer to something the student
said earlier in the interview. Many times the students would not remember saying it.
I would also ask repeatedly what was going on in their classes. Always the student
would have either a vague or no recollection at all about the daily course material.
As I have eluded to before students moods during the semester would border on
depressive during one week and elation the next. A comprehensive program for
helping to promote behavioral change could be augmented with a component that
dealt with coping with emotions and emotional responses.
Although most university students suffer from dysfunctional sleeping habits,
the effects of athletic participation presents an incredible obstacle for these freshmen
football players. All of these freshmen football players were used to practicing 2
hours a day and traveling 1 day a week to a local high school. Now they are
practicing 4 hours a day and traveling 2 times a week, which almost always includes

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an airplane flight. For most of the participants in this study, these two dynamics
affected every aspect of their college existence. They would stay up late to finish
assignments. They would skip classes so they could sleep to be ready for practice.
They would fall asleep in class due to getting up early for weights. They would sleep
all day on Sunday to recover from a game on Saturday. According to the research,
these student-athletes could be suffering from lessened cognitive abilities and
illogical decisions about their academic work based on their severe state of physical
exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
The research of Pilcher and Walters on perception of effort on a critical
thinking appraisal is extremely interesting because it involved three of the emergent
themes. Even though they did poorer on the critical thinking appraisal, a skill that is
necessary for success in college, their perception of their amount of effort was
skewed. Numerous times during the semester, this misperception of effort was
evident in their dialog. The participant’s had this preconceived notion of the amount
of time that assignment should take. Where this notion came from stems from their
inability to understand scholarly effort. Even though they spend four hours a day at
practice, the concept of spending four hours a day studying was unacceptable to
them. It was if the time spent sitting in class was adequate enough to constitute
academic effort. They were not willing to spend anymore time on academics then
what was allotted in class time. So in response that would having someone else
write their papers or copy off of someone else’s test.

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Another area that is affected by physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation is
emotional stability. Phillip’s (2005) study illustrated that the experience of revenue
generating student-athlete is highly emotional based on their prominent themes of
isolation, stereotyping and racial issues. For some of the participant’s within this
study, the feeling of being overwhelmed led to cognitive confusion along with anger.
Thus the theme of physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation carries with it an
emotional component that would need to be address in any coping strategy.
Identifying and dealing with emotions productively would be a critical piece to an
academic support service program geared towards the student-athlete population.

Inability to Understand Scholarly Academic Effort
A substantial part of subject matter learning depends not just on what the
institution does in the instructional setting but also on the quality of the student’s
effort in making use of the range of learning opportunities provided by the
institution. Other things being equal, the more the student is psychologically engaged
in activities that reinforce and extend the formal academic experience, the more he or
she will learn. There is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that the nature of
students’ social and extracurricular involvement has a unique impact on academic
learning and effort. Nonclassroom interaction with peers and faculty that extend and
reinforce what happens in one’s academic experience appears to have consistent
positive impact. However, intercollegiate athletic participation appears to have an
inhibiting influence.

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Learning and Athletics
There is a small but strong body of evidence to suggest that intercollegiate
athletes, particularly football and basketball players, are not deriving the same
educational benefits as their peers from their college experience. This inference is
based upon results from standardized testing measures. When controlling for
confounding variables, Anaya (1999b) and Astin (1993c) found that participation in
intercollegiate athletics has a negative effect on verbal scores on the GRE and LSAT.
Participation in athletics has been shown to have a negative influence on the general
knowledge section of the National Teachers Examination.
There is also additional support that male athletes are at greater risk than
female athletes especially football and basketball players. Pascarella, Bohr, Nora,
and Terenzini (1995b) found that men participating in intercollegiate football and
basketball were significantly disadvantaged, relative to both male nonathletes and
male athletes in other sports, on end-of-first-year college GPA, reading
comprehension, and mathematics. A follow-up of the same sample found that the
learning disadvantages for male football and basketball players persisted into the
second and third years of college and became more pronounced. Pascarella et al.
(1999) found that the negative learning impacts on football and basketball players
were not explainable by differences in hours studied, credit hours completed, work
responsibilities, or patterns of coursework taken. This finding suggested to the
researchers that it may be necessary to look at athletic time requirements and the
culture of revenue-producing sports to understand why players are not deriving the

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same knowledge-acquisition and academic-skills benefits from college as other
students.
Effort and Participants
All of the participants had misperceptions or lack of perceptions about what
scholarly academic effort looked like and felt like. This lack or void of knowledge
was unconscious to them throughout the beginning of the semester. They basically
did not know the first thing about being good students. They were academically
disinterested. Some knew that their high schools were not very good academically
but hoped that everything was going to turn out fine in college. Others thought they
could sustain, with the same amount of academic effort, their high school GPA while
in college. However, all felt as though if they had made it through high school they
would somehow make it through college. In the beginning much of the dialogue
regarding their academic future, hope, luck and academic help were strategies used
by all of the participants when discussing maintaining their college GPA.
An additional facet to this theme that was reiterated by all of the participants
was the feedback they had received throughout their academic high school careers.
The participants talked about numerous counselors, teachers, and parents repeating
to them that if they did not put out more effort they would not pass classes or
graduate from high school. However, all of these participants admitted that in high
school they put forth no additional substantial effort and still passed all of their
classes during their senior year. Most utilized online courses to raise their GPAs and
to replace unsatisfactory grades from high school classes. Some used last minute

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extra credit or redo on failed assignments. Others used girlfriends to write papers or
people who would allow them to cheat off their tests in order to pass classes. This
perception exemplifies the student’s resistance and failure to want to change poor
academic behavior.
Changing Academic Behavior
Some student-athletes that attend high-caliber Division I schools would not
otherwise be admitted according to these schools’ academic standards. All of the
African American male student-athletes attending this specific university would have
not been able to attend this university based on their academic records. In fact of the
165 student-athletes admitted to this university during the 2005–2006 school year,
only four would have been able admissible on their academic records. Most
universities have tried to attack the problem of a student lacking the proper skills and
strategies to succeed in college by offering a variety of academic support classes and
programs. University academic support programs often fail and students do not
benefit from such programs or courses because they do not change their academic
behavior. These courses fail in their attempts to create self-regulated learners who
take greater personal control of their learning.
In a review of the effects of study skills courses in higher education
institutions, Hattie, Biggs, and Purdie (1996) found that it is very difficult to change
the study skills that students have acquired, usually over many years. Older students
are more resistant to change. In most programs which focus on study skills use, the
effects on study skills are minimal (p. 126). The participants in this study had limited

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goals concerning academics. They lacked any concrete plans on how to succeed and
possessed little self-confidence. The participants often spoke about just wanting to
receive a passing grade from a class and nothing about learning from the class. The
copying mechanism that they have employed throughout their high school years and
have carried over to college is motivation to avoid failure as opposed to motivation
to succeed. This strategy leads to defensive behaviors and is an obstacle to
successful changing behavior.
Prochaska and Prochaska (1999) suggested four reasons why individuals
have difficulty changing their behaviors: (a) they believe they can’t change, (b) they
don’t want to change, (c) they don’t know what to change, or (d) they don’t know
how to change. Of these four reasons, all of the participants within this study fall into
category of not wanting to change. Prochaska and Prochaska (1999) have stated that
people do not want to change when they perceive the benefits of the problem
behaviors as outweighing the cons of those behaviors. For these student athletes, the
benefits of not changing their academic behaviors is an increase in available time to
focus on football (watching more tapes), more time for socializing, and reduced
stress from studying.
Prochaska also documented that people were less likely to want to change
when they would have to trade immediate benefits in order to reduce the risks of
long-term consequences. These student-athletes receive immediate benefits from
their performances in competition. They receive immediate results from winning
football game. There is no delay in gratification. The academic workload can be

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delayed until later in the semester. They feel like they will get by just as they have
done throughout their high school careers. For these student-athletes, the pleasure
principle is primary and more powerful than the reality principle. From a behavioral
perspective, Prochaska and Norcross understand that actions that have immediate
consequences have much more control over behavior than do actions with delayed
consequences. For the participants in this study the immediacy of performing every
week in front of over 90,000 fans on a nationally televised game far outweighed the
distance consequences of a paper due on Monday.
Another dimension to these student-athletes not wanting to change discussed
by Prochaska is the fact that when an individual feels pressured or coerced into
changing they are less likely to change. As stated previously, the participants in this
study have been bombarded by concerned parties for their entire high school career
that they need to change their academic behavior. However, they do not. In some of
the interviews, the freshmen participants showed signs of a desire to remain in
control of their new environment. When I asked one of participants why he did not
write down all of his assignments and appointments in a daily planner, he replied that
he did not want a little book to run his life. Even though it would be to his advantage
to use a daily planner, he resisted change and held tight to self-defeating old ways.
Participants’ Experience
The following are excerpts from interview on the recurring problem of
putting action to words. At various times during the semester I would ask a variation
of the question of why are you not able to do that which you know needs to be done.

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Investigator: So you know what you need to do academically but you are not
doing it? Tell me why?
D: I don’t know . . . I think it’s more of the social thing that affects me. Time
management I feel is good, I just let things go which is not good. It’s kind of
tough, I mean in high school I did less socializing. It was basically limited to
lunch time and maybe a weekend but in college you have the opportunity all
the time and that is a tough. With this much ability to socialize I guess I let
everything happen by chance and that isn’t a good way to get your work
done.
S: I don’t know . . . Well, I kind of think I’m doing what I need to do. I show
up to class . . . I turn in assignments . . . I show up to tutoring sessions and
appointments with my learning specialist . . . that is just so much more than
high school.
V: I don’t know but I’m sick of people riding me. The stuff that people are
saying to me now about college is the same thing as what was being said to
me in high school. If I don’t get to work than I will not pass this class or I
won’t graduate. Everybody is getting on me and I hate it . . . it’s twisted up.
R: For me, I fear not remembering plays, I fear the coaches not seeing my
talent, I fear someone being stronger than me . . . I fear making a mistake at
practice or in a game and that is so much more worse than not turning in a
paper on time or doing poorly on a test.

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Summary of Findings
The students start off the beginning of the year attempting to be a good
student by imitating what they perceive as the actions of a good student. During the
middle part of the semester (weeks 5-6), the reality hits that it is not the same as high
school and the participants are lost. They have fallen so far behind that they decide to
give up, because they don’t think they can ever recover. They have exerted what they
consider to be a significant amount of effort in their academics and it has not produce
success. These participants are ignorant of what behavior constitutes increased effort.
They can identify a person who they perceive as partaking in good academic effort
but can not go deeper into explaining what the person is doing when he is being a
good student. On numerous occasions the students in this study asked me, “How do
you try harder?” or “What do you mean by try harder?” They had no comprehension
on how to be a student let alone how to be a good student. They would complain in
the beginning of the semester that they would just try to look at books in order to
study but all they would get is a headache.
The students didn’t understand the scope or structure of the task set in front
of them. Great academic effort for them is perceived to be just showing up for
everything. If they show up to their classes and all their tutoring appointments,
SAAS rewards them with ‘perfect week’ and adds 5 positive points to their
accountability report that is distributed to their coaches. How could they be labeled
as not trying hard when they have been awarded a ‘perfect week’? Their perception
is what more do they have to do in order to be a good student. They know that they

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are putting out so much more effort than they did in high school. They ask in
interviews “What else do they want me to do?” For these athletes most of their
athletic talent came easily to them. They had the basis of being able to run faster and
jumper high than their competition in high school. So what they have been doing in
camps and such leading up to being recruited has been just honing their skills.
Academically, these graduating seniors do not have any basis for honing their skills
as a student. All of the participants would be frustrated with their effort and the fact
that no one was helping them, not SAAS or the university in general.
Most of the academic at-risk population at colleges are primarily either
basketball or football players. At highly selective academic universities, such as the
one in this study, the institution is allowing student-athletes to enter that
academically could be two standard deviations below the general university
population in high school GPA and test scores. At highly selective athletic
universities the time and resource demands could hover around four hours a day not
including travel. As report above, student effort is affected by learning
opportunities, psychological engagement, social involvement, and nonclassroom
interaction with peers and faculty. For these student-athletes they are not
psychologically engaged in activities that reinforce and extend formal academic
experience. In fact, the perception from the participants in this study is quite the
contrary. They compartmentalize their academic experiences to the classroom or
SAAS. During the first semester of school they are individuals of extremes. They
are an athlete when they are outside the classroom and a student when they are in the

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classroom. They have limited or no interaction with peers and faculty that would
reinforce what is happening in the classroom. If they do have interaction with peers
or faculty outside of the classroom it is usually in the form of kudos from their
performances in games.
They are football players, and they are one member of a single great team.
They feel that people love them because they are football players, and they derive
their self-esteem from being a football player. People do favors for them because
they are football players. They truly feel that a college degree will not get them
where they want to be. Being a professional football player is their life line from the
ghettos of where they have grown up. There is nothing else to fall back on in their
world. They do not want to blow this chance, so all of their effort and attention goes
into it. The participants felt as though the world has shown them no other alternative.
They have made their one attempt at being a good student and they failed. All
participants were willing to deal with the consequences of the academic fallout at the
end of semester, because they always thought that there would be something that
they could do either at the very end of the semester or during summer school that
would alleviate the academic situation.

Procrastination
Academic procrastination is regarded as an endemic problem in all college
students (Ellis & Knaus, 1979; Hill, Hill, Chabot, & Barall, 1978; Solomon &
Rothblum, 1984). Estimates indicate that 80%–95% of college students engage in

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procrastination (Ellis & Knaus, 1977; O’Brien, 2002), approximately 75% consider
themselves procrastinators (Potts, 1987), and almost 50% procrastinate consistently
and problematically (Day, Mensink, & O’Sullivan, 2000). One procrastinates when
one delays in beginning or completing an intended course of action (Beswick &
Mann, 1994). Some researchers have suggested that to procrastinate is to voluntarily
delay an intended course of action despite expecting it to be worse for the delay.
Procrastination is most often considered to be the irrational delay of behavior
(Akerlof, 1991).
There has been extensive research on the concept and causes of
procrastination. It is not the intent of this section to review all of the causes and
manifestations of procrastination. Rather the intent is to discuss relevant aspects of
procrastination as they relate to the data gathered from the interviews with the
student-athletes. In its simplest form, procrastination is the behavior of postponing
tasks. For most university students, procrastination negatively impacts their
behavior. These students procrastinate because they wait until the last minute to
complete assignments, and they underestimate the amount of time and effort needed
to complete these tasks.
Procrastination involves the voluntary choice of one’s behavior over other
options. Consequently, one cannot irrationally delay all of one’s tasks, but one can
simply favor some over others. Two predictable environmental factors are the timing
of rewards and punishment and task aversiveness. It has been reported that the
further away an event is temporally, the less impact it has upon people’s decisions

205
and behavior (Lewin, 1935). In 1989, Schwartz believed that there was sufficient
research to place it formally as one of the psychological laws of learning. Given this
basis, timing of rewards and punishments has also been used to explain
procrastination. Within the present study, student-athletes were most attentive
towards football during each week, because games occurred on every successive
weekend. All of these games were televised and against nationally-ranked
opponents. They knew that they were going to be tested every weekend after only 5
days of prep time and that this test was going to be viewed by over 90,000 people.
The reward of performing well and getting the team a win governed behavior more
than the distant punishment of a bad grade. The only time that academics made a
strong impression temporally was when assignments were due the next day.
Task aversiveness is almost a self-explanatory term. By definition, one seeks
to avoid aversive stimuli, and, consequently, the more aversive the situation, the
more likely one is to avoid it. Although the extent to which people dislike a task may
be influenced by a variety of personal characteristics, if people do find a task
unpleasant, research has indicated that they are indeed more likely to put it off. Task
aversiveness coupled with the timing of rewards and punishment can account for
procrastination. Independently, each of these concepts accounts for task avoidance;
however both are need for task delay.
Blunt and Pychyl (1999) reported that boredom, frustration, and resentment
emerged as dimensions associated with task aversiveness at each stage of a research
project. The student-athletes in the present study complained that their classes lacked

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personal meaning and that just the thought of academics created a high level of
stress. Victor possessed a large amount of resentment towards academics. He would
become visibly angry when talking about the hurdles he had to jump through in order
to do an assignment. One case in point was the assumption of knowing what and
how to access the Blackboard system on the Internet. For all of the participants,
academic work has always carried negative emotions.
According to the Covington’s theory of self-worth, individuals learn that
society values people because of their accomplishments. These student-athletes have
learned this lesson from society at a very young age. This is engrained in their
identity, and their self-worth is drawn from their athletic not academic ability. For
these student-athletes, they only thing that they perceive of as valuable in their lives
is their ability to play football at a high level. Our society places a high level of
admiration and attention on our sports heroes. Far too many times in these
participants’ lives, this perception has been reinforced by friends, parents, and
coaches. Thus, they procrastinate on academic tasks, since they feel their cultural
capital is located only in their ability to play football. The individuals understand
that the reason that were able to gain admission to this university was because on
their athletic talents and not their academic talents. This belief lends itself to the
behavior that the subject needed to spend most of their time, energy and resources
into the athletic part of their identity and not into the academic. The subjects are
faced with the dilemma of being an athlete-student or a student-athlete.

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Shanahan and Pychyl (1999) researched the connection between identity and
procrastination. These researchers stated that identity has been positively related to
agency. Agency theoretically confers the capacity for action required for timely task
completion. Given this theoretical link between identity and procrastination,
Shanahan and Pychyl hypothesized that the level of ego identity development is
negatively related to procrastination. These students have their identity firmly
entrenched in athletics not in academics. Hock (2004) showed a marked
improvement in student-athletes GPA when a possible selves intervention was
incorporated into their classroom and tutorial schedules. If a program like Possible
Selves was introduced to these participants early in their Fall term and expanded
their views of their identity to include being a student perhaps their capacity for
action (the fourth stage of TTM) to complete tasks would be improved and increase
the probability of academic success.
Procrastination has been closely linked to two behavioral patterns. One such
pattern is a lack of conscientious, and this is often associated with a lack of time
management, work discipline, self-control, and responsibility. Procrastination is
conceptually representative of low conscientiousness and self-regulatory failure.
Some irrational misperceptions and beliefs that show a lack of consciousness is the
feeling that they can produce enough scholarly academic effort when the student
waits until the last minute and that effort will produce successfully results.
The other behavioral pattern is classified as avoidance and is associated with
fear of failure and anxiety. Students will procrastinate as a way of avoiding the

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anxiety associated with studying. Since the student-athletes in this study already had
issues with what behavior constitutes good academic effort, the burden of lack of
consciousness is multiplied. During several of the interviews that took place in the
beginning part of the semester, the student-athletes declared that they did their best
work when their backs were against the wall. The student-athletes would also
proclaim that they were masters of getting things done at the last minute.
Anxiety can negatively impact academic performance in many ways. Ottens
(1991) identified four interrelated characteristics of academically anxious students:
disruptions in mental activity, psychological distress, misdirected attention, and
inappropriate behaviors. The most common form of inappropriate behavior is
procrastination. When students are anxious and have a high level of stress during
their daily lives they have a tendency to act inappropriately. Most of the participants
throughout the entire semester were operating at an increased anxiety level. I’m not
sure if this could be attributed to the newness of the environment or the experiences
surrounding academics and football or both. One always got the impression that the
participants felt that their world was spinning out of control. The rate at which the
college experience was hitting them was far too fast. Since they could not control the
timing of these events, the student-athletes felt like their lives were out of control.
Participant’s experience
The following are some excerpts from interviews that deal with the
participant’s experience regarding their procrastination:

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D: I procrastinated for the last four weeks so I have three papers due for my
mid-terms. I just need more time but of course it was late and I was tired. So
when I got home I looked at my paper and then looked at my computer and
said I don’t want to do this, I basically cracked. I can’t do this now, I can’t do
this anymore, so I wrote enough to make it long enough.
V: I just want to minimize the task of studying. I don’t enjoy it at all. For me,
I know that studying is going to be painful and I want to put it off until the
last possible second. I don’t see where it’s going to get me. I know where
doing well in football is going to get me, but I have no idea where getting a
“degree” is going to get me.
R: I can either watch TV or start my paper, so I watch TV. Then the next
night, it’ll be the same thing because I got a whole week left. The next thing
you know it’s the weekend and you know my friends all want to hang out, so
I’ll hang out with them. Monday rolls around and I begin to panic, and I start
saying to myself I’m so far behind, I’m screwed, and I have no idea how I am
going to get these papers done.
Summary of Findings
Historically, all of these student-athletes have met academics with aversive
reaction and behavior. The negative issues surrounding academic are just a
continuation of their behavior in high school. They have not only sustained an
adversity to academics from being unsuccessful in high school but they also feel that
the environment in college has been adversarial with negativity from teachers similar

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to that in high school. All of the participants felt that at least 75% of their high
school teachers disliked them due to their participation in sports. They feel that this
dislike from teachers has carried over into the college environment. As stated before
the subjects felt overwhelmed with the volume and speed of information that they
were expected to absorb. They were receiving new information from classes, new
plays from football, and navigating a new environment throughout the entire
semester. This whole process leads to feelings of confusion and bewilderment which
manifest itself into anger or withdraw. It could be suggested that dealing with and
managing the emotional reaction to the first semester could be beneficial for success.
During the first half of the year, the students underestimation both the time
needed to perform an assignment and the time necessary to successfully complete the
assignment. With waiting until the last minute, there was also a false sense that there
would be a higher motivational state in the future and that this higher motivational
state would produce successful results. There was always a misperception that the
student-athletes had to wait until they were “in the mood” to write, read, or study.
There was also the belief that working when they were not in the mood would be
unproductive and futile. The student-athletes believed that their actions would not
change their situations, so they seemed to focus more on their emotional reactions to
the situation. All of the participants throughout the semester went through a mild
depression and had increased feelings of loss of control over their academic
situation, which contributed to their procrastination.

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The four student-athletes in this study have not yet grasped the concept of
balance within their lives. Their emotional immaturity tells them that it is all or
nothing. They feel that if they are to be great athletes, it will be at the cost of
academics. Thus, when faced with a choice of failing at football, their most salient
identity, the athletes do not focus on anything else in order to protect their self-
worth. These student-athletes focus on the immediacy of the achievements of
football and take long-term losses in academics. It is as if they are saying this is what
I choose to devote my time to and this is what I can accomplish. They are saying to
the world, “I have value.” It is as if this dimension of their personalities that controls
moderation and balance has not yet been developed. Their lives move from one
extreme to another. They drink to excess, they practice to excess, and when given the
opportunity they sleep to excess. This could be why they see no other possible
selves. This could be why they cannot function adequately in all of the three
processing styles.

Diffused Identity Processing Style
Since identity processing style was thoroughly reviewed in the preceding
chapters this brief review will highlight specific information regarding a diffused
processing style. Mostly all of the students in this student exhibited examples of a
diffused processing style during the interview sessions. Identity processing style
refers to differences in how individuals process self-relevant information, negotiate
identity issues, and make decisions (Berzonsky, 1989). The behaviors of

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diffuse/avoidant individuals are positively correlated with emotion-focused, avoidant
coping behaviors (Berzonsky, 1992) and negatively correlated with introspection
(Berzonsky & Sullivan, 1992). These individuals used emotion-based coping
mechanism throughout the entire the semester. They would emote frustration, anger
and depression when faced with academic information and decisions. They would
allow time and avoidance to make decisions for them regarding academic
assignments. They would use procrastination as an avoidance behavior while they
blamed others, not themselves for their academic shortcomings.
Use of an avoidant/diffuse style has been found to be correlated positively
with external-control expectancies, other-directed self-monitoring, and debilitative
anxiety reactions, and inversely associated with introspectiveness and openness to
personal feelings. The participant’s in this study felt that SAAS was putting too high
of an expectation on them as students. They felt sometimes that tutors and learning
specialists were being too hard on them academically. The student also felt that they
were being monitored too heavily by outside people and they should be allowed
some freedom. Some of the subjects remarked in interviews that if they were regular
students they would be able to skip a class ever now and then and no one would care.
However with them, they skip a class and their advisor and coach knows about it the
next day. In addition, diffused oriented individuals are reluctant to make decisions
and are avoidant coping, self-handicapping, and demonstrate maladaptive decisional
strategies (Berzonsky & Kuk, 2000).

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Incoming first-year students are expected to be academically and
developmentally prepared to handle the responsibilities associated with autonomy.
For individuals not developmentally prepared to conduct their lives independently,
these responsibilities can contribute to a “disorienting vacuum of expectation”
(Kegan 1982, p. 186). If an individual’s developmental stage can impact the process
by which personal decisions are made and problems are solved (Berzonsky, 1989),
students whose identity processing style is diffused are more at-risk academically
than students in the other two identity processing style categories. When faced with
challenging academic situations, these individuals were reluctant to confront
personal problems and often procrastinated making decisions. All of the participants
employed a diffuse/avoidant identity style which led to procrastinating, delaying, and
attempts to avoid facing up to academic issues and conflicts.
Emotion-focused coping is aimed at alleviating or regulating the emotional
distress being experienced by utilizing defensive tactics, such as denial, wishful
thinking, distancing, attempting to reduce the tension being experience, or seeking
emotional solace from others (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980, 1985). As stated
previously, during the initial interview with all of these students, most cited hoping,
wishing and luck as part of their arsenal of strategies to succeed in college.
Emotion-focused coping strategies are employed whenever individuals decide they
cannot solve the problem or do something constructive. Most of the student-athletes
attempted in the beginning of the semester to solve the problem of being a poor
student. When the problem wasn’t solved the individuals would reduce the tension

214
by withdrawing from the academic landscape. An avoidant/diffuse style is
accompanied by concerns about managing the emotional distress itself rather than
the underlying causal factors.
Research has shown that most students as they progress through college
become more positive about their academic and social competence, which in turn
enhances their sense of self-worth. This was not true for these student-athletes. As
the semester progressed, these football players became more apprehensive about
their academic abilities as they encountered tougher and more complex assignments.
The literature also reported that over time students resolve identity issues and forge
commitments to a personal identity. During the fall semester interviews, there was
minimal evidence of a movement towards a personal identity regarding academics or
football. In fact, the environment of football focuses on the team and the loss of a
personal identity for the sake of the team identity.
For all of these participants, a diffused processing style was evident with
respect to academics. However, all participants were informational seeking
individuals when it came to football. They would consciously make personal and
very precise decisions regarding their progress towards becoming a better player.
They would seek out nutrition and conditioning information constantly. They would
spend extra time before or after practice watching film of opponents. They would
always be on time and confront players and coaches regarding any issue. They would
make themselves knowledgeable about the NFL draft and agents. Since they had the
ability to use informational seeking behavior, the assumption is that they would have

215
the ability to transfer this behavior to academics. Why do they not employ it in their
academic life then? Is it because they don’t picture themselves as students, whereas
they can picture themselves as athletes?
Processing orientation or preferences may be influenced by the extent to
which an individual’s global self-identity is structurally integrated. Once personal
decisions and commitments have been achieved, there may be a tendency for
problem-solving and information processing to become more focused and restricted.
All of the participants within this study were primarily rooted in a diffuse/avoidant
orientation to academics, because they possessed low levels of self-exploration and
commitment to academics. With these student-athletes their identity is firmly
engrossed in the role of an athlete. It could be suggested that a program which
promoted these individuals to think of themselves as more than athletes, such as
possible selves, might has an influence on the information processing orientation and
problem-solving ability.
According to these participants, it is because they have never felt success or a
sense of accomplishment from academics. Why would they bank on academic
success when they have never successfully experienced it or achieved it? Because
someone who they have known for a very short amount of time tells them that they
can? If value from society comes from our accomplishments, then for them it is an
economically sound decision to focus on football. From their perspective, they have
gotten everything, including their identities, from football and nothing from
academics.

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Elite college student-athletes must, by default, maintain both a student and an
athlete role. Since both roles are enacted in the college environment, they may
compete for temporal and psychological resources, which may result in role conflict.
For these young college athletes, the athlete identity—defined as “the degree to
which an individual identifies with the athlete role” (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder,
1993)—can be an important source of perceived competence and positive self-
evaluation and may occupy such a central role in the identity structure that it
dominates the ego identity (Anderson, 1996; Brewer, 1993; Brewer et al., 1993;
Curry & Weaner, 1987; Curry & Weiss, 1989; Murphy, Petipas, & Brewer, 1996).
For student-athletes, however, the student identity is also very important
(NCAA, 1988) and student-athletes who value academic concerns and achievements
as highly as athletic ones are more likely to meet with greater academic success in
college (Nelson, 1983) and to enjoy greater life satisfaction after graduation (Kleiber
& Malik, 1989). However, roles that are “inconsistent or contradictory” may well be
discrepant. The multiple roles student-athletes hold may be a source of potential
conflict, wherein the demands of one role impede the enactment of another (Allen et
al., 1983; Snyder & Spreitzer, 1992). The potential for conflict is more likely to be
realized when the roles compete for scarce resources in a shared domain (Adler &
Adler, 1985; Sack & Thiel, 1985).
Identity Processing Style and Race
Constantinople (1969) found consistent increases in the successful resolution
of identity issues from freshmen to senior years across participants. Whitbourne,

217
Jelsma, and Waterman’s (1998) findings cast doubt on Constantinople’s findings,
especially with regard to sex- and race-related differences. Zuschlag & Whitbourne
(1999) found that seniors generally displayed higher levels of identity development
than sophomores and also supported the proposition that college played a role in a
student identity development, although the impact may not occur until later.
However, none of these studies controlled for differences among students on
confounding factors such as academic ability or socioeconomic status. These factors
are important factors when discussing the identity development of the participants
within the present study. The participants are academically at-risk at a highly
selective academic institution. They are also African American students at a private,
majority-White institution. The addition of being in athletics and being an athlete in
a team sport could be factors into their lack of movement within identity
development and along identity processing styles.
McCowan et al. (1998) reported that there was no significant freshmen-to-
senior difference in racial identity development between African American women
at either a historically Black or predominantly White institutions. Whether this was
an issue among the participants in the current study this investigator can only
speculate. The fact that the subject was never discussed could have been due to the
racial limitations discussed earlier in the paper regarding the race of the investigator
or perhaps the participants were too overwhelmed mentally with the transition to
college.

218
Youth

who relied on a diffuse/avoidant identity processing style lacked

firm
identity commitments and emphasized social self-components

in defining their sense
of identity. Athletes have limited time to have a social life outside of socializing with
team members, so their social self-components are always firmly entrenched with
football or athletics. Throughout many of the interviews, the participants spoke of
the general student population as reacting to them as sports figures and not as people.
These reactions carried a negative stigma and often left the athletes retreating into
their own culture.
Identity Processing Style and Higher Education
In 2000, Berzonsky and Kuk investigated the role that differences

in identity
orientations may play as students negotiate the

transition to a university context. The
researchers measured the identity status,

identity processing style, and student
developmental tasks were

administered to 363 entering university freshmen. Results
indicated

that differences in identity statuses accounted for significant

variation in the
students’ progress on measures of academic

autonomy, educational involvement, and
mature interpersonal

relationships. Moreover, in most cases, these associations were

mediated by the students’ identity processing style. In

general, the findings suggest
that students with an informational

identity style are best prepared to effectively
adapt within

a university context, whereas those with a diffuse/avoidant

style are
most apt to encounter difficulties. However these students in this study possessed
diffused/ avoidance processing styles while attending an institution of higher
education that was structured for the informational seeking student.

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Ferrari et al. (1995) investigated whether students attending colleges that
differed in admission selectivity, differed in their self-exploration. Students from
three undergraduate institutions were chosen, 324 from a nonselective college, 375
from a moderately selective college, and 171 from a highly selective college. The
tools used for assessment were the Identity Style Inventory and the Procrastination
Assessment Scales-Students (PASS). The students at the nonselective college
reported a more diffuse identity style than students at the moderately selective or
highly selective college. Students at the highly selective college reported a strong
information-oriented identity style. Across institutions, academic procrastination was
positively related to a diffuse ego-identity and negatively related to an information-
oriented identity. The university in which the present study took place was a highly
selective institution. Could the way this university is governed be biased toward the
information-seeking individual? Just as Prochaska (1986) has suggested that failure
in changing behavior is due to a mismatching of stage to intervention, so too could
be the inherit failure of diffuse-oriented individuals in an information-seeking
structured institution of higher education? In order to be successful in producing
change, the institution would have to provide not just academic support services but
services and support for creating change in identity issues in order to promote change
in processing style.
The research consistently indicates that freshmen-to-senior year increases in
academic self-confidence are positively associated with student–student interactions,
even after adjusting for a battery of background characteristics, including initial

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academic self-concept. Studies consistently show that socializing with peers,
regardless of the setting, enhances students’ academic self-concepts (Saddler &
Buley, 1999). Studies report positive effects on academic self-concept associated
with tutoring other students, discussing course content with other students,
participating in student government or other organized activities, and participating in
a campus protest. For high-caliber student-athletes, such as these participants, all the
above mentioned activities are not available to them due to their demanding
schedule. All of the participants during their interviews discussed the obstacle of
managing a schedule that consisted of athletic, academic, and basic needs. However,
the nature of their athlete commitments limits their potential for academic success
and their ability to participate in events that would promote their academic self-
concept.
Participant’s Experience
Most of the participants arrived academically burnt out from the pressure
surrounding clearing the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse. Most of the subject
had just finished a 4 to 5 core course semester with a required 3.0 average with an
additional 2 to 3 on-line BYU courses. David approaches any relevant problems
related to academics by doing a lot of distancing. David’s perception was that if it
wasn’t the day before the assignment was due that there still was plenty of time to
get everything. As is with all the participants, they only became emotionally
involved with the assignment on the day that it was due and that emotion was usually

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panic and anxiety. Even when the due date was the next day most of the participants
would fill their days with task-irrelevant

behavior.
In the verbal descriptions of the process that David used for academics, he
would seem to spend a lot of time trying to get ready to study. He would spend a lot
of time in SAAS talking to friends so that he could “get it out of his system.” Steve
uses hoping as his primary strategy for his academics. Numerous times he used the
phrase “I just hope I can get all of it done.” Victor approached any identity problems
related to academics by doing a lot of avoidance and distancing of himself from the
problem. His anger was always focused on everything and everyone around him and
why they were interfering with his progress. Although Victor and Richard were
motivated by anger to complain, Victor always remained inactive academically.
David also showed no capacity to problem solve using problem-focused
coping strategies. He concentrated instead on everything around the problem that
was making him ineffective. David exhibited dysfunctional cognitive strategies and
had an aloof attitude towards academics. Steve, as with all of the participants, battled
with procrastination on every single assignment that was due regardless of the
subject. During the interviews, I felt that both Victor and Robert did not have the
cognitive capability to objectively assess and confront complex academic issues.
They could not break down an issue into simple smaller components and then
identify resources to address each element. With all of the participants, there seemed
to be either a certain unspoken amount of energy that they were willing to allot to
academics or there was a point where they could no longer process more new

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information. If they did have some success with an assignment they would almost
bask in the glory of it and would not be able to rebound for the next assignment that
was soon to follow.
From the beginning of the semester, it became apparent that what the
participants said and what the participants did was in total disconnect. On numerous
occasions throughout the semester, statements made one week would be in contrast
with what was said the previous week. Because most decisions were made with no
forethought, one decision made in haste would be in direct contrast to another decision
All the participants used reactionary, not proactive, decision-making strategies.
David was not capable of a multifaceted cognitive thought process and unaware of
his decision-making process. David constantly made decisions on a situational basis
and would never look further than the end of the week with regard to assignments.
Steve’s decisions turned into action at the last moment possible, and he would let
daily events dictate his decisions. Victor had no idea how he decided upon a course of
action. He never had a clear game plan as to how he was going to control each day.
Richard was clueless about the process of academic decision-making, and his
thought process was uncomplicated and simple. All of the subjects let the days control
them and allowed time to run out on assignments. Most of the participants felt that
they didn’t have any type of say concerning what was happening to them.
During the interview sessions, the students would discuss comments that
would be made regarding feedback from teachers on assignments. There would be
specific recurring comments regarding carelessness and sloppiness. The students

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would turn in assignments that would fall short of the length requirement and
numerous times quizzes on the reading material would show lack of comprehension.
When left on their own, the students became dysfunctional as far as their academic
planning and educational purpose. None of the participants identified that they spent
time thinking or planning in advance what they needs to do in order to complete their
class assignments. Globally, these students lacked an understanding and an ability to
delve to the level of detail necessary with an assignment in order to be successful at
the college level, especially an academically high-caliber university. This could be
due to the fact that they lacked of the ability to be critical thinkers. However, this
could also be an issue of comprehension, expression, and culture.
Often, the students would claim that they would read a specific article for an
assignment but then be frustrated with the fact that they would receive a failing grade
on a quiz or test. Comments from professors frequently noted a lack of
understanding of the material. Another issue was that if indeed the student-athletes
knew the material, they lacked then the ability to express their knowledge in an
academically constructive fashion.
Athletically, these participants have always been told what to do and never to
speak out regarding their thoughts or feelings. Compliance with NCAA rules and
bylaws has been stressed from the onset of their athletic careers. Ethnically, many of
the participants alluded to a kind of cultural bias from become academic through
their high school careers. Academic behavior is stigmatized by their peers and

224
nowhere in their lives is it rewarded. The only ones who reward this behavior are the
staff at SAAS.
Throughout their high school years, when their identities were developing,
their role models rewarded football and discounted academics. Role models gave
them a picture of what being academic looks like and said to them “This is what I did
and you can do it too.” Their parents and coaches have set up a situation where
academics and football are in competition with one another. All of the participants
were first-generation college students. It has been explained to them that they just
need to do this (be successful in their courses), but they can offer nothing specific to
help them be successful. The message to these student-athletes is that all of their
cultural capital resides in their abilities as football players and not as students.
A majority of the participants battled with mild forms of depression during
their first semester. However, for most, the depression did not center on their
performance in academics. Victor suffered from homesickness which led to a mild
depression. Steve became withdrawn and depressed with his injury, while David’s
depression centered around football and the decision to redshirt. Robert’s depression
showed itself when he finally realized that his combative strategies were not bringing
him success in the classroom. At the beginning of the semester, the participants
would not take time to do any introspection regarding the events that were happening
around them. Often times, during the semester all participants would move in and out
of a state of being lost. They all became followers, sometimes trying to get cues from
upper-classmen or coaches. All possessed relatively no ability to self-explore. Most

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talked of an incapacity to handle the rate and volume of responsibilities regarding
themselves, football, and academics. Towards the end of the semester, Steve seemed
to develop an elementary ability to be a critical thinker in some areas. The researcher
believes that this was due in part to a season-ending injury.
It seemed as though the participants lacked any sense of an academic self and
instead relied on what they have done in the past or their ability to mimic the
behaviors of others. The participants did not understand the concept of being a good
student. During the interviews, these athletes had misconceptions regarding the
acceptability of repeating their high school academic behavior. Their portrayals of
their classroom behavior were acceptable from their perspective but disrespectful
from the researchers’ perspective. While in class, the participants felt that they could
sleep as needed, text message when necessary, and were free to come and go from
the class as they saw fit. As alluded to before, their role models, usually mothers and
coaches, could not explain to them how to navigate these experiences. They were
always just told with regard to academics that they “just need to get it done.”
Possible Selves
Student-athletes must have a better understanding of the potential for role
conflict when an individual holds two roles that compete for temporal and
psychological resources in a shared domain. The importance of considering different
identities and their development in relation to one another has been addressed in the
multiplicity of self tradition. This conception of identity, derived from William
James’ theory of multiple selves (1890) and further developed both within the social

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identity model (Taj fel & Turner, 1979) and the multiplicity of self tradition (e.g.,
Harter, 1990; Markus & Wurf, 1987; Rosenberg & Gara, 1985), holds that each
individual has several senses of self, each of which derives to some extent from
group memberships and varies in importance and affective meaning according to the
subjective experience of the individual. These theories and research formed the
foundation for possible selves.
For the student-athlete it is a complex and differentiated self-concept that will
afford greater well-being and protection from threats. Following Erikson’s (1968)
model of psychosocial development, adolescence in this life phase focused on
identity development. Erikson recognized that not all youth go through a phase of
trying on or actively seeking an identity, either because they decide on adult
identities early in adolescence without much seeking or because they are neither
searching for adult selves nor settled on future selves. For academically at-risk
student-athletes in this study, their identity focuses solely on football and precludes
exploring the idea of being a scholar-athlete. While the possible self model does not
require that Erikson be correct, it is compatible with his model of phases of identity
development.
According to Prochaska there were two primary stages that all four of the
participants occupied. Two of the students would be classified as precontemplators,
while two would be considered contemplators. However, during the semester the
students seemed to move back and forth between both stages. According to the
theory, precontemplators don’t want to change themselves; they want to change the

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people around them. Victor seemed to start the semester as a precontemplator. Victor
used anger, denial, and rationalization and wanted to change the people are around
him. During the semester, the remaining three participants substituted thinking for
acting, had a tendency to procrastinate, and had a resistance to change.
David, Steve, and Richard believed that college would be harder than high
school, but they felt that even though they did poorly in high school, they would
somehow do fine in college. However, all three felt as though they needed to change
some of their behavior in order to do well. Many times, the students moved through
behaviors, such as minimizing of inaction, projection and displacement of issues
onto others, and rationalization. During all of the interviews throughout the semester,
participants manifested behaviors representing more than one of the stages
simultaneously. For those times when the participants were in precontemplation
stages, experiential processes would be beneficial, and for times when the
participants recognized the need to change (contemplation) advanced experiential
processes coupled with some behavioral processes could be beneficial.
Covington (1992) stated that as humans our value is based largely upon our
ability to engage in competition and achieve within this competition. This is perhaps
why these high-caliber student-athletes focus on the football aspect of their identity.
They can compete and achieve at the highest level within this domain but have
experienced little-to-no success in the academic domain. Covington held that
maintaining a positive self-image is the most important factor in governing student
behavior. These student-athletes do not possess a positive image of themselves as

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students. Thus, they are highly motivated in football and lacking in motivation in
academics.
Both David and Victor spoke about becoming sports broadcasters, but have
no concrete idea of what is entailed in the pursuit of this job and how their behavior
now is related to this academic goal. They see that broadcasters on sport stations
such as ESPN and CBS are all ex-players and assume that being a football player
qualifies you to be a sports broadcaster. Ultimately, they feel that playing football
and concentrating on football will either lead to a career in the National Football
League or as a sports broadcaster. When asked if there is anything else that interests
them, they both replied “No.” When further questioned regarding why they chose the
field and didn’t choose another, they lacked an in-depth response. It became apparent
that their career goals were very general and lacked plausible strategies for
attainment.
Steve and Richard were undecided concerning their career goals. Steve had
no idea about what he was interested in and had spent little to no time exploring his
options. His approach was that he would take general education classes until
something “popped out” as interesting to him. When asked at the beginning of the
semester probing career questions regarding what he liked and what he was good at,
Steve replied with very limited insight. All his responses had to do with football,
such as an ability to practice hard and learn plays quickly. Richard wanted to be a
professional football player, and he was determined and motivated to make that
dream come true. He felt as though he had explored and committed to his only

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option. He did not feel that academics was a viable option for him, since he had had
no success in this area. The only person who had told him that he has the ability to
do well academically is his learning specialist and this has come too late. From his
viewpoint and his mother’s, his “bread and butter” is football. It is a career that is
prized by his peers. He is worth something as a professional athlete and that is where
his cultural capital lies.
Prior to the beginning of the semester all the participants felt that their career
paths would lead them to the NFL. Other career thoughts, such as sport broadcasting
or coaching, were always presented as a fall-back option. As the semester
progressed, there was little talk about career choices and the connections between
academic work and the future. All the participants were focused on what was right at
hand at that moment. There was no planning for the future, because to them the
future seemed far away, and this thought pattern lasted throughout the whole
semester. Throughout the semester, the participants carried with them a large amount
of anxiety and the feeling of just being able to survive each day. All the participants
were overwhelmed by and anxious with the newness of everything in all aspects of
life.
By the end of the semester it was apparent that for all of the participants that
academic-based careers were not important to them. It also became clear that they
had one academic goal for the semester, year, and their college career: to do enough
to remain eligible. Although some had the idea of being a sports broadcaster or
coach, they had no plan on how to achieve it. They had the perception and belief that

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their only strength lay in their abilities to be a football player. Throughout their high
school careers, they learned how to be academic low achievers and athletic
overachievers. As Robert pointed out, why would someone be motivated in an area
that they have never had success in. The participants never talked about people
giving them any incentives to change.
There is no reason to evaluate or interpret their current sense of self because
they feel that the focus is where it should be. It became obvious at the end of the
semester that they lacked any knowledge of how to be a good student. No one had
ever provided them with a behavioral blueprint of what that feels like mentally and
physically. They made it though high school, and they were somehow going to make
it through their first semester of college. They could locate nothing within their
environment to help guide their behavior.
These student-athletes constructed their sense of self according their
perceived opportunities, stereotypes, and cultural and social messages in their
environment. These senses of self have been developed and engrained into their
personalities over the course of 18 years. Who are we to think that we could produce
behavioral change within a 15-week semester? Their parents and past generations
from their family have had formal restrictions and barriers to success. These students
need assistance in recognizing the dominate culture and subcultural influences on
their beliefs in order to prevent the foreclosure of their academic and career options.
They lack the ability to integrate the dual roles of student and athlete. They think in

231
terms of extremes and lack the skill of moderation and balance. In their world, they
cannot be both a good football player and a good student.

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CHAPTER 6
RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings from the semester-long interviews of these African American
academically at-risk football players have yielded several comprehensive
recommendations for individuals who are committed to bringing about change in the
advancement, support, and inspiration of this population. In the following, key
suggestions are provided concerning all of the emergent themes discussed in this
study Also included are suggestions specific to African- American student-athletes
targeted towards key people involved within the recruiting and educational process.
Although race was not a predominant topic of discussion during the interview
process, this researchers feels that the absence was due to the limitations of the study
than the prevalence of the issue.

Physical Exhaustion
University counselors, faculty, coaches, and administrators need to assist
students in the prevention and treatment of exhaustion through effective, ongoing
interventions and counseling. Formal or informal counseling sessions covering
school-life balance and personal health and wellness may be beneficial to students in
alleviating exhaustion and its adverse outcomes. Future research in this area of
research may also benefit from recent theoretical developments in the field of

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neuropsychology. Very little research has been conducted to study the impact of
extended periods of high intensity physical activity on students’ class attention and
academic performance.
Counselors or personal employed by the athletic department can use
techniques to assess sleep quality. Health care staff can facilitate the student-athlete
in keeping a detailed sleep log. Sleep experts recommend including in the log all
night awakenings, napping, tiredness, rating of sleep quality, ingestion of alcohol,
caffeine, physical activity, and mood. Psychological and behavioral treatments that
have been found to be helpful in treating exhaustion are relaxation techniques,
cognitive procedures to correct thought distortions, and correction of learned
maladaptive sleep habits. Students may be unaware of how sleep disorders can
significantly affect their daily lives. Professionals cannot presume that college
students are cognizant of how their sleep deprivation affects their ability to perform
the cognitive tasks central to college education (Pilcher & Walters, 1997).
Some student affairs personal promote co-curricular activities and leisure
type activities to help with exhaustion and anxiety. Yet with time restraints this is
challenging for the student-athlete. Empirical research suggests that uninvolved
African American students do not maximize their college experiences to the same
degree as those who are actively involved in out-of-class activities (e.g., Cuyjet,
1997; Harper, 2003, 2004, 2005; Howard-Hamilton, 1997). Moreover, the existing
literature posits that college student-athletes are often isolated from faculty and
students on campus (Hyatt, 2003; Lee, 1991; Sellers & Dumas, 2002). Though

234
athletic obligations preclude them from being as involved as their non-athletic peers,
fraternities, campus religious group leaders, and student unions are examples of co-
curricular or leisure type activities that athletes could get involved in to alleviate
some of the negative effects of exhaustion and anxiety. Involvement on campus
could provide these student-athletes with a sense of fulfillment that could help with
depression and homesickness.
Procrastination
Procrastination is a universal problem for both college students and people in
general. When we look for recommendations for helping student-athletes we need to
look at not only the behavior of procrastination but the characteristics of the person
and the task. Procrastination is not simply being lazy. There can be numerous
underlying causes for procrastination, such as internal stress, fear of failure, fear of
success, avoidance, and task averiseness. Counselors and academic personnel are at
the forefront of the change process and must recognize that they need to change the
way that the student-athlete thinks before they can change the behavior of the
student-athlete.

Procrastination and Identity
Procrastination has been positively correlated to diffusion identity stage and
negatively correlated with achievement identity stage. Strategies and activities that
promote exploration of identity relevant issues would move the student-athlete along
the continuum and bring about movement between identity stages. This in turn could

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help lessen the occurrence of procrastination. Student-athletes experience trouble
when they put football first, because their identity is wrapped up with it and it is the
most salient form of self that they recognize. Thus, for problems with the timing of
rewards and punishment priority charts can be used and players can work with
academic support personnel to structure a rewards program for finishing work prior
to due date. The low-achieving student-athlete experiences task aversiveness,
because he has had no success in academics. Being academically driven does not
match their social and cultural identity.
Private universities may make the assumption that all students are
information-seeking individuals since these individuals are the most successful
academically. The institution needs to recognize the need for support and guidance to
individuals that are non-information seeking individuals. Activities that foster and
promote information seeking behavior are needed. In combining the recurring
themes of identity processing style and procrastination, research has shown that a
diffused identity processing style is positively related to the behavior of
procrastination and informational identity processing style is negatively related to
procrastination. If counselors can find exercises to move individuals from one style
to another and they might also move student-athletes away from procrastination. An
example might be small group work of four people where the student-athletes can be
exposed to individuals that can model and teach information-seeking behavior, then
a move to group exercises with three people, then two people until the student-

236
athlete has had numerous exposures to information-seeking behavior and is able to
perform on his or her own.
Strategies
Strategies that could be beneficial would contain activities that connect the
task to the goals of the person such as a possible selves program or a value
clarification exercises. Certain student-athletes have long standing negative
emotions surrounding academics. Academics create stress, and individuals with a
large amount of stress tend to procrastinate. If we work on the stress level, we could
lessen the tendency to procrastinate. Procrastinating puts these student-athletes in an
unwanted position so in order to make sense of the situation, they lie to themselves
and say “I work better under pressure.”
Procrastination is a misguided sense of activity. If student-athletes perceive
some aspect of the task negatively, they will dodge the discomfort through diversion.
They need to be educated in the fact that frustration is a part of academic life and that
academically achieving students also experience frustration. However, these students
have learned to acknowledge the unpleasantness and develop frustration-tolerance
skills. In talking to other students, the student-athlete can discover that it is not fun
and easy for academically successful students but that they persevere and push
through it. The student-athletes’ underlying perception is that it is easy for the “smart
kids.”
To help with procrastination, support personnel can facilitate initiating
exercises. This could include having the student become proficient in just starting

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assignments and working on them for 10 minutes in order to get them over the initial
constraint of procrastination. They can also pair up with other students to share ways
of bridging the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. In having the
students attend summer school and providing a mini-academic experience, student-
athletes will be able to estimate the proper amount of time to complete assignments.
Exercises that help student-athletes prioritize tasks, recognize their impulsiveness,
and make them aware of their actions would be valuable also.
Recognize and experience the social consequences of procrastination or
failure to changing academic which can result in becoming academically ineligible.
Academic support personnel can use self-awareness exercises such as conscious
raising and self-reevaluation that promote exploration and commitment of self that
are similar to the exercises correlated to moving from precontemplation to
contemplation or contemplation to action. Counselors need to educate the student-
athlete about the avoidance habit sequence by having the student-athlete log his or
her thoughts and emotions. Support staff needs to help student-athletes identify
examples of their own procrastination behavior, describing the activity they are
putting off, monitoring their emotions when they first start to delay, and recording
what they are thinking when they first began to delay. Answering questions such as:
(a) What did you tell yourself to keep on procrastinating, (b) What was the outcome?
and (c) Was the discomfort difficult to bear?
Student-athletes are arousal procrastinators. Some people push deadlines to
create an adrenaline rush that they feel spurs on maximum performance. Since they

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are athletes and arousal on the athletic field spurs superior athletic performance, they
could feel that academics will be the same. Part of the reason for the anxiety is that
school has become an unnatural act. Support personnel need to clarify the
misunderstanding that they will be able to create the creativity later and debunk the
statement “I work better under pressure.” This delay only widens the gap between
“what I know I should be doing” and actually doing it. Learning specialists can teach
the student-athlete to break things down into bite-size, concrete pieces before
beginning to attack an assignment.
Changing Academic Behavior
Hattie, Biggs, and Purdie (date) stated that the use of study skills classes does
not benefit the majority of university students, because they fail to change academic
behavior. We have spent minimal effort on investigating the different reasons or
causes of the student’s failure to change academic behavior. The use of the identity
theory of psychosocial development and Prochaska’s theory of change could add
insight into the failure to change, in particular, procrastination behaviors. Our intent
is not to identify all of the reasons for failure to change but to suggest some areas
that may not have been previously identified. Studies in psychology (e.g., Bargh &
Chartrand, 1999; Wegner & Wheatley, 1999) have indicated that certain behaviors
have become automated from years of repeated and consistent practice. When it
comes to automated behaviors, individuals have difficulty being aware when
engaging in them. Changing such automated behaviors requires considerable

239
commitment, effort, and time, leading some students to conclude that they lack
willpower and inner strength and therefore cannot change.
Kvale (1996) maintained that a fundamental understanding of a behavior is
only obtained by trying to change that behavior. Any exercises or programs that
could increase awareness about the causes and consequences of these students’
academic behaviors would be recommended. Interventions that can increase
awareness include feedback from student-athlete academic support staff. Moreover,
education courses should be offered that would focus on procrastination and
common dysfunctional academic behavior. Activities offered through either athletic
or academic support personal for academically at-risk students that would increase
their awareness about the academic problem behavior and how the individuals
participating in the dysfunctional behavior would be helpful. Counseling staff could
be incorporated into the program in order to observe and confront the student
problem behavior. Perhaps initial exercises where the student is asked to identify
problem behavior in fictitious student situations would be less threatening. Coupling
this with a personal log that would record a chronological account of academic
behavior and thinking patterns could facilitate conscious raising and promote
movement towards changing academic behavior.
Having one of their peers give a personal testimonial regarding what it was
like to be academically ineligible could facilitate an emotional response. Perhaps
counselors could use psychodrama to portray what it would be like to call home and
tell your parents that you are academically ineligible or role play sitting home and

240
watching the game on TV or explaining to your friends why you are not traveling
with the team. Another activity could be having the NFL scout and team personal
educate the student-athlete about the criteria for being drafted. Student-athletes need
to understand that NFL personal will interview all academic personal who have been
involved with the athletes. Negative reports regarding academic work ethic,
classroom attendance, academic integrity, and persistence will have a negative effect
on the draft process.
Exercises need to be used that allows the student-athlete to look for the
positive and negative models that they have for good academic behavior and how
they can change or mold their environment to remain positive and steer away from
negative influences. African American role models within the university who could
serve as peer counselors to help the transition of these at-risk students should be
identified. Activities need to explore how one feels and thinks about oneself with
respect to the problem of poor academic performance and failure to change problem
behavior. Participate in self-evaluation that combines both cognitive and affective
assessments of one’s self-image with and without a particular unhealthy habit,
particular attention needs to be put on stereotypes of non academically achieving
Black men and the emphasis of the African American cultural capital placed on
being an athletic superstar.
The athlete has to be educated to recognize and avoid the unhealthy
environments such as study hall conducted in the evening at the athletic support
center. Perhaps having tutor and learning specialist sessions during open period

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during the day could be explored to help avoid negative prompts. Trying to locate or
having academic support services try to locate academic help groups both inside and
outside the athletic department could provide stimulus to support change and reduce
risks of dysfunctional academic behavior. A mentor program could provide a caring,
trusting relationship, as well as support for the healthy academic behavior change. A
buddy system with upper classmen might generate a source of social support.
Mandatory counseling sessions during the first semester of school would help
with developing strategies for poor academic behavior and provide the behavioral
blueprints for healthy alternatives. Counselors could educate student-athletes on
relaxation and positive self-talk techniques so the athletes can substitute alternatives
for their problem behaviors. The student-athlete needs to be able to analyze their
resistance to change. Counselors can help the student-athlete turn defenses into
coping strategies and provide a helping relationship within a supportive context to
process developmental or environmental events. Student-athletes will then be able to
see themselves in the same ways as others do, and counselors can educate them on
how to recognize and identify their defenses.
Scholarly Academic Effort
The existing literature regarding the academic performance of Division I
African American male student-athletes reveals high attrition rates, dismal
graduation percentages, and other academic inadequacies (DeFrancesco, 1996;
Howard-Hamilton & Watt, 2001; Hyatt, 2002; Lapchick, 2003; Person & Lenoir,
1997; Sanoff & Schrof, 1990; Zimbalist, 1999). These studies provide a foundation

242
for understanding some of the academic challenges faced by this population. Hollis
(2002) examined the relationship between student-athlete graduation rates and
academic support services and found an inverse relationship between services
offered and graduation rate. Schools that admit student athletes with weaker
academic profiles are providing more academic support services. Hollis found that
summer school at a selected university before the student’s freshman year is the
support service with the most impact on graduation rate.
Identifying academically driven African American male students and student-
athletes from the university community and using them as change-agents is
paramount to help student-athletes at highly selective Division I universities. Faculty
and student affairs personnel need to facilitate identifying these individuals.
Research has shown that being life-long mentors for African American boys were
cited as being long-term goals of the African American academically successful
student-athletes. Consequently, their masculine identities were enhanced by their
desires to assist other African Americans in need. Instead of being content with their
own successes, the participants relished opportunities to act upon humanitarian
endeavors in the African American community.
Various sources of support are needed for African American male student-
athletes to be successful on a highly selective campus. Conflicts with coaches,
challenges with time management, confidence fluctuations, and peer pressure were
all issues faced by the participants in this study. Of course, some African American
male student-athletes have navigated the terrain of higher education without support

243
and have been successful. However, for optimal academic and athletic success, a
host of supporters are required, including parents, teammates, faculty, and academic
counselors.
Identity Processing Style
Schmidt and Hunt (1994) found that the actual developmental “starting line”
of incoming first-year students is vastly disparate across individuals and that
students’ precollege motivation, aptitude, goals, and commitments can influence
significantly the degree to which they are ready to participate in the college
experience. Further, experiences in college can have a significant impact on the
development of some students and not on others. A great deal of research effort has
been devoted to exploring this impact (see Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). It would
be helpful both to students at different developmental levels and to the institutions
that admit them, if these students could be identified early in their college careers
and provided with the skills and confidence needed to succeed personally and
academically. Knowing students’ styles of identity processing and how they relate to
their initial expectations regarding their success in college could help student affairs
professionals conceptualize developmental obstacles and design proactive
interventions to support students in their transition from high school to college and to
help them attain their academic goals.
In light of the initial expectations of diffused men, one wonders to what
extent their difficulties in college are the result of self-fulfilling prophecy. If the
diffused male goes to a learning center for help with time management, math, or

244
writing skills, for example, the learning counselor should be alert to possible
underlying developmental dynamics and be prepared to make a referral to the
counseling center. Because diffused students fail to attend to detail, straightforward
and clear activities, such as worksheets and homework assignments, need to be
introduced and reintroduced in diverse ways. Special attention needs to be given to
follow-through, as these students tend to operate globally and to forget
commitments. Open-ended activities, such as lifestyle fantasies, wish lists, card sorts,
and reviewing resumes to gain a sense of the educational requirements of certain
positions, may help such students become more aware of the interplay of personal
and career development, and hence become more age-appropriate in terms of their
identity processing style.
Diffused students are perhaps least likely to seek help from a campus
counseling center as they may perceive this as either not necessary or as too
threatening. Only when these students are already in academic jeopardy, or when
university policy demands it, may such students actually seek help. Adams, Ryan,
and To (date) raised awareness of existing interventions or to sensitize a diffused
student to the need for counseling, outreach programs in the classroom or residence
hall should be nonintrusive and proactive.
The participants in this study were high-caliber athletes. They have always
have had someone else in control of their academic pathways in order to gain
eligibility. They used emotion-focused coping techniques in athletics with positive
results. These student-athletes need to be provided with alternatives to emotional-

245
focused coping techniques, and they need to be educated on how to become
problem-focused individuals. The student-athlete needs to be educated that
emotionally charged peak performance might work on the field but should not be
used in academics.
Harper and Tuckman (2004) found that knowing a students’ styles of identity
processing and how they relate to their initial expectations regarding their success in
college could help student affairs professionals conceptualize developmental
obstacles and design proactive interventions to support students in their transition
from high school to college. The dynamics of social and cultural role requirements
along with coping style should therefore be taken into consideration when studying
and moving students towards an informational identity processing style. Harper and
Tuckman (2006) also examined the students’ racial identity beliefs along with the
extent to which being Black is a central part of his or her self-concept provides a
novel, insightful approach to understanding the relationship between racial identity,
identity processing style and academic achievement. More students of color should
be included in future research on processing style so we can broaden our
conceptualization of identity formation processes to include the impact of
discrimination, as well as familial and community considerations.
Possible Selves
Possible Selves and Changing Academic Behavior
Research has shown that a student’s motivational state is an influential factor
in his or her academic achievement. With student-athletes, the motivation to excel at

246
their respective sport is clear and strong. Yet with academics the motivation is less
clear. The challenge that we face as educators lies in answering: How much is
student motivation a factor in student achievement? What are the motivational issues
that athletics department and support staff face? Within what parameters (time,
opportunity, support, curriculum) must we operate? A student’s motivation to learn
is influenced by the individual’s emotional stress, beliefs, interests, goals, and habits
of thinking. When learning is effectively tied to future purposes and outcomes,
motivation to set goals and invest the necessary effort to meet goals is enhanced.
Learners are more motivated when they can see the usefulness of what they are
learning and when they can see the information they are learning will lead to
something of significance for them.
Possible selves is designed to increase student motivation by having students
examine their futures and think about goals that are important to them. Students
think about and describe their hoped-for possible selves, expected possible selves,
and feared possible selves. They set goals, create plans, and work toward their goals
as part of this program.
The program is based on the cognitive goal theory which stresses that
academic motivation is directly related to the pursuit of meaningful and specific
goals. Goal theory emphasizes the importance of positive reinforcement for the
student-athlete and facilitates communication of high expectations to the students. In
tying the goals with the student-athletes the attempt is made to make academic tasks
more interesting. By promoting attribution alternatives, self-advocacy, and teaching

247
learning strategies along with debunking cultural restraints, possible selves is a way
synthesizing their dual identities into a single compatible role.
Possible selves attempts to engage low-income youth in developing clearly
articulated images of self that are linked to current school involvement with adult
futures. The underlying assumption is that if one can help youth articulate
achievement-oriented images of self in a positive peer-based social context that
implicitly frames academic achievement as part of their racial ethnic identity
(Oyserman, Bybee, & Terry, 2005).
Roles of Specific Groups in the Change Process
The findings from the semester-long interviews of these African American
academically at-risk football players have yielded several comprehensive
recommendations for individuals who are committed to bringing about change in the
advancement, support, and inspiration of this population. In the following, key
suggestions are provided concerning parents, K–12 educators, university
administrators, and faculty, head coaches, and policy makers within the NCAA.
Parents
Parents are critical figures in the overall academic development, persistence,
and performance of African American boys and men participating in athletics,
regardless of educational grade or level. The parents of the participants in this study
did not recognize the importance of providing their sons with solid academic
foundations during their middle and high school education. This ultimately could
have contributed to them failing to excel academically both in high school and in

248
college. Since all of the parents had not gone to college, they were extremely “hands
off” and uninvolved in their sons’ academic progress and overly involved in their
athletic progress. Instead of providing additional tutoring on the weekends, meeting
with teachers monthly, discussing current events, and teaching communication skills,
they would travel to various football camps and games in order to participate in their
son’s lives.
Knowing this, more African Americans need to become actively involved in
their sons’ lives, before and during college. Instead of rewarding their sons for
various athletic accomplishments, African American parents should praise their sons
for academic achievements. Many of the parents sent a message to their sons that all
they expected from them was just to achieve up to the standard of initial and
continuing eligibility, and nothing higher. Many of the participants reflected upon on
how their parents demanded that they performed well in the classroom. Given this,
parents should support their sons’ athletic interests, while simultaneously
encouraging them to work steadily to reach their full potential as students. In this
way, the student-athlete will begin to picture himself in the role of both a student and
an athlete.
African American fathers need to be more involved in their sons’ academic
lives. During all of the interviews, the participants never identified their fathers as
being present or as advocates for academic success. When present in the home, the
participant’s spoke about how their fathers celebrated their athletic awards in high
school. None of the participants’ fathers or mothers were successful in their careers

249
so they could not provide their sons with professional insight and serve as models for
their sons to emulate.
Lastly, parents need to discuss attending college with their sons at an early
age. Instead of relying on Division I athletic scholarship offers and choosing schools
on the basis of BCS contention, African American parents should prepare their sons
to attend college excluding athletic participation and involvement. During the initial
interview process, the participants always spoke of their mothers and occasionally of
their fathers speaking of athletic related issues in choosing a college and rarely of
academic issues. They did not facilitate researching the various academic
departments, engagement opportunities or mentorship programs for African
American male students outside of athletics. Increasing parental engagement could
have a positive affect on the postsecondary experiences of African American
student-athletes.
K–12 Educators
In addition to parents, K–12 educators play a vital role in determining
academic achievement among African American male student-athletes. Knowing
this, teachers at all educational levels need to have high expectations for African
American male student-athletes and nonathletes alike. The participants in this study
discussed having unhealthy relationships with their primary and secondary school
teachers. They asserted that their K–12 learning experiences consisted of negative
confirmations and a lack of caring, which facilitated their academic disinterest.
Perhaps it was at this time that an unconscious switch occurred from academics to

250
athletics. All four participants noted that these negative attitudes stunted their
interests in doing well in the classroom. In light of this, more K–12 educators should
convey messages to African American male students that focus on academic
achievement instead of on scholastic failure.
Primary and secondary educators need to hold African American male
student-athletes more academically accountable. Instead of lowering academic
standards and requirements for African American student-athletes, teachers should
encourage them to reach their full potential as students. Too many times, K–12
educators provide student-athletes with false perceptions of their academic success,
such as assigning inflated grades in order to keep the talented athlete eligible for
competition. Unfortunately, in most cases, this produces deleterious academic effects
in later years of schooling, particularly in college. In this study, the entire subject
pool felt that if they made it through high school, then they were academically ready
and equipped to handle college. During their first semester of college, these African
American male student-athletes discovered that they were not equipped with the
academic foundation necessary to compete and they were at a loss of what to do
about it. Thus, early academic accountability is imperative to the postsecondary
learning experiences and outcomes of African American male student athletes.
Active involvement in outside activities other than athletics should become a
component of the high school experience. If involvement begins in high school, this
behavior has a better chance of being repeated in college. Perhaps in addition to
athletic participation, the student-athletes could become involved in campus and

251
community initiatives. This would require the buy in of all participants at the high
school level. As a result, they could be exposed to the perks and benefits of
involvement before enrolling in college. With high school involvement being a
predictor of collegiate participation in clubs and organizations, it would be sensible
for K–12 educators to encourage African American male student-athletes to augment
their athletic participation with other out-of-class activities. Without question, this
would add much needed balance to the lives of these student-athletes and would
ultimately enhance their academic and social experiences as undergraduates.
University Administrators and Faculty
One out of nine African American male college students is an athlete (Person
& Lenoir, 1997). Knowing this, it is imperative for postsecondary administrators and
faculty to collaborate to create practical ways to enhance the academic and social
experiences of African American male student-athletes, particularly at highly
selective institutions. This effort will only be successful if institutional leaders are
willing to learn more about the student-athlete experience and better recognize the
effects of policies and procedures developed for this group. University officials also
need to be proactive in educating parents concerning the support, services,
opportunities, and resources available in order to reinforce participation and
exploration at home during the student-athletes senior year. Given the comparatively
low graduation percentages, low rates of involvement, and high attrition rates of
African American male student-athletes, this endeavor should be paramount for
university administrators and faculty nationwide.

252
Though college student-athletes are typically required to participate in
athletic department sponsored campus orientation sessions, additional campus
orientations should be led by key administrators, faculty, and staff members.
Orientations should involve an introduction to the academic and social culture of the
institution. Sessions should include a thorough explication of academic expectations,
appropriate behavior in residence halls and on campus, and an overview of
involvement opportunities and other pertinent resources on campus. Specifically,
institutional leaders should consider the climate for African American students on
their campuses. Information and support needs to be conveyed to these student-
athletes regarding what it is like to be a student of color at their specific institution.
Identifying African American male leaders, introducing student-athletes to African
American faculty members, and encouraging student-athletes to live in African
American centered residence halls are all possible ways to acclimate African
American male student-athletes to campus.
During the orientation sessions, student affairs administrators should urge
African American male student-athletes to become actively involved on campus.
Unlike the subjects within this study, other nonathletes have purposeful engagement
outside of the classroom that allows them to have a bond with their universities. If
allowed, in lieu of time constraints, involvement in co-curricular activities, this could
produce meaningful academic and social outcomes for the student-athletes. One way
for student affairs professionals to promote campus involvement would be to
highlight and publicly acknowledge peer mentors from both the student-athlete and

253
general university populations. Along with the student affairs representative
discussing the benefits of campus involvement, the student-athlete can be provided
with specific examples of the advantages and reasons for joining not only a club,
organization, or fraternity, but for being actively involved in general. This
presentation is important because many African American male student-athletes exit
universities never having sufficient knowledge regarding out-of-class engagement
opportunities.
African American male student-athletes should be afforded time to spend
with on-campus African American student leaders while on their official visit.
Campus leaders can provide student-athletes with an overview of purposeful out-of-
class activities, as well as offer non-athletic perspectives of “what it is like to be an
African American male student at that given institution.” This would certainly be a
value-added experience for African American male student-athletes.
Student-Affairs Administrators
Throughout the interview process all the participants cited various
psychological and emotional challenges (e.g., procrastination, academic and athletic
motivational issues, relationship struggles with family or women, and conflicts with
coaches). Atkinson, Jennings, and Liongson, (1990) contended that African
American male student-athletes may be reluctant to use counseling services due to
the scarcity of culturally similar and sensitive counselors, and their failure to offer
culturally comfortable therapy. Although all participants’ talked of psychological
challenges, none of them mentioned going to the counseling centers on campus.

254
Counselors within student affairs should contact coaches and athletic administrators
in an attempt to educate student-athletes about the available counseling services
offered on campus, not just the services available within the athletic department. As
student-athletes are educated on the counseling services, they should understand that
these services serve as support systems for managing their academic and student
roles, coping with forms of racism and discrimination, and solving personal
dilemmas. Most importantly, counselors should convey to the student-athletes that
the services are merely designed for them to discover ways to solve their own issues.
In sum, counseling services are vital to the success of African American male
student-athletes; therefore more efforts are needed by student affairs administrators
to reach out to this population.
Student-athletes as a group need more interaction and direction from career
counselors when they first come onto their respective university campuses. This
process needs to begin their freshman year and continue to be emphasized
throughout their entire college career. Overall, student-athletes are not receiving
adequate career advice from individuals within the athletic department. These
student-athletes would benefit tremendously from experienced career advising
professionals housed outside the athletic department. In turn, career counselors need
to have more interaction with student-athletes on their campuses. Career counselors
should attend athletic events and meetings (e.g., monthly coaches meetings, Student-
Athlete Academic Council meetings, Student-Academic Academic Services events,
etc) and provide an overview of their services and formulate valuable connections.

255
At most universities, career services do not factor in student-athletes lives until their
athletic eligibility has been exhausted. Alliances should be established between
career advisors, athletic officials, and student-athletes to promote career exploration
in nonathletic fields.
Faculty Members
Professors should seek out African American male student-athletes at the
beginning of the semester and talk about expectations for the course. Faculty, and not
TAs, need to reach out to this population. Instructors should not dominate these
discussions, but rather allow student-athletes to express their thoughts and concerns
about the particular class. Faculty members need to continue these meetings
throughout the semester either in their offices or before or after class. Most African
American male student-athletes would appreciate receiving a vote of confidence
from their teachers, something that was lacking during their high school years. This
approach by faculty could possibly dispel feelings of academic inadequacy and of
being stereotyped.
Though African American faculty can be scarce at highly selective
universities, there is a need for more African American faculty and student-athlete
interaction. African American faculty should collaborate with academic advisors for
student-athletes and develop ways for faculty members to monitor, tutor, and advise
African American male student-athletes. University administrators need to allow
faculty time to do this within their academic teaching requirements or compensate
the faculty member for their time and effort. Moreover, African American faculty

256
should help facilitate lectures and discussions regarding life skills, establishing
meaningful connections with non-athletes, benefits of campus involvement, help
with hardships on campus, and the overall significance of being successful as
African American men. In summary, African American male faculty leadership is
essential to the retention and persistence of African American male student-athletes
at highly selective Division I institutions.
Division I Athletic Directors
Division I athletic directors need to be more cognizant of the academic and
social needs of African American male student-athletes. Instead of relying on head
coaches to be the primary individuals’ responsible for the overall success of student-
athletes, athletic directors need to be more “hands on” and involved. Athletic
directors should meet with African American male student-athletes as a group to
explicate academic expectations and appropriate behavior on campus. During this
presentation, athletic directors should allow student-athletes to have an opportunity
to express challenges, fears, perceptions, beliefs, and goals for the current and
upcoming year. In addition, African American male students who demonstrated
exemplary academic performance, as well as student-athletes who earned laudable
campus and community awards the previous year, should be recognized.
Recruitment and retention of African American athletic administrators,
coaches, and academic staff is key to improving the college experiences of African
American male student-athletes. The participants in this study only rarely spoke of
any African American high school administrators, teachers, or academic advisors

257
that were present or involved in their academic performance. Athletic directors
should have more conversations with African American staff to discover more ways
to ensure meaningful and positive academic, social, and personal experiences for
African American male student-athletes.
Athletic directors need to hold college head coaches more accountable for the
academic success of African American male student-athletes. Delegating academic
responsibilities to assistant coaches and graduate interns is not enough to assure
academic success among this population. The participants in this study never spoke
about their high school or current coaches addressing the need to excel in the
classroom, they would only tell them that they needed to get it done.
In addition to holding coaches academically accountable, athletic directors
need to monitor the types of student-athletes that coaches are recruiting, particularly
African American male student-athletes. Before transcripts, applications, and other
pertinent information are submitted to the university admission office for review,
athletic directors should carefully peruse student-athlete profiles. A student-athlete’s
GPA, SAT or ACT score, character references, and personal essay along with an
interview during the prospect’s official visit should be reviewed. A collaborative
approach for recruiting African American male student-athletes must be developed
in order to improve the athletic, academic, and social experience for the student-
athlete. Athletic directors should not give coaches complete freedom on the type of
student-athletes that participate in their athletic programs. By doing this, attrition
rates will hopefully decline for not only African American male student-athletes, but

258
for all male athletes participating in revenue-generating sports at Division I
universities.
Division I Head Coaches
Division I head coaches, particularly those in revenue-generating sports, need
to acknowledge and reward African American male student-athletes for academic
achievement in the classroom. If coaches consistently praised African American
male student-athletes who were both academically driven and athletically respected,
more African American male student-athletes would prioritize academic success.
This would inevitably engender healthier academic cultures among student-athletes
in revenue-generating sports. Thus, an upward trend in academic performance might
occur among African American male student-athletes.
Coaches should also encourage African American male student-athletes to
pursue campus and community involvement opportunities. Coaches should promote
campus involvement as a way to escape from the rigors, demands, and pressures of
“big time” college athletics. Moreover, this will expose African American male
student-athletes to additional social outlets and resources outside of the athletic
department, which ultimately will enhance their typically imbalanced college
experiences.
Lastly, official recruiting visits are ideal times for coaches to introduce
possible involvement opportunities for African American male students at their
selective institutions. Typically during their senior year in high school, standout
student-athletes take all-expense paid official visits to colleges and universities. In

259
many cases, official visits are critical in the college choice process for student-
athletes participating in revenue-generating sports. Indeed, meeting college
presidents, attending academic advisor presentations, and spending time with
potential teammates are all vital components of recruiting visits.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
Ten years ago, the NCAA mandated that all Division I athletic departments
include life skill components to their academic interventions for student-athletes.
Career exploration, cultural sensitivity training, classroom etiquette, and relationship
issues were a few of the topics to be addressed in the life skill workshops. Though
some athletic departments currently offer multi-faceted programs for student-
athletes, a large majority of these programs are not fulfilling the needs of certain
student-athlete populations. Given that over half of African American male student-
athletes participate in revenue-generating sports, NCAA officials need to mandate
that athletic departments augment life skills programs specifically for the needs of
this population. Exploration of self, coping with racism and discrimination, the
dangers of alcohol and drugs, public speaking skills, relationships with women, and
classroom and dining etiquette should all be covered in the life skills programs for
African American male student-athletes. These programs will not only teach African
American male student-athletes campus survival skills but long-term techniques and
methods necessary for life after college athletics.
Although the life skills program promoted by the NCAA is useful, it should
be used as a coordinated supplement to what the university itself offers to

260
academically at-risk African American male student-athletes. The university has got
to take on more of the responsibility for this population. This responsibility does not
end with their admission to the university as it seems to be now, but rather it begins
there. If the NCAA truly wants to bring about change for this population then failure
in this area should result in sanctions not only against the athletic department but
against the university as a whole.

261

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APPENDIX A
Interview Guide for Unstructured Open-Ended Questions
Initial Meeting
Sample Questions with Probes
1. Tell me about your family?
- What is your parent’s marital, educational, SES status?
- How many siblings do you have in your family?
- What was the academic culture in your home?
2. Tell me about your high school experience?
- Was it academically challenging for you?
- What was the culture of academics within your high school?
- How did you balance athletics and academics?
3. Tell me about your academic behavior in high school?
- Did you attend and engage in class regularly?
- How much in-class and out of class work was expected?
- Describe the behavior that was needed to be successful?
4. What are your perceptions and beliefs regarding academics in college?
- Describe the behavior that you feel will be needed in college in
order to
achieve academically success?
6. Tell me what you hope to achieve academically as you enter college?

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- Describe to me what is possible for you academically?
- What do you envision for yourself here at this college?
6. Tell me what you fear academically and athletically as you enter college?

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APPENDIX B
Interview Guide for Unstructured Open-Ended Questions
Subsequent Interviews
Sample Questions with Probes
1. Tell me about your experiences thus far in the area of academics?
a. What have your classes been like?
b. How are your tutoring/ learning specialist sessions progressing?
c. What does your in-class and out of class academic behavior look like?
2. What do you feel are your academic challenges in your first semester of
college?
d. time management
e. workload
f. emotional and psychosocial issues
3. How are you handling these challenges?
a. What are your strategies?
b. What does this require of your behavior?
c. Have you been successful in changing your behavior?
4. How do you balance the academic, athletic, social demands of college?
a. How do the athletic/ social challenges affect the academic demands?
5. Have any of your perceptions and beliefs about college academics changed?
- How have they changed from the beginning of the semester?

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6. Do you feel that what you hoped for academically is still possible?

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APPENDIX C
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education

INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

******************************************************************
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH

An Ethnographic Study of Entry Beliefs and Perceptions of Academically At-
Risk African American Male Student-Athletes
You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Myron Dembo, Ph.D
and Donna C. Heinel Ed.D. student from the Rossier School of Education at the
University of Southern California. The results from this study will contribute to a
doctoral dissertation. You were selected as a possible participant in this study,
because you are an academically at-risk African American male student-athlete
participating in a revenue-generating sport at the University of Southern California.
A total of 4 participants will be selected from the above institutions. Your
participation is voluntary.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to examine entry beliefs and perceptions of at-risk
African American male student-athletes at Division I institutions. This study will add

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to the literature regarding African American male student-athletes who are at-risk
academically. This examination will allow researchers and educators to better
identify and understand the factors that lead at-risk academic behavior for African
American male student-athletes.

PROCEDURES
In the Fall 2006 semester, you will be asked to participate in 15 week, 30-minute
interview. In the interview, you will be asked a series of questions related to your
entry belief and perceptions as an academically at-risk African American male
student-athlete at a Division I institution. These questions will relate to current or
past academic and athletic challenges, campus involvement, family background, and
professional aspirations and goals. All interviews will be conducted at a place that is
comfortable for all participants. All interviews will be audio taped and transcribed
for common themes and relevant findings. Subjects will not be allowed to participate
in this research study if they choose not to be audio-taped. All participant profile
forms will be completed before each interview. All forms will be stored and locked
in the office of the principal investigator.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
This study does not pose any identifiable potential risk or discomfort to you.
However, if any discomfort or uncertainty occurs, Dr. Myron Dembo or Donna C.
Heinel will be available for questions or concerns at (213) 740-2364.

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POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
You will not directly benefit from this study. However, this study brings a “voice” to
the academic experiences of African American male student-athletes. This study will
also shed a positive light on African American male students in college.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
There is no compensation for participating in this study.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be
identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your
permission or as required by law. After this study is completed, all audio-tapes will
be destroyed. You will have the right to review/edit your interview upon request. All
data and audio-tapes will be stored and locked in the office of principal investigator.
All data stored on a computer will be secured by a password. This data will also be
coded to protect your identity. When the results of the dissertation are discussed, no
information will be included that would reveal your identity. Academic counselors
will not know if you decide to participate and there will be no consequences to you
for not participating in this research study.

PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
You can choose whether to be in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this
study, you may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind. You may

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also refuse to answer any questions you don’t want to answer and still remain in the
study. The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise
which warrant doing so.

IDENTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATORS
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact
the principal investigator, Myron Dembo, Ph.D. and Co-Investigator Donna C.
Heinel, Ed.D. student at (213) 740-1636 or (213) 740-2364. Our contact address is:
University of Southern California, WPH 802, Los Angeles, Ca 90089-4038.

RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS
You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract The academic performance of African American male student-athletes has received considerable attention over the past two decades regarding academic achievement. In response the NCAA has instituted academic reform measure to increase graduation rates for student-athletes. Although these reform measures has produced academic behavioral change in order to increase graduation rates for the majority of student-athletes, African American males student-athletes still struggle with changing their academic behavior and graduating at the same rate as their peers. Since beliefs and perceptions govern behavior, this study explores the beliefs and perceptions of African American academically at risk male football players as they navigate their first semester of collegiate. Three constructs will enhance the exploration: trantheoretical model of behavioral change (TTM), identity processing style and possible selves.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Heinel, Donna C. (author)

Core Title A comparative case study analysis of academically at risk African American male student athletes

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 08/08/2008

Defense Date 04/20/2008

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academically at risk African American,African American students,football student-athletes,OAI-PMH Harvest,student-athletes

Place Name California (states)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Dembo, Myron H. (committee chair), Hocevar, Dennis J. (committee member), Rueda, Robert S. (committee member)

Creator Email dheinel@usc.edu,heinel@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1569

Unique identifier UC1211152

Identifier etd-Heinel-2074 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-110830 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1569 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Heinel-2074.pdf

Dmrecord 110830

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Heinel, Donna C.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu