A Longitudinal Study of Athletic Participation Effecting Student-athletes’ Academic Success

Abstract

This proposed longitudinal study aims to examine the effect of the personality trait Grit and time management skills among student-athletes on the individual’s academic success. Grit is essential in persevering through difficult obstacles that are common occurrences in both athletics and academics. Time management skills are important when handling multiple large responsibilities at once, such as school, sports, social life and family. There would be two groups involved in the study, and they will be divided based on athletic participation. Student-athletes in one group, and non-athletes in the other. Each participant would take self-reporting surveys, while in middle school, to measure a baseline value of the participants Grit and time management ability. Once the participants reach their final 2 years of high school, SAT and GPA values will be collected, as well as a re-assessment of their time management and Grit values and whether or not their athletic participation has continued since their original report. The re-measurement of values is to help identify if a particular group in this study showed a greater growth in either trait over the course of several years. The purpose of this study is to fill a hole in the literature pertaining to athletic participation beginning in middle school, and the Grit trait having an effect on athletic retention rates over the course of middle and high school years. I predict a significant difference in academic achievement between students with continued athletic participation through the duration of this study and students who gave up athletics at some point during the study or non-student athletes. I also predict that student athletes will show a significantly greater growth in their Grit levels and time management ability in comparison to their peers.