The impact of academic eligibility requirements on student achievement as perceived by coaches, teachers, and students

Henry Kenneth Staggs, Tennessee State University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare high school coaches', teachers', and students' perceptions of how academic eligibility requirements impacted student academic achievement. Participants were selected with random cluster sampling techniques. There were 513 usable surveys returned from 629 surveys distributed for an overall return rate of 81.6%. Nine null hypotheses were stated and tested at the .05 level of statistical significance with a one-way analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. The researcher analyzed responses to open-ended statements. Statistically significant differences were found which indicated: (a) coaches disagreed at a greater rate than teachers or students with the statement, “Athletic participation results in students making lower grades,” (b) coaches disagreed at a lesser rate than teachers or students with the statement, “Students who are involved with athletics make better grades than those who are not involved,” (c) students disagreed at a lesser rate than coaches or teachers with the statement, “Teachers feel pressure from administrators or coaches to pass athletes because of academic eligibility requirements,” (d) students disagreed at a lesser rate than coaches or teachers with the statement, “Being an athlete or non-athlete influences teachers' computation of a students grades,” and (e) students had a greater perception than coaches and teachers that no-pass/no-play rules cause athletes to be less likely to enroll in honors classes. Findings included: (a) a high majority of coaches, teachers, and students perceived that no-pass/no-play rules should not be abolished, (b) coaches, teachers, and students agreed that academic eligibility rules influence athletes to make better grades, and (c) coaches, teachers, and students perceived that academic eligibility rules do not cause athletes to drop out of school. Recommendations for further research included a correlation study between the number of students enrolled in honors courses and the number of students participating in athletics. It was recommended that future research include case studies of high school athletes who became academically ineligible and investigations of how teachers and coaches responded to athletes who became academically ineligible.

Subject Area

School administration|Secondary education

Recommended Citation

Henry Kenneth Staggs, "The impact of academic eligibility requirements on student achievement as perceived by coaches, teachers, and students" (2001). ETD Collection for Tennessee State University. Paper AAI3007572.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3007572

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