Association between university athletes' routines and academic performance across different sports within the context of a Brazilian university
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55040/cf2j7v25Keywords:
academic performance, academic routine, dual career, student-athletes, university sportsAbstract
Sports-academic reconciliation can be understood as the process through which athletes seek to combine their athletic routines with their educational paths. This study aimed to identify the association between the routines of university athletes and their academic performance across different sports. A quantitative, descriptive, and correlational cross-sectional design was adopted. A validated questionnaire was administered to 135 student-athletes. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted, including Spearman’s correlation and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The results indicated that the Academic Performance Index showed no statistically significant association with the investigated variables, including academic period (ρ = 0.098, p = 0.265), commuting time (ρ = 0.050, p = 0.570), weekly leisure time (ρ = 0.028, p = 0.751), sleep time (ρ = 0.049, p = 0.576), and study time (ρ = 0.005, p = 0.956). Furthermore, no statistically significant differences were found in the Academic Performance Index among athletes engaged in individual, team, or both types of sports [H (2) = 1.655, p = 0.437]. The majority of participants practiced team sports and held part-time jobs. These findings suggest that sports participation does not negatively impact academic performance. On the contrary, athletic experience may contribute to development of skills such as time management, discipline, and resilience, which can positively influence academic trajectories. The study concludes that university sports should be valued not merely as a complement to academic life, but as a key component of students’ development, highlighting the need for structured support policies and targeted investments.
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