Adult perceptions of student involvement in high school athletics

The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to explore and investigate the adult perceptions of the influence or impact that student involvement in high school athletics has on student engagement and student success. Due to the fact that funding for education in California is tied to the state economy, it is continually susceptible to periods of economic boom as well as times of economic recession. The result is that educational leaders have to continually make decisions about what programs to cut or to continue to fund. In times of economic crisis, there is a documented tendency for schools across the nation to cut extracurricular programs in order to sustain the academic curricular programs. This study examines adult perceptions regarding the impact that they believe athletic involvement ultimately has on student engagement and student success in a secondary setting. Through a focus group with parents, a staff survey and semi-structured interviews with staff members, this study explored adult perceptions regarding the impact that athletics has on overall student engagement and success. Findings include the importance of athletics in providing "life lessons" and in teaching students skills that cannot be taught as easily, if at all, in the classroom; the importance of athletics in providing a "sense of belonging" or "being a part of a team"; and the role that athletic involvement plays in providing motivation for students to be academically more engaged and successful.