ERIC Number: EJ1000233
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 19
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1047-8248
EISSN: N/A
Impact of Demographic Variables on African-American Student Athletes' Academic Performance
Reynolds, Lacey; Fisher, Dwalah; Cavil, J. Kenyatta
Educational Foundations, v26 n3-4 p93-111 Sum-Fall 2012
Since the passage of Proposition 48 (NCAA, 1984), African-American student-athletes entering National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) major colleges and universities have meet new challenges in their future as student-athletes. This major change altered the landscape of the future of college athletics particularly for students of color. Proposition 48 mandates minimum scores from the ACT (17), SAT (700), and a 2.0 high school grade point average (GPA). The NCAA believes that by putting a criterion on student-athletes, it will improve the graduation success rate and it will allow colleges and universities to be more selective of the students they admit through their doors on athletic scholarships. There are other factors that affect the academic achievement of student-athletes at the college level. For example, the demographic variables of gender, family structure, and socioeconomic status have a significant impact on the academic performance of African-American student athletes. These variables have accounted for some successes and failures of student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to predict the relationship between the independent variable (the demographic variables) which consist of family structure, socioeconomic status, and gender toward athletics and the dependent variable (academic performance) as measured by the Cognitive Grade Point Averages (CGPA) of student athletes in selected NCAA Division I basketball programs from universities in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The variables of family structure, socioeconomic status, and gender were found to have a linear relationship with the academic performance of basketball players on college campuses. Particularly, the variables gender and socioeconomic status were positively related to the academic performance among basketball players. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Grade Point Average, Physical Activities, Athletes, Scholarships, Team Sports, Family Structure, Campuses, Predictor Variables, College Athletics, Gender Issues, African American Students, Higher Education, Minority Group Students, Minority Groups, Graduation Rate, Colleges, Universities, Black Colleges, Intercollegiate Cooperation, Socioeconomic Status
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Alabama; Arkansas; Louisiana; Mississippi; Texas
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A