Kelly Troutman and Dr. Mikaela Dufur, Sociology
Sports’ connection to education is readily apparent in American society. The presumption adopted in the late 1800s that sports serve to build character led to their integration into the education system. Today virtually every high school is engaged in interscholastic sport competition (Eitzen and Sage, 1986). The increased prevalence of sport in American society, and specifically school settings, has led to various inquiries as to the effects of participation in sports. The majority of studies centered on high school athletes have demonstrated that participants in interscholastic sport enjoy various positive benefits related to academic success (Fejgin 1994; Eccles and Barber 1999; Broh 2002; Marsh and Kleitman 2003
Although some investigations have examined long-term effects of high school sport participation, they tend to ignore female athletes. Because women’s increased participation in high school sports is a relatively recent development, occurring over the last thirty years, investigations may now begin to look at whether the positive effects of women’s sport participation persist or dissipate over time. In this study I examine the long-term effects of high school sport participation on female’s post-secondary educational attainment. I predict that women who played sports in high school will be more likely to obtain a Bachelors degree than those who did not participate.
My analysis of the effect of female high school sport involvement on attainment of a Bachelors degree draws on data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education. The baseyear study, conducted in 1988, used a stratified, clustered national probability sample of 1,052 private and public schools and 24,599 eighth graders. Data for each student was collected by means of questionnaires administered to students, parents, teachers and schools. Follow-ups one and two were conducted in 1990 and 1992 when respondents were in 10th and 12th grades, respectively. Follow-ups three and four were conducted in 1994 and 2000, two years and six years after the normal time of high school graduation. Response rates for all follow-ups were higher than 85 percent.
I employed logistic regression to determine whether females who engaged in any interscholastic high school sports in 10th or 12th grade were more likely to complete college six years after high school graduation. Results from the binary logistic regression show that females who played sports were 2.4 times more likely to graduate from college than non-participants. When background variables, namely educational expectations, mother’s educational expectations, composite reading and math test scores, SES, race, school type, geographic region, family structure, participation in college sports, family size, and location, are controlled for the effect of playing high school sports decreases but remains significant (see table). Females who played high school sports were 42 percent more likely to graduate from college than females who did not play high school sports.
The long-term effect of athletic involvement on females’ academic success is consistent with past research on the short-term effects of sport, and supports the idea that academic benefits related to sport involvement persist over time. The presence of this long-term effect further validates legislation mandating equal opportunities and funding for female sports. It has yet to be determined whether non-academic benefits of females’ athletic involvement, such as health, self-concept, and greater locus of control, carry over into adulthood as well.