Learning Specialists in College Athletics: Who are they and what do they do?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5267.2018.1.4.77-118Keywords:
learning specialist, at-risk, student-athleteAbstract
As the number of at-risk collegiate student athletes continues to rise and their academic success continues to be scrutinized, the role of the learning specialist is becoming increasingly important. The purpose of this research was to determine the essential duties of learning specialists in collegiate athletics, possible correlations between the learning specialist’s degree and the frequency of their tasks, as well as the possible connection between conference, number of learning specialists on staff, and tasks assigned and number of students on the learning specialists’ caseload. A survey was completed by 90 individuals who self-identified as learning specialists and members of N4A. Results indicate that the three tasks most frequently performed by learning specialists are developing learning strategies with individual students, sending reminders, and holding study hall and these tasks remain consistent regardless of their educational background, conference or number of learning specialists on staff. Implications of these findings and future research recommendations are also discussed.
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