'An Investigation into the impacts of higher education on participation levels in physical activity: A case study focusing on third year male university sport students'.

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Author
Lloyd, Joel
Date
2014Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
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The purpose of the following study was to investigate the impacts higher education has on
participation levels in physical activity. With evidence suggesting there are growing
concerns regarding physical inactivity amongst the UK (BHF, 2011; DOH, 2011b), the
present study focused specifically on third year male university sports students as students
represent a distinctive under-researched area of the population (Lovell, et al., 2010) and
focusing on a specific target allowed issues to be explored more effectively.
A purposeful sample of six third year Cardiff Metropolitan University sport students
participated in the study, with current levels of physical activity varying across the
participants. A qualitative methodology in the form of face-to-face interviews (n=6) was
selected which were transcribed ad verbatim and analysed by key theme in the discussion
section. The interviews were conducted in privately booked rooms away from any noise or
disruption in order to enhance validity.
Upon review of the literature, evidence suggested that the transition from high school into
university represents a period of dramatic decline in physical activity participation rates
(Kwan, et al., 2013). This is due to numerous reasons including greater academic
workload (Sport, Wales, 2012) and tougher competition (Street Games, 2012b) within
university representative teams. The data collected during this study went somewhat to
supporting these findings however, there was also evidence to suggest students may in
fact regard university as a greater opportunity to engage with physical activity.
Although university can offer various opportunities for third year students to engage with
physical activity, evidence suggests students are more likely to be faced with barriers
during this life period. As a result of this, future physical activity interventions need to shift
their focus towards attenuating the declines in physical activity, with universities
encouraged to devise mechanisms which aim to stabilise student participation rates
throughout this transitional period. One key limitation of the study is that the data was
collected from a specific university and therefore, cannot fundamentally be applied to
students in different universities. In relation to this, future research will benefit from using a
larger sample size across multiple universities as more generalised data will help to
enhance the reliability of the study.
Description
DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS)
SPORT MANAGEMENT
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