Exploring the perception of barriers to a dual career by student-athletes with/out disabilities

by Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal, María J. Maciá-Andreu, Álvaro Díaz-Aroca, Lourdes Meroño, Juan Alfonso García-Roca, Lucía Abenza-Cano, Francisco J. Cánovas-Álvarez, Antonio Sánchez-Pato, Alejandro Leiva-Arcas

In recent years, there has been an increase in knowledge about the barriers experienced by people with disabilities in the education system or sports. However, no studies have analyzed the barriers for those who try to succeed in both disciplines (dual career). The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers faced by student-athletes with/out disability to a dual career combining studies and sport. Two groups were involved in the study (n = 162): student-athletes with disabilities (n = 79) and student-athletes without disabilities (n = 83). Data collected included: (a) socio-demographic aspects; and (b) barriers towards achieving a good balance between sport and academics during the dual career, through the "Perceptions of dual career student-athletes" (ESTPORT) questionnaire. The results showed that student-athletes with disabilities were more likely to perceive in a greater extent the barriers, the university is far from my home (p = 0.007) and the university is far from my training site (p = 0.006), I find myself unable to balance study and training time (p = 0.030), I have to take care of my family (p<0.001), and my current job does not allow me to study enough (p<0.001). The MANOVA analysis showed that the factors gender, competitive level, and employment status had an influence on the perception of some barriers between groups. In conclusion, student-athletes with disabilities perceived barriers more strongly than those without disabilities, and measures are needed to ensure their inclusion in the education system.