AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PERCEPTIONS OF SPORTS SCIENCE STUDENTS REGARDING THEIR CAREER FUTURES DURING THE PANDEMIC

This study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of Sports Science Students regarding their career futures during the pandemic. The data of the study were collected during the full lockdown period, when education was carried out online due to the pandemic process, and it was specifically aimed to reveal the perceptions and views of university students about their career future in this extraordinary period. The sample of the study consisted of 512 students studying at the Faculties of Sport Sciences in Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. Personal Information Form and the Career Futures Inventory (CFI) were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, independent samples T-test and ANOVA tests were used. As a result of the analyses, the Career Futures Inventory total score and sub-scale scores of the Faculty of Sport Sciences students did not differ statistically according to the variables of gender, department, and class level. The findings of the study indicated that sports science students were affected by the distance education performed in the pandemic process, and the process had negative effects on their future career expectations. The qualitative findings obtained in the study, on the other hand, included information on the career goals of the Sports Science students, the obstacles they perceive in their career steps, and the things they did regarding their career plans at home in the full lockdown process during the pandemic period. Based on the findings gathered, it is believed that it may be beneficial for sports sciences students to participate in career development courses, seminars, and programs

The Attitudes of Primary School Teachers towards Leisure

This study aims to analyze the attitudes of primary school teachers towards leisure. It also aims to determine whether the attitudes of primary school teachers vary according to their gender and leisure activities they attend. A total of 355 primary school teachers ( age= 45.08±7.91), including 188 females and 167 males, volunteered to participate in this study. “Leisure Attitude Scale" developed by Beard and Ragheb (1982) and adapted into Turkish by Akgül and Gürbüz (2010) and “General Information Form” were utilized to collect data. The findings of this study indicates that the leisure attitudes levels of teachers were quite high ( mean= 4.28±.33). Also according to gender of the participants, a significant difference was found in favor of the female teachers in regards to the attitude of leisure in the cognitive sub-dimension and in total points but not in the affective and behavioral sub-dimensions. In terms of the most preferred leisure activity, there was a significant difference in the behavioral sub-dimension of the leisure attitude scale of teachers, whereas there was no statistically significant difference in the cognitive, affective sub-dimensions and total scores. Accordingly, teachers who preferred physical activities in leisure had higher points than the ones who preferred other activities with regards to the behavioral sub-dimensional. In addition, no significant relationship was found between the ages of the teachers, the years of professional service, the leisure attitude scale sub-dimensions and total score

Implementing the European Sports Leadership Programme: A vehicle to help development graduate workplace competencies

This research was part of a large intervention study implementing the European Sports Leadership Programme (ESLP). This paper reports the outcomes of the qualitative study that employed focus groups to assess the students’ perceptions of the 15 competencies determined according to the Framework for qualifications of the European Higher Education Area, before and after the ESLP. Focus groups were carried out at each of the five universities. The ESLP involved university students working as a sports leader for 24 months with the aim to engage more students in university sport, whilst they took part in a graduate employability programme. Each university recruited five sports leaders in their second year at university, to deliver 10 new sport and recreational activities targeting the wider inactive or semi-active student population. Findings highlighted that Organization and planning, Oral and written communication, Development of planning and decision making, and Teamworking, followed closely by Emotional control and Adapting to new situations, were the most commonly reported competencies. They affirmed that this programme had helped to develop these competencies. Use of information, communication and technology, Communication in a foreign language, Research and Emotional control were the most common competencies that students stated they needed to improve further. This research found that implementing the ESLP helped to develop students’ perceptions of their workplace and career competencies. The ESLP is therefore, recommended as one approach to helping universities to develop student’s workplace and career competencies