This literature review concerning the topic of the effects of playing sports on study habits and academic goals addresses the following areas relevant to this study: past research on sports and education; current research on sports and education; high school sports participation; effects of gender and ethnicity/race on high school sports participation; benefits of high school sports participation; and conclusions.
Past Research on Sports and Education
Athletic participation promotes growth and change in high school students who play for professional and nonprofessional interests. Early studies of high school sports provided a focus on the need to meet academic standards to be able to participate in college sports, which demanded this excellence in high school academics. Thus, increased academic outcomes were an indirect effect of high school sports (Ishee, 2004; Lapchick, 1995). Lapchick pointed out that NCAA Proposition 48 requirements are that to be considered eligible to play sports, an incoming college freshman must: have maintained a "C" high school average in 11 core curriculum courses; have a score of 15 on the American College Test; or have a score of over 700 on the verbal and math sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. These demands place pressure on high school athletes to meet academic standards. The requirement regarding standardized test scores appeared to target blacks and minorities who tended to score lower on these tests. A study of 1981 freshmen showed that 86% of the black male basketball players and 75% of the black male football players would have been ineligible as freshmen with these standards. This was compared to 33% of white male basketball players and 50% of white male football players that would have been ineligible. Despite concerns, Proposition 48 was implemented in 1986 and resulted in only 10.3% of all football players and 11.35% of all basketball players being ineligible. Of the exp...