A study on the implementation of dual career at European higher education institutions: the student-athletes' and experts' views

Pascal Izzicupo ^1* Sofia Serafini ¹ Iris Prestanti ¹ Andrea Fusco ¹ Beatrice-Aurelia Abalasei ² Tara Alonso ³ Burak Çalışkan ⁴ Angela Di Baldassarre ¹ Håkon Ege ⁴ Antonio J Figueiredo ⁵ Barbara Ghinassi ⁶ Higinio González-García ⁷ Ionut Onose ⁸ RALUCA MIHAELA ONOSE ² Matteo Perissinotto ⁹ AMAIA RAMIREZ MUÑOZ ¹⁰ Antonio Sánchez-Pato ¹¹ Nemanja Stankovic ¹² Nenad Stojiljkovic ¹² Mojca Doupona ¹³ Laura Capranica ¹⁴

• ¹ Department of Medicine and Sciences of Aging, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
• ² Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași, Romania
• ³ Faculty of Health Science, International University of La Rioja, La Rioja, La Rioja, Spain
• ⁴ Collective Innovation AS, Oslo, Norway
• ⁵ Center for Research on Sport and Physical Activity, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
• ⁶ Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Studies G. d'Annunzio Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
• ⁷ Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). TECNODEF Research Group. Faculty of Education. Department of Physical education and Health, Logroño, Spain
• ⁸ Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, Iasi, Romania
• ⁹ OKKAM srl, Trento, Italy
• ¹⁰ 10Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). NÌKE Research Group. Faculty of Health, Logroño, Spain
• ¹¹ 11Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). Vice-rectorate for Research. NÌKE Research Group, Logroño, Spain
• ¹² 12Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Nis, Nis, Serbia
• ¹³ Faculty of Sports, Department of Sport Sociology and History, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• ¹⁴ Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy

The holistic development of elite athletes is a priority within European sports policies, necessitating a coordinated approach to dual career support. This study evaluated the perspectives of both university experts and student-athletes (S-As) on various dual career aspects, aiming to provide actionable insights for improving policies within European higher education institutions (HEIs). Materials and methods: Data was collected through an online survey tailored for HEI experts and S-As across multiple countries. A total of 46 HEI experts and 321 S-As responded to the survey. The role of the country of origin on each dual career aspect for S-As was investigated using a MANOVA, followed by an ANOVA and post hoc analyses using Tukey's test when an effect emerged. The data from HEI experts and comparisons between S-As and HEI experts were handled descriptively due to the violation of assumptions of homogeneity of variances and sufficient sample size. Results: The study revealed significant trends and disparities in the availability and quality of support services. In particular, logistic, and financial support, and other support/policies areas showed a significant effect for S-As countries of origin, with Romanian and Serbian S-As generally reporting better scores and Italian and Spanish worse. In general, HEI experts rated dual career provision areas more favorably than S-As. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of integrating both HEI expert and S-As' perspectives to develop effective dual career policies. Tailored interventions and enhanced communication about available resources are crucial for improving the dual career experiences of S-As across Europe.