Sport Management Majors’ Perceived Motivators and Barriers to Participation in a College-Sponsored International Experience

Authors

  • Seth E. Jenny Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4876-577X
  • Emily C. Almond Winthrop University
  • Jinwook J. Chung Winthrop University
  • Scot M. Rademaker Winthrop University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/TPE-2019-V76-I2-8255

Keywords:

study abroad, global, cultural, travel, foreign

Abstract

This study determined the perceived motivators and barriers of sport management majors to participate in a college-sponsored study abroad experience. An online survey was administered to 180 undergraduate and graduate sport management students from across the United States. The top motivators were (1) overall life experience, (2) the opportunity to live in another country or culture, and (3) résumé builder, while the top barriers were (1) finances, (2) missing social time and events on campus, and (3) lack of knowledge about opportunities—relatively consistent with both open-response and rank-order question types. Not highlighted in previous research, open-response questions revealed that “meeting new people and having fun” (6.7%) and “uncomfortable being away from home” (19.4%) were mentioned as a top motivator and barrier, respectively. Most notably, only 2.8% of the sport management student sample had studied abroad. This article discusses implications of these findings, focusing on recommendations for increasing participation in college-sponsored international experiences for sport management students.

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Author Biographies

Seth E. Jenny, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Department of Public Health and Social Work

Emily C. Almond, Winthrop University

Department of Physical Education, Sport and Human Performance

Jinwook J. Chung, Winthrop University

Department of Physical Education, Sport and Human Performance

Scot M. Rademaker, Winthrop University

Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy

Published

2019-03-19

Issue

Section

Articles