A1 Journal article (refereed)
From athletic talent development to dual career development? : A case study in a Finnish high performance sports environment (2022)

Nikander, Aku., Ronkainen, N., Korhonen, N., Saarinen, M., & Ryba, T. (2022). From athletic talent development to dual career development? : A case study in a Finnish high performance sports environment. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20(1), 245-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1854822

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Nikander, Aku.; Ronkainen, Noora; Korhonen, Natalia; Saarinen, Milla; Ryba, Tatiana

Journal or series: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

ISSN: 1612-197X

eISSN: 1557-251X

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 08/12/2020

Volume: 20

Issue number: 1

Pages range: 245-262

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1854822

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/73215

Abstract

The focus of dual career (DC) research has shifted from exploring individual experiences within Athletic Talent Development Environments (ATDEs) toward understanding the impact of the environment and the broader cultural context on individuals’ developmental trajectories in Dual Career Development Environments (DCDEs). To comply with national and EU recommendations for socially responsible elite sport, many successful ATDEs list DC as one of their primary values and advertise themselves as DCDEs in order to attract more athletes. The present study aimed to evaluate whether and how a talent development environment for youth athletes in Finland has transformed from an ATDE to DCDE by exploring the environment’s success factors and organisational culture. This study is grounded in the theoretical framework of Holistic Ecological Approach and follows the Real-Time Case Method. Principal methods of data collection included interviews, observations, and documents. The results indicated that the environment was characterised by an incoherent organisational culture, and the environment was identified as an ATDE rather than a DCDE. We suggest that for the Finnish sports environment to successfully transform into a functioning DCDE, changes in the organisational culture are necessary and DC recommendations should be integrated into the environment to provide resources for student-athletes to develop a balanced life and the prerequisites to succeed in future endeavours.

Keywords: young people; athletes; professional sports career; study; sport academies; organisational culture; critical realism

Free keywords: development environment; organisational culture; youth athletes; dual career; critical realism

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Related projects

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2023

JUFO rating: 1