Scheduled for Research Consortium Poster Social: Representative Research in HPERD, Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall, Reseach Consortium Poster Sessions


Work-Family Conflict as a Barrier to Entry Into College Coaching

Jane Winkel, Stacy Warner and Marlene A. Dixon, University of Texas, Austin, TX

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perceptions of college coaching as a family-friendly (or non-family-friendly) occupation and intent to enter the profession. Since the passage of Title IX, college athletic participation among females has continued to rise, while the number of female coaches has declined. Scholars and practitioners have attempted to explain the factors associated with this trend. Although the issue of how work-family interface impacts the premature exit of coaches has been examined (e.g., Bruening & Dixon, in press; Dixon & Bruening, 2007; Hart, Hasbrook, & Mathes, 1986; Inglis, Danylchuk, & Pastore, 1996), little attention has been given to the possibility that work-family conflict may act as a barrier to entry. Cinamon (2006) found that college graduates form opinions and make career decisions based on anticipated work-family-conflict and perceptions of an occupation's family-friendliness. Non-family-friendly occupations—ones that present problems in balancing work and family—may deter individuals from entering. Further, Cinamon (2006) and Weir (2006) found that perceptions of family-friendliness had a greater impact on career choice for women than for men. Using a survey format, 104 undergraduate students (58 male, 46 female) responded to questions regarding their academic and athletic backgrounds, career choices, college coaching intent, and perceptions of college coaching as a (non)family-friendly profession. Responses for intent and family-friendly perceptions were anchored on a 6-point Likert-type scale. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression (to control for career choice, gender, sport, and perceived skill) were utilized to assess the relationship between perceptions of coaching and intent to enter. Perceptions of college coaching as non-family friendly were relatively high (M = 4.26, SD = 1.04). There was no significant difference according to gender or athlete status. A significant relationship was not found between perceptions of coaching as family-friendly and intent to enter the profession (R= 0.17, p > 0.05). Consequently, even though most subjects perceived college coaching as problematic for balancing work and family, those perceptions did not serve as a barrier to entry. In fact, multiple regression revealed that other professional choices, perceptions of skill level, and gender explained the most variance on intent to enter the profession. The results also revealed that male athletes had the highest perception of skill and the highest intent to enter college coaching. Attempts to increase female entrants into college coaching should focus on increasing their skills, not necessarily on the work-family interface.


Keyword(s): administration/mgmt, coaching, gender issues

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