A comparison of motivational orientations among male African-American and Caucasian high school student-athletes

The study of human motivation has historically been of significant interest within the field of psychology. Understanding and assessing motivation is also essential to those in education, as motivation is a significant factor in an individual's learning and academic achievement. Within educational settings, there are generally two types of academic motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic. Historically, educators have viewed intrinsic motivation as an indicator of academic achievement. However, as research has progressed, additional factors and potential achievement indicators have been identified, including athletic participation. Research indicates that participating in school sponsored sports not only contributes to academic achievement but overall educational aspirations as well. However, the motivation for participating in sports is not consistent across various populations of student athletes. Specifically, within the African-American population there is conflicting research regarding the athletic as well as academic motivational orientations. This study will determine and compare the academic motivational orientations of two groups of student-athletes in grades 9 through 12: African-American and Caucasian.