The following question will be addressed this case:

Jones, Stephen. “Athletes Drop Out Rate a Crisis in the Making.” SelfGrowth.com, www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Athletes_Drop_Out_Rate_a_Crisis_in_the_Making.html.

Hosick Michelle, and Meghan Durham. “DI African-American Student-Athletes Graduate at Record Rates.” NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA, 8 Nov. 2017, www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-african-american-student-athletes-graduate-record-rates.

Steinbach, Paul. “Record NCAA Graduation Rates Don't Tell The Whole Story.” Athletic Business, Dec. 2011, www.athleticbusiness.com/Governing-Bodies/record-ncaa-graduation-rates-don-t-tell-the-whole-story.html.

The following questions will be addressed this case:

Smoll, Frank. “Failing in School vs. Playing Sports.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 3 Nov. 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/coaching-and-parenting-young-athletes/201411/failing-in-school-vs-playing-sports.

Jones, Stephen. “Athletes Drop Out Rate a Crisis in the Making.” SelfGrowth.com, www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Athletes_Drop_Out_Rate_a_Crisis_in_the_Making.html.

I narrowed my disciplines down that are relevant to African American athletes to sociology and biological anthropology. Anthropology is one of my discipline because knowing the culture and society of African Americans and their evolution, which is a big part of knowing these athletes. I also thought this was most relevant because although it studies the culture and society, it also looks at some of the biology of these African Americans. Sociology was another discipline I thought that was very relevant because it studies “the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships; specifically : the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings”.(Sociology) I think these two disciplines are most relevant for the first part of my problem because it will teach us more about African American people. The disciplines I thought that were the most relevant for attacking academics are education and psychology, or they can be put together. Education is a necessary when talking about academics. Educational psychology is the scientific study of human learning, having to deal the instructional process, conceptual processes, and cognitive development. This is the one discipline I thought was most relevant because it talks about how people learn. I’ve also read an article that Dr. Stephen Jones wrote who is a psychologist, and I used that article in step 1 and 2.

During my site visit I interviewed the director of football athletics at GSU and one thing he pointed out to me that they did was all incoming freshmen and transfers were assigned mandatory 6 hours of study hall and tutoring sessions so that they could start off strong. I thought that this was a good implementation because they were all new to this school, but transfers having been to college somewhere know how academics go, but for the freshmen they were adapting to a new lifestyle so they needed extra guidance and help. Also another technique/strategy they use is they have a Career Services and Life Skills director who helps them navigate through college by helping pick a major, also finding jobs and internships within their major for when they graduate.

I narrowed my disciplines down that are relevant to African American athletes to sociology and biological anthropology. Anthropology is one of my discipline because knowing the culture and society of African Americans and their evolution, which is a big part of knowing these athletes. I also thought this was most relevant because although it studies the culture and society, it also looks at some of the biology of these African Americans. Biological anthropology is a subfield of anthropology. This is a significant discipline for understanding my problem because biological anthropology studies “genetics, human ecology, and growth & development.”  Sociology was another discipline I thought that was very relevant because it studies “the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships; specifically : the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings”.(Sociology) There are different social structures that obtain to my problem from family to economy to class. Understanding these different social structures of these athletes lives would help in understanding this problem. I think these two disciplines are most relevant for the first part of my problem because it will teach us more about African American people. The disciplines I thought that were the most relevant for attacking academics are education and psychology, or they can be put together. Education is a necessary when talking about academics. Educational psychology is the scientific study of human learning, having to deal the instructional process, conceptual processes, and cognitive development. This is the one discipline I thought was most relevant because it talks about how people learn. I’ve also read an article that Dr. Stephen Jones wrote who is a psychologist, and I used that article in step 1 and 2.

During my site visit I interviewed the director of football athletics at GSU and one thing he pointed out to me that they did was all incoming freshmen and transfers were assigned mandatory 6 hours of study hall and tutoring sessions so that they could start off strong. I thought that this was a good implementation because they were all new to this school, but transfers having been to college somewhere know how academics go, but for the freshmen they were adapting to a new lifestyle so they needed extra guidance and help. Educational psychology is a big discipline they use to help these athletes. Also another technique//strategy they use is they have a Career Services and Life Skills director who helps them navigate through college by helping pick a major, also finding jobs and internships within their major for when they graduate. Another discipline they used that the tutor told me was counseling. These athletes face different lives outside of football and sometimes have nobody to talk to about their problems, so the tutors and other staff talk with these athletes when they need it. Not having this discipline incorporated in solving this problem will not work because these athletes wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.
“Sociology.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sociology.

“Physical Anthropology | List of High Impact Articles | PPts | Journals | Videos.” OMICS International, OMICS International, www.omicsonline.org/scholarly/physical-anthropology-journals-articles-ppts-list.php.

I watched the counseling and educational psychology playposit videos. In the counseling video I watched, it stated that the spectrum starts with counselors at one then the next is psychologist, then lastly is a psychiatrist. Most of these student athletes in my problem deal with counselors but some go on to deal with psychologist also. Both work with individuals to identify their strengths and challenges and help them overcome their challenges. This is solely the reason why a lot of athletes go to see counselors to seek help and others need to do the same. Also these counselors and psychologist use empathy and not sympathy because they don’t want to feel sorry for you and seem as if they are looking down on, they just relate to your problems to understand and help. In Kelly, D. D., & Dixon, M. A. article they talk about how mentoring student athletes impacts their college career as a whole from academics, to athletics, to social life. Educational psychology is a big discipline in my problem. Academics is one of the main reasons athletes go to college so therefore they are here to learn although not all of them do. So like in the “Educational Perceptions Among African American Male College Athletes” the discipline consulted was educational psychology because they talk about how these athletes perform under the conditions that they are in due to their athletics. Another thing the video pointed out was that educational psychology evaluates and analyzes certain teaching methods, testing methods, and educational programs, which in result makes it easier for students to learn. 

I watched the counseling and educational psychology playposit videos. In the counseling video I watched, it stated that the spectrum starts with counselors at one end then the next is psychologist, then lastly is a psychiatrist. All of these student athletes in my problem deal with counselors but some go on to deal with psychologist also. Both work with individuals to identify their strengths and challenges and help them overcome their challenges. This is solely the reason why a lot of athletes go to see counselors to seek help and others need to do the same. A big reason why many of these athletes are not as successful as they should be is because of the counseling and mentoring aspect of college. Many are scared to seek this help and it hurts them. Also these counselors and psychologist use empathy and not sympathy because they don’t want to feel sorry for you and seem as if they are looking down on, they just relate to your problems to understand and help. In Kelly, D. D., & Dixon, M. A. article they talk about how mentoring student athletes impacts their college career as a whole from academics, to athletics, to social life. Educational psychology is a big discipline in my problem. Academics is one of the main reasons athletes go to college so therefore they are here to learn although not all of them do. So like in the “Educational Perceptions Among African American Male College Athletes” the discipline consulted was educational psychology because they talk about how these athletes perform under the conditions that they are in due to their athletics. Another thing the video pointed out was that educational psychology evaluates and analyzes certain teaching methods, testing methods, and educational programs, which in result makes it easier for students to learn. 

The interdisciplinary approach has enlarged my understanding for my problem as a whole by opening my eyes to different aspects pertaining to my problem. For example it’s more than just tutors that these athletes need, this approach has made me see that is not the only thing they need and only steps to take to solve this problem. 

My perception of disciplinary expertise has been influenced by interdisciplinarity. I’ve always thought that it’s better to get someone that is an expert in one particular field or discipline but with that it’s very hard/difficult to get other things done and hard to see things in different ways. With interdisciplinarity you can help out in different areas without just being an expert in one discipline.

The interdisciplinary approach has enlarged my understanding for my problem as a whole by opening my eyes to different aspects pertaining to my problem. For example it’s more than just tutors that these athletes need, this approach has made me see that is not the only thing they need or only steps to take to solve this problem. Dr. Stephen Jones stated that “these student-athletes childhoods affect this problem”, so therefore parents need to monitor and guide their children more carefully and setting them up for success in the long run. Parents could help by assisting them with good study habits or signing them up at learning centers to help them out. 

An interdisciplinary approach is applicable outside the classroom for this problem in many different places. One that I’m most aware of is at the College’s Sporting Academic Center/Lab. Every college/university has one of these and most differ a lot from each other but have the same goal, which is to graduate it’s student-athletes. They can use an interdisciplinary approach by giving them tutors that actually help the athletes, keeping track with their academics, giving counselors or just someone for the athletes to talk to in order to get things off of their chest, and just getting to know the student-athletes on a personal level so you can relate and understand why things are how they are.