Relationship between Sport Science Students’ Career Decisions and Academic Motivation

This study aimed to analyze the relationship and predictive effect between the career decision of sports science students and their academic motivation. It also assessed whether career decision and academic motivation varied based on gender and department variables, jointly discussing them in the communication processes used in the instructor-student relationship. The study included 252 students, whose 85 were female and 167 were male, studying in faculty of sports sciences. It also used the Career Decision Scale , the Academic Motivation Scale , and the Personal Information Form to collect the study data. Statistical analysis processes consisted of correlation, multiple linear regression, 2x2 MANOVA, and 2x3 MANOVA analyses. The study findings revealed low and moderate relationships between career decisions, academic motivation, and the subdimensions of both main scales. In addition, academic motivation was a significant predictor of career decisions, corresponding to a 19% rate. Considering the gender variable, male students were more undecided in making career decisions than female students. Comparisons between departments also indicated that students in the sports management department displayed more indecisiveness about choosing their careers than in other departments. The ability of the students to have extracurricular communication with instructors influenced their career decisions positively, whereas it negatively influenced students department-switching propensity. However, there were significant differences among the students academic motivations based on gender, department, communication processes with the instructor, and department-switching propensity. In conclusion, academic motivation is important for students to choose a successful career. Nonetheless, the student-instructor communication mechanisms are equally effective in career decisions.