The Effects of Athletic Participaton on Academic Performance and Self-Esteem Levels of High School Students

This thesis examines the effects of athletic participation on grade point averages and self-esteem levels of high school students . This study uses the structural functionalist and the symbolic interactionist perspectives to • analyze these relationships. A questionnaire was distributed to students at Wooster High School, located in Wooster, Ohio. The questionnaire was designed to test three hypotheses: 1.) Do athletes achieve higher academic marks, in general, than non-athletes? 2.) Do athletes in season earn better marks than when they are not in season? 3.) Do athletes have higher levels selfeseteem than non-athletes? The results of this study showed that there were statistically significant differences in grade point averages between athletes and non-athletes. The athletes tended to have higher academic marks. There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that athletes earn better academic marks inseason than they do when they are out-of-season. Finally, it was found that athletes had a higher level of self-esteem than their non-athletic counterparts, but not to a statistically significant level. For future research, comparisons between schools that differ on factors such as curriculum, student/teacher ratios, and degree of participation may be beneficial