Perceptions of environmental barriers to creativity: A study of university student-athletes

Among the many attributes of human performance, few have had as much impact on the lives of individuals as creativity, which has been recognised as the basis for innovation and has many benefits which include improving communication, promoting the exploration of a problem andassisting in developing new ideas, solutions and alternatives. One of the ways in which sport participation is measured, is through sport performance which, in an athletic context, represents the pursuit of excellence. In order to perform well and achieve success in competition and training, it is imperative that athletes possess some degree of self-motivation as well as creativity, which is an intangible element that plays a vital role in separating successful athletes from those who are merely talented. Literature on the creativity of university student-athletes, especially inSouth Africa, is sparse. The current study intends to contribute to the limited academic literature on creativity regarding university student-athletes by focussing specifically on the environmental barriers perceived by the athletes. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 500 studentathletes who were eligible to participate in inter-university sports competitions under the auspices of the South African Student Sport Union in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. An analysis of the data identified five underlying factors, namely unchallenging work, insufficient resources,lack of supervisory encouragement, lack of team unity and lack of organisational support. Of these underlying factors, unchallenging work was the only factor that respondents perceived to constitute the greatest barrier to creativity. The reasons why this barrier may be a perceivedhindrance to creativity by student-athletes is discussed, and general recommendations, as well as suggested future research possibilities in this regard outlined