‘I Think. I Play. Therefore, I Am:’ How Precollege Experiences, Intersecting Identities, and College Microsystems Impact Belonging and Academic Self-Efficacy for Black Women’s Basketball College Athletes at PWIs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v19i2.24148Keywords:
academic self-efficacy, cultural capital, microsystem, intersecting identities, Black woman college athleteAbstract
Recent media attention has focused on the athletic talent displayed by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI) women’s basketball college athletes on a national stage. Less attention has been focused on their academic experiences at the institutional level, particularly Black women’s basketball college athletes (BWBCAs) playing at NCAA DI predominantly White institutions (PWIs) who leverage capital to achieve academic and athletic success while facing stereotypes and lacking support for their intersecting identities. Using the Bioecological Model of Human Development and Community Cultural Wealth as guiding frameworks, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 former BWBCAs to explore how their precollege experiences, intersecting identities, and relationships in their college microsystems influenced their academic self-efficacy and belonging. Findings revealed four primary influences on the BWBCAs’ experiences: 1) salience of precollege academic identity, 2) hypervisibility of intersecting identities, 3) holistic interactions in BWBCAs’ microsystems, and 4) coaching ethos. The findings have implications for enhancing the academic experiences of all Black women college athletes at PWIs.Downloads
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