Sports enjoyment on academic resilience: Unexplored issue of student-athletes in the higher education landscape in the Philippines

Abstract

Previous research have established that students who derive enjoyment from engaging in sports can have an advantageous influence on their resilience in academic pursuits. However, while there is a significant amount of research undertaken on this topic internationally, there is a lack of studies specifically focused on the Higher Education context in the Philippines. The study attempted to ascertain the immediate influence of sports enjoyment on academic resilience. Upon collecting data from 229 student-athletes at a particular state university, it was observed that sports enjoyment and academic resilience are positively and significantly related [r(227) = .299, p <.05]. Additionally, it was noted that the enjoyment of sports has a favorable influence on academic resilience [F(1, 227) = 22.228, p <.001]. The findings suggest that engaging in diverse sports events can have an important beneficial effect on academic achievement and reduce difficulties in a demanding academic setting. Future research directions and recommendations are presented in this paper.