Numeracy and literacy in sports studies students: barriers to skills development

Rob Wilson is a Senio Lec u e in Spo Managemen a She ield Hallam Uni e si y. He is in ol ed in bo h academic and con ac ed esea ch p ojec s wi h he Spo Managemen and Cul u e eaching eam and he Leisu e Indus ies Resea ch Cen e. Rob now holds a Uni e si y Teaching Fellowship wi hin he Facul y o Heal h and Wellbeing and is examining al e na i e assessmen me hods. T e o Hassall cu en ly is P o esso o Accoun ing Educa ion a She ield Hallam Uni e si y. He is he leade o he Accoun ing and Business Educa ion Resea ch Cen e and has published ex ensi ely in p o essional and e e eed jou nals. Speci ic esea ch in e es s include he pedagogic use o case s udies and he ba ie s o skills de elopmen . John Joyce is he P o essional Po olio Leade a She ield Hallam Uni e si y and eaches on unde g adua e, pos g adua e and p o essional cou ses. He is an ac i e membe o he Accoun ing and Business Educa ion Resea ch Cen e and has published ex ensi ely in p o essional and e e eed jou nals. Speci ic in e es s include he de elopmen o oca ional skills in accoun ing s uden s. Ma k Pieka z is a Senio Lec u e in Leisu e and Spo Managemen . He has been in ol ed wi h de eloping and designing many unde -g adua e and pos -g adua e p og ammes in spo and leisu e managemen . He has been pa icula ly ac i e in de eloping e lec i e p ac ices in eaching, lea ning and assessmen . José Luis A que o Mon año is P o esso a he Uni e sidad de Se illa. He is he main esea che and coo dina o o se e al esea ch and aining p ojec s. Speci ic esea ch in e es s include de elopmen o oca ional skills in unde g adua e and p o essional accoun ing s uden s, ba ie s o skills de elopmen , eaching s a aining, pedagogical inno a ions and lea ning s yles. Vol. 5, No. 2. ISSN: 1473-8376 www.hls .heacademy.ac.uk/johls e ACADEMIC PAPER Nume acy and li e acy in spo s s udies s uden s: ba ie s o skills de elopmen Robe Wilson ( .j.wils[email p o ec ed]), T e o Hassall ( [email protected]) and John Joyce ([email protected]) She ield Hallam Uni e si y, Collegia e Hall, Collegia e C escen , She ield, S10 2BP Ma k Pieka z (m.pieka z@wo c.ac.uk) The Uni e si y o Wo ces e , Henwick G o e, Wo ces e , WR2 6AJ José Luis A que o Mon año ([email p o ec ed]) Uni e sidad de Se illa, C/ S. Fe nando, 4, C.P. 41004-Se illa, Spain. DOI:10.3794/johls e.52.97    Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 60 Abs ac G i i hs and Randall (2004) exp essed conce n abou he key skills o nume acy and li e acy in spo s s udies s uden s. S udies o communica ion de elopmen and ma hema ics educa ion ha e iden i ied ba ie s o he de elopmen o hese skills. The le els o ma hema ics anxie y and communica ion app ehension o spo s s udies s uden s we e measu ed a he beginning o he s uden s' i s yea , p io o eaching. Following his he esul s o spo s uden s we e compa ed o s uden s o o he disciplines. The s udy sugges s ha i may be necessa y o ake measu es o sol e he speci ic p oblem o app ehension be o e skills de elopmen can ake place. Keywo ds: Spo s S udies, Nume acy, Li e acy, Skills De elopmen . In oduc ion The e has been an inc easing emphasis on he ole o educa ion as a speci ic p epa a ion o he wo kplace. Employe s and hei ep esen a i es (Con ede a ion o B i ish Indus y [CBI] 1991, Ragga and Williams, 1999) ha e s essed he need o de elop a close ela ionship be ween educa ion and indus y. Eu opean go e nmen s ha e exp essed s ong iews on he e o m o educa ion and aining. These iews a e in line wi h hose o employe s as e idenced by he O ganisa ion o Economic Co-ope a ion and De elopmen (OECD, 1994, 1995, 1996a, 1996b) which s a ed, “ he e is a common consensus ha all child en mus mas e a co e o essen ial knowledge and skills, and acqui e he alues and a i udes ha p epa e hem e ec i ely o adul li e and he wo lds o wo k and con inued lea ning” (OECD 1996b: 103). The UK Go e nmen has o e seen he iden i ica ion o a se o key skills and has embedded hem in o he na ional quali ica ions sys em as pa o i s educa ion and aining policy (Depa men o Educa ion and Employmen [D EE], 1999). Th ee o hese key skills – applica ion o numbe , communica ions and in o ma ion echnology – a e seen as compulso y o mos p og ammes o s udy. These key skills emana e om he demands o employe s and a e e e ed o as ' ans e able', 'gene ic', 'pe sonal' o 'co e' and ela e o an indi idual’s abili y o ope a e in he wo kplace ei he alone o wi h o he s. Whils some, o example F ye (1997), see hese key skills as cen al o he u u e li e p ospec s o people en e ing he wo kplace, o he s ha e been mo e c i ical. Bo h Hyland and Johnson (1998), and Ba ne (1994), ha e aised undamen al objec ions, bo h in e ms o he de ini ion o wha a skill ac ually is and he ex en o which ans e abili y eally exis s. G een (1997) a gued ha he co e skills app oaches aken in he UK and USA a e de ici models ha y o make amends o inadequa e schooling sys ems and ha his compa es un a ou ably wi h he gene al, echnical and oca ional app oach o educa ion and aining aken by F ance, Ge many and Japan. To suppo his no ion he na ional employe s’ skills su ey (Lea ning and Skills Council, 2003) ound ha o e 10% o he English wo k o ce (2.4 million wo ke s) lack he skills needed o do hei job. One i h o all job acancies (135,000 pos s) emain un illed because o a lack o skilled applican s. Poo basic skills cos a ypical business employing 50 people £165,000 pe yea (Lea ning and Skills Council, 2003). The conce ns ela ing o oca ional skills, and ul ima ely hei impac on he employmen p ospec s o s uden s, ha e been mi o ed in he occupa ional a ea o Spo and Leisu e S udies. In o de o place ou s udy in con ex a b ie e iew o he spo and leisu e indus y is gi en below. Spo and leisu e con ex Anecdo ally, he spo and leisu e indus y is no always gi en he ecogni ion i dese es in ela ion o i s economic, social and poli ical signi icance. Pe haps because spo is seen o ope a e in a leisu e, ec ea ional and ou ism con ex , i is iewed as being a less se ious indus y. Howe e , esea ch shows ha in e ms o employmen , he leisu e sec o con ibu es mo e han indus ies such as enginee ing, inancial and business se ices, and he chemical, mine al and me al indus ies o he UK economy (Wolsey and Ab ams, 2001). Fu he mo e, esea ch conduc ed by he D EE (1999) indica ed ha leisu e ela ed employmen , including employmen in spo , is es ima ed a mo e han 1.6 million jobs. T ends since 1988 ha e illus a ed ha he indus y has seen signi ican g ow h in Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 61 employmen in he 10 yea s o 1998 and he e is a p ojec ion o u u e g ow h (Wolsey and Ab ams, 2001). In he ligh o his g ow h he e has been a lou ishing o ela ed educa ional cou ses. Spo and leisu e subjec s a e he as es expanding and popula disciplines in Highe Educa ion (HE), pa icula ly spo - ela ed cou ses (Hansen e al, 1998). Acco ding o Wolsey and Ab ams (2001), he e a e cu en ly 160 deg ees awa ded in 80 ins i u ions and 79 pos -g adua e cou ses in 79 ins i u ions. These e lec he booming indus y. This g ow h in spo s ela ed educa ional cou ses is some imes g ee ed by a ce ain amoun o scep icism as o he academic igou o hese p og ammes. Usually, his is by he media who enjoy using he jux aposi ion o people enjoying hemsel es and playing spo , wi h he idea o se ious academic s udy. Ye spo , as al eady p oposed, is a signi ican social and economic phenomenon, and as such needs o be managed using a a ie y o academic and business disciplines. I is also an indus y which is inc easingly ma ked by an enhancemen o p o essionalism and whe e ope a ions need o be mo e e icien and e ec i e o ensu e be e e u n on in es men (Smi h, 2003). Whils o e ing indus y speci ic cou ses o unde and pos g adua es is one hing, equipping hem o he equi emen s o wo k is ano he . The 1987 Whi e Pape (Highe Educa ion: Mee ing he Challenge, ci ed in Wolsey and Ab ams, 2001), ou lined he aspi a ions o he Tha che Go e nmen o HE o p o ide cou ses which o e ed unde g adua es wi h compe encies and ap i udes ele an o he wo kplace, wi h pa icula a en ion o ans e able skills. As a esul , g adua es would be mo e able o se e he economy and he companies hey wo ked wi h. This e idence p esen s a clea case o he ques ion ega ding he cu en employabili y o g adua es. The need o key skills in he indus y has been in es iga ed by Hansen e al (1998) and i has been shown ha he ap i udes needed by g adua es in he spo and leisu e indus y we e: in e pe sonal and communica ion skills; sel -mo i a ion; he abili y o wo k independen ly; ime managemen ; lexibili y; adap abili y; and he abili y o wo k in a eam. Howe e , Wolsey and Ab ams (2001) also sugges ed ha he main p oblem wi h g adua e employmen is he pe cep ions o s uden s and g adua es. They do no app ecia e he impo ance/ ele ance o he skills ha hey de elop du ing a deg ee p og amme. As a esul , when hey apply o jobs hey canno a icula e hei ans e able skills o he employe . The Ins i u e o Leisu e and Ameni ies Managemen (ILAM) ha e p oduced a 'skills ba ome e ' (G i i hs and Randall, 2004) o a ange o ca ee pa hways in he spo , leisu e and ou ism indus y. I can be eadily assumed ha eigh o hese pa hways a e spo ela ed: spo esea ch; spo adminis a ion ( olun a y/go e ning body); spo adminis a ion (public); spo acili y managemen (public); spo acili y managemen (p i a e); and p o essional coaching and spo de elopmen . Th ough indus y consul a ion, a a ie y o key skills we e iden i ied and anked in ela ion o hei ela i e impo ance o he speci ic ca ee pa hway. The skills iden i ied we e: li e acy, nume acy, echnical compe ence, managemen , social and in e pe sonal skills, and ma ke ing. The ILAM s udy aised a numbe o cons uc i e issues in ela ion o he skills equi ed by he spo indus y. The 'skills ba ome e ' ocussed on he skills o li e acy, nume acy, echnical compe ence, managemen , social and in e pe sonal and ma ke ing, oge he wi h any subjec speci ic skills ha he pa hway may equi e. The skills equi ed a ied acco ding o he pa hway. Howe e , wha is o pa icula ele ance o his s udy is ha nume acy, li e acy, and social and in e pe sonal (communica ion) skills a e anked highly in all job speci ica ions. The emphasis on nume acy e lec s he na u e o he business en i onmen ha spo ope a es in, al hough li e acy and communica ion skills also o m an in eg al pa o any spo posi ion. These indings ma ch hose o he D EE (1999) and emphasise he need o such skills in he spo indus y. Spo needs o be conside ed as a se ious and impo an indus y o he Uni ed Kingdom. Consequen ly he calls o a skilled and quali ied wo k o ce by he spo and leisu e indus y a e as Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 62 signi ican as ha om any o he employe . The ques ion is do ou g adua es possess he necessa y ans e able skills o answe hese calls? Ba ie s o skills de elopmen The e ha e been many a emp s o imp o e he pe sonal skills o s uden s in Highe Educa ion. S anga and Ladd (1990) no e ha despi e he impo ance o communica ion skills, ela i ely li le is known abou he obs acles ha s uden s ace when a emp ing o de elop hei communica ion abili ies. Cu en hinking in communica ion has indica ed a spli be ween communica ion app ehension (CA) and communica ion de elopmen . The e a e indica ions, o example Allen and Bou his (1996), and Spi zbe g and Cupach (1984), ha echniques aimed a he de elopmen o communica ion skills will no esol e communica ion app ehension. I an indi idual has a high le el o app ehension hen echniques will no esul in imp o ed communica ion pe o mance. The e o e, in o de o he e ec i e de elopmen o communica ion skills o ake place i is necessa y o diminish he le el o communica ion app ehension ha an indi idual may eel. McC oskey (1984: 78) de ines CA as, “an indi idual’s le el o ea and anxie y associa ed wi h ei he eal o an icipa ed communica ion wi h ano he pe son”. Howe e , his ea can be ypi ied as being ' ai ' o 's a e' (Richmond and McC oskey, 1989): an indi idual’s gene al unease in communica ion si ua ions is seen as being a pe sonal ' ai ', whe eas he ea o communica ing in speci ic si ua ions is e e ed o as 's a e'. Indi iduals will exhibi bo h ypes o CA: hey will ha e a gene al ai le el o CA plus a s a e eac ion o he speci ic con ex in which hey a e a emp ing o communica e. In he same way ha CA in e e es wi h he de elopmen o communica ion skills, he p og ess in nume ic skills can be impeded by ma hema ics anxie y. Ma hema ics anxie y (MA) is cha ac e ised as, “ eelings o ension and anxie y ha in e e e wi h he manipula ion o numbe s and he sol ing o ma hema ical p oblems in a wide a ie y o o dina y li e and academic si ua ions” (Richa dson and Suinn, 1972: 551). Se e al s udies ha e documen ed he nega i e e ec s o ma hema ics anxie y on ma hema ics pe o mance and achie emen (Be z, 1978; B ush, 1978; D ege and Ai ken, 1957; Gaud y and Spielbe ge , 1971; Suinn e al. 1972; Wig ield and Meece, 1988). Mo e ecen s udies ha e buil on hese ea lie wo ks o sugges ha ma hema ics anxie y can esul om a wide ange o ac o s. Fac o s such as: my hs, eache s and pa en s ha e been lis ed by S eele and A h (1998), and T ujillo and Had ield (1999) include in ellec ual ac o s such as lea ning s yles, pe sis ence, sel -doub and dyslexia. Pe sonali y ac o s including low sel -es eem, shyness and in imida ion ha e also been shown o ha e an impac on ma hema ics anxie y (Fo oples, 2000; Le ine, 1995). The impo ance o ecognising and hen dealing wi h ma hema ics anxie y is o g ea conce n. Ashc a (2002: 181) commen ed, "ma h (sic) anxie y dis up s cogni i e p ocessing by comp omising ongoing ac i i y in wo king memo y. Al hough he causes o ma h anxie y a e unde e mined, some eaching s yles a e implica ed as isk ac o s". This implies ha con ex ual ac o s (i.e. 's a e') can add o he inhe en ' ai ' le els possessed by speci ic indi iduals. O he lines o esea ch ha e concen a ed on sugges ing ways in which eache s can educe ma hema ics anxie y. Me hods ha ha e been sugges ed include: designing app op ia e eaching p ac ices (Co nell, 1999; S eele and A h, 1998) and using al e na i e assessmen (NCTM, 1995; S eele and A h, 1998). Gi en he impo ance o MA and CA le els in he de elopmen o ele an abili ies, he pu pose o his s udy is o measu e he le els o communica ion app ehension and ma hema ics anxie y in spo s s udies s uden s immedia ely be o e hey unde ake hei chosen cou ses a uni e si y. Simons e al. (1995) and Hassall e al. (2000) ound e idence o gende di e ences in he le els o communica ion app ehension. This con i ms he obse a ion o Daly and Mille (1975) ha women ha e signi ican ly highe o al communica ion app ehension (OCA), bu lowe w i ing app ehension Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 63 (WA), han male coun e pa s. Simons e al.’s esul s indica e ha while emales w i en communica ion app ehension was lowe , i was no signi ican ly so. Female s uden s did, howe e , ha e signi ican ly highe o e all o al CA sco es and highe sco es associa ed wi h o mal speaking con ex s; namely, he mee ing and public speaking subscale sco es. These esul s a e eplica ed in Hassall e al.’s s udy, and indica e commonali ies be ween UK and US s uden s. Simila gende di e ences we e ound in he le els o MA epo ed by s uden s (Dew e al., 1983; Fox, 1977; Alexande and Ma ay, 1989), and di e ences on CA and MA le els and p o iles, ela ed o demog aphic cha ac e is ics, we e es ed. Resea ch me hod In o de o assess he le els o communica ion app ehension o his s udy, an ins umen was de eloped ha used as i s basis: (i) he Pe sonal Repo o Communica ion App ehension (PRCA-24) de eloped by McC oskey (1984) o measu e o al communica ion app ehension (OCA), and; (ii) he w i en communica ion app ehension (WCA) ins umen de eloped by Daly and Mille (1975) (bo h ins umen s can be ound in Simons e al., 1995). The in e nal eliabili y and alidi y o hese ins umen s a e documen ed (McC oskey, 1984 and Benne and Rhodes, 1988) The o al communica ion i ems consis ed o ou equal subsec ions - “g oup discussions”, “in e iews”, “con e sa ions” and “p esen a ions” - and six ques ions we e assigned o each. A pic o ial ep esen a ion o he a eas is shown in Figu e 1 below. Figu e 1: A eas o communica ion In o de o a oid any con usion o misunde s anding o hese concep s, a de ini ion o each ele an e m was gi en in he ques ionnai e. (Whe e app op ia e, he in e nal eliabili y s a is ics o his s udy a e shown in Table 3.) The measu emen o he le els o ma hema ics anxie y was done using he 25-i em Ma h Anxie y Ra ing Scale (MARS), de eloped by Alexande and Ma ay (1989) om he 98-i em MARS o Suinn (1972). The in e nal eliabili y and alidi y o his ins umen is documen ed (Richa dson and Suinn, 1972; Suinn and Edwa ds, 1982). The ques ionnai es we e adminis e ed o i s yea s uden s en e ing he spo s s udies a ea a She ield Hallam Uni e si y. The s uden s comple ed he ques ionnai e on hei i s o second day a he Uni e si y in an in oduc o y session p io o egis a ion i.e. be o e any o mal eaching had commenced o any in o ma ion had been gi en o he s uden s conce ning he academic con en o hei chosen cou ses. The pu pose o he s udy and he anonymi y o s uden s pa icipa ing we e explained in line wi h he Uni e si y's guidelines on e hics in esea ch. PRESENTATION INTERVIEW CONVERSATION GROUP INFORMAL FORMAL ORAL WRITTEN CA. GLOBAL Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 64 Resul s The cou ses in ol ed and he numbe o s uden s om each cou se who comple ed he ques ionnai e a e shown in Table 1. The ques ionnai e was di ec ly adminis e ed o s uden s and he esponse a e was 100% o e e y elemen o he selec ed sample. Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 65 Cou se s udying Numbe % age Law 175 18.8 Financial Se ices 33 3.5 In e na ional Business 97 10.4 Business &Technology 50 5.4 Nu sing 76 8.2 Accoun ing 111 11.9 Spo s S udies 147 15.8 Enginee ing 65 7.0 Business S udies 178 19.1 To al 932 100.0 Table 1: Composi ion o he o e all sample Table 2 shows he composi ion o he whole sample, in ela ion o gende and educa ional backg ound, o he spo s s udies sub-sample and o he cou se sub samples. Gende Educa ion backg ound Male Female To al Nume acy/ Science Li e a e/ A s To al Spo s S udies 62.6 37.4 100 61.11 38.89 100 O he s 46.8 53.2 100 45.87 54.13 100 To al 49.3 50.7 100 48.32 51.68 100 Signi ican a 1% le el (Pea son’s Chi squa e wo ail) Table 2: Gende and educa ional backg ound by a ea As he da a in Table 2 illus a e, he p opo ion o male s uden s in he spo s s udies sub-sample was highe han in he o he cou ses. Also, he pe cen age o s uden s wi h a nume ical/scien i ic educa ional backg ound was signi ican ly highe o spo s s udies p og ammes, as shown by a chi squa e es . Scale (1) Reliabili y Shapi o- Wilk sig. Mean Median S . De . Min Max Skewness Ku osis To al Sco e CA - 0.928 129.38 130 21.82 63 193 -0.02 -0.08 W i ing App. Sco e .917 0.002 62.95 62 13.20 25 112 0.29 0.08 CA O al Sco e - 0.623 66.43 66 13.56 24 112 0.04 -0.07 Fo mal - 0.014 37.60 38 8.34 12 60 -0.05 -0.38 In e iew Sco e .874 0.000 17.93 18 4.46 6 30 -0.13 -0.43 P esen a ion Sco e .894 0.000 19.67 20 5.06 6 30 -0.04 -0.52 In o mal - 0.000 28.82 28 7.07 12 56 0.44 0.31 G oup Sco e .860 0.000 14.75 14 4.32 6 30 0.48 0.30 Con e sa ion Sco e .853 0.000 14.07 13 3.66 6 29 0.49 0.44 Ma hema ics Anxie y .918 0.000 59.59 58 16.46 26 116 0.52 0.07 (1) C onbach’s alpha Table 3: Desc ip i es and s a is ics o scales (o e all sample) Desc ip i e s a is ics o he sco es (o e all sample) a e shown in Table 3. In his Table, no mali y es s esul s (Shapi o-Wilk) and in e nal eliabili y analysis o basic scales (C onbach’s alpha) a e p o ided. All basic scales appea o be highly eliable, wi h alpha alues anging om 0.85 o 0.93. Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 66 The scales con aining a educed numbe o i ems (in e iew, p esen a ion, g oup and con e sa ion; 6 i ems each) ha e lowe alpha alues because he e a e ewe i ems in each sec ion. Howe e , all o hem indica e e y s ong in e nal eliabili y, meaning ha he esul s can be con iden ly used o compa a i e analysis. Al hough bo h he o al CA and o al CA sco es seem o ollow a no mal dis ibu ion, he no mali y es , skewness and ku osis s a is ics indica e ha he dis ibu ions o he basic sco es depa om no mali y. As he composi ion o each sub sample is signi ican ly di e en in ela ion o gende and educa ional backg ound, a uni a ia e compa ison could be biased by he di e ences associa ed wi h he o he a iables. The e o e, mul iple analysis o a iance es s we e pe o med. Al hough MANOVA is a pa ame ic es , and equi es he dis ibu ion o he a iables o be no mal, he F s a is ic on which he es is based is ai ly obus agains iola ions o he assump ion o no mali y (Fe an A anaz, 1999). The esul s o MANOVA a e shown in Table 4. The esul s show ha spo s udies s uden s ha e signi ican ly highe le els (p=.022) o ma hema ics anxie y han he o he s uden s in he s udy. Bo h gende and educa ional backg ound a e shown o be ela ed o ma hema ics anxie y. The s udy shows ha emale s uden s and hose s uden s om a li e a e/a backg ound ha e highe le els o ma hema ics anxie y (p<.01). In espec o communica ion app ehension sco es, he esul s show signi ican di e ences (p = .002) in o al communica ion sco e o s uden s om di e ing academic backg ounds. This a ises because o he signi ican di e ence in he w i ing app ehension sco es (o al communica ion app ehension sco es show no di e ences o educa ional backg ound). The e a e signi ican di e ences in he o al sample in e ms o gende o o mal communica ion app ehension. This applies o bo h he in e iew and p esen a ion componen s. The e a e also signi ican di e ences in he p esen a ion sco e be ween spo s s udies and o he s uden s (p= .005). Signi icance o F o sou ces o a ia ion (1) a ea (2) gende (3) ed. backg ound (1) by (2) (1) by (3) (2) by (3) (1) by (2) by (3) Model sig. To al Sco e CA n.s. n.s. 0.002 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.000 W i ing App. Sco e n.s. n.s. 0.000 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.000 CA O al Sco e n.s. 0.078 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.007 Fo mal 0.059 0.001 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.000 In e iew Sco e n.s. 0.001 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.000 P esen a ion Sco e 0.005 0.012 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.000 In o mal n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.091 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. G oup Sco e n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.041 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. Con e sa ion Sco e n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. Ma hema ics Anxie y 0.022 0.002 0.003 n.s. n.s. n.s. 0.072 0.000 Table 4: Mul i a ia e analysis o a iance esul s Table 5 shows he means o spo s s udies and o he s and he o al popula ion o each o he cons uc s measu ed. Wilson, Hassall, Joyce, Pieka z, A que o Mon ano (2006) Nume acy and Li e acy in Spo s S udies S uden s: Ba ie s o Skills De elopmen Jou nal o Hospi ali y, Leisu e, Spo and Tou ism Educa ion 5(2), 59-70. 67 S udy A ea Gende Educa ional backg ound Ma hs anxie y W i ing app. sco e G oup sco e In e iew sco e Con e sa ion sco e P esen a ion sco e Male num. / sci. 54.24 67.43 14.72 17.02 13.75 17.62 Spo s S udies li . / a s 63.72 61.30 15.41 17.35 15.16 18.78 To al 58.16 64.91 15.00 17.16 14.33 18.10 Female num. / sci. 67.42 66.91 14.51 18.46 13.74 19.03 li . / a s 65.72 63.05 13.74 18.63 13.95 19.00 To al 66.82 65.56 14.24 18.52 13.81 19.02 Male num. / sci. 54.91 69.03 14.69 17.27 14.35 19.35 O he s li . / a s 60.48 60.74 14.19 17.16 14.05 18.95 To al 56.97 65.97 14.50 17.23 14.24 19.20 Female num. / sci. 57.33 65.45 15.39 18.87 14.24 21.17 li . / a s 63.42 57.76 15.10 18.79 14.13 20.29 To al 61.46 60.12 15.19 18.82 14.16 20.56 Male num. / sci. 54.78 68.72 14.69 17.22 14.24 19.01 To al S udies li . / a s 61.23 60.87 14.46 17.20 14.30 18.91 To al 57.22 65.75 14.60 17.21 14.26 18.97 Female num. / sci. 59.54 65.77 15.20 18.78 14.13 20.70 li . / a s 63.57 58.10 15.01 18.78 14.11 20.21 To al 62.12 60.77 15.07 18.78 14.12 20.38 Table 5: Mean o sco es o sub samples (basic scales) Discussion This s udy was based on da a ob ained om i s yea s uden s a he commencemen o he academic yea . The s uden s a his poin in ime had no had any o mal con ac wi h he academic s a om hei espec i e disciplines. The e o e wha was being measu ed was he sco es ha hey e ec i ely b ough wi h hem i.e. he sco es a e no he esul o he de elopmen om he academic cou se hey had chosen. The ini ial compa ison is he e o e unde aken on p ospec i e s uden s p epa ing o unde ake an academic cou se in spo s s udies and a la ge sample o p ospec i e s uden s om a ange o o he disciplines. The esul s highligh a numbe o a eas ha gi e some cause o conce n, o challenge some p econcei ed assump ions. The i s indica ion is ha spo s s udies s uden s, in compa ison wi h s uden s on o he p og ammes, possess a high deg ee o ma hema ics anxie y on commencemen o hei uni e si y s udies. This would indica e ha hese s uden s may eel app ehensi e abou using numbe s in a a ie y o con ex s, o example compiling budge s (an essen ial skill equi ed in spo s udies deg ee p og ammes). The conce n is aised because when compa ing his obse a ion wi h, o example, he ILAM skills ba ome e , nume acy was a e y impo an skill o mos ca ee pa hways. Acco ding o he ILAM s udy, in all o he spo and leisu e ela ed pa hways excep wo, nume acy was ega ded as a signi ican skill, achie ing be ween 60% and 90% in he ' ela i e impo ance' a ing as a skill needed o do he job e ec i ely. The pa hways whe e i was less we e he a eas o spo de elopmen (52%) and p o essional coaching (48%) (ILAM, 2004). The e mus also be conce ns abou he p og ession o spo s udies s uden s h ough hei chosen deg ees. Richa dson and Suinn (1972) and Suinn, Edie e al. (1972) ha e documen ed he nega i e e ec o ma hema ics anxie y on ma hema ics pe o mance and achie emen . Mo eo e , he spo s s udies s uden s in his sample had low le els o o al communica ion app ehension in o mal si ua ions, pa icula ly p esen a ions. This is encou aging when i is conside ed ha p esen a ions a e a key ing edien in he educa ional p og ammes o e ed a Uni e si y