“Constantly Fighting a Battle”

Identifying Factors and Strategies to Prevent Learning Specialists from Leaving Athletic Academic Support

Abstract

Learning specialists within athletic academic support units on college campuses support the most fragile, neurodiverse learners. Learning specialists provide individualized academic support to prioritized collegiate student-athletes who are most at-risk for academic difficulties (Steinberg et al., 2018). While previous research has emphasized the value this role contributes to the academic success (McCarthy, 2019) and winning success (Stokowski et al., 2020) of college student- athletes, individuals who served as learning specialists have decided to leave the athletic academic support field. The purpose of this study was to identify the primary factors that influenced this decision. Using snowball sampling method, an online questionnaire was disseminated to former learning specialists (N = 22). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze closed-ended responses. Open-ended results were coded for common themes. Six themes emerged related to the dimensions of burnout—workload, control, reward, fairness, values, and community—which all encompass the three domains: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and inefficacy (Maslach et al., 2001). The implications of this study provide a critical opportunity to reflect and invest in learning specialist resources to minimize burnout and maximize retention efforts within collegiate athletics academic support units across the nation. Suggestions for additional education and development opportunities focused on learning specialists are offered along with specific retention strategies.