Experiences of Student-Athletes: A Comparative Study Between Taiwan and the United States by Pei-Hsuan, Kuo A project submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Ogden, UT June 24, 2022 Approved Louise R. Moulding, Ph.D. Daniel Hubler, Ph.D. Sheryl Rushton, Ph.D.STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 2 Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare the athlete and student role identities among college student-athletes in Taiwan and the United States. Retrospective in-depth interviews were conducted with four male student-athletes and four female student-athletes. Based on the experience of participants, this study reports how their identities develop into career goals and plans in educational and athletic systems of different cultures. The current findings support Chan’s (2018) study that student-athletes in Taiwan are facing challenges in development in academic, and Forster and Huml’s (2017) suggestion that Taiwanese student-athletes could invest in both athlete and student role identities and develop well-rounded skills, and investing in the latter may allow exploration of non-sports career options. This study provides evidence that the National Collegiate Athletic Association is a well-established collegiate athletic nonprofit organization (Fletcher et al., 2003; Lumpkin, Achen & Hyland, 2015). The NCAA's systems, rules, and regulations do govern and develop the well-rounded student-athlete. The implications of being student-athletes under managed by NCAA has made student-athletes have comprehensive skills both in and out of athletic careers (Hosick & Sproull, 2012; Huang et al., 2016; Miller & Buttell, 2018). More importantly, the role of the student-athlete is indeed valued and admired in the United States (National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2009e). STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Moulding and Dr. Wang, my research supervisors (chair), for their patience, guidance, enthusiastic encouragement, and constructive and thought-provoking feedback during my extensive research. I would also like to thank Dr. Rushton, for her advice and assistance in keeping my progress on schedule. My gratitude is also extended to Dr. Hubler for his assistance with recommending the theory method, which allowed me to make more of a connection to my research. I would also like to extend my thanks to the student-athletes in Taiwan and the United States for being the participants of my interviews. Finally, I wish to thank my parents, mentors and coaches for their support and encouragement throughout my studies and research at Weber State University. STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 4 Table of Contents Nature of the Problem ................................................................................................................ 5 Literature Reviews ................................................................................................................. 8 Symbolic Interaction Theory ............................................................................................. 8 Identities of Student-Athletes ............................................................................................ 9 The Concept of Receiving Education in Taiwan ............................................................. 10 The Current Education System Policy of Student-Athletes in Taiwan............................ 11 Introduction of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.......................................... 12 The NCAA Requirements for Academic Performance ................................................... 13 Student Athletes’ Career Needs & Development ............................................................ 14 Being a Successful Student-Athlete in the United States ................................................ 14 Purpose..................................................................................................................................... 18 Method ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Participants ........................................................................................................................... 19 Participants in the United States ...................................................................................... 19 Participants in Taiwan...................................................................................................... 20 Design .................................................................................................................................. 21 Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 22 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 22 Results ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Enrollments, Scholarships, and College Majors .................................................................. 23 Schedules, Balance, and Support from Athletic Program.................................................... 25 Mental Health....................................................................................................................... 29 The Identity of Student-Athletes .......................................................................................... 31 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 32 Symbolic Interaction Theory ............................................................................................... 35 Identity Emerges from the Student-Athlete’s Social Interaction ..................................... 36 Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 37 Further Research .................................................................................................................. 38 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 39 References ................................................................................................................................ 43 Appendix A: Informed Consent ............................................................................................... 51 Appendix B: Interview Protocol .............................................................................................. 54 Appendix C: IRB Approval Letter........................................................................................... 55 Appendix D: Countable Athletically Related Activities (CARA) ........................................... 57 STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 5 Nature of the Problem In the United States, student-athletes have certain academic standards in the athletic system which guides student-athletes to balance academics and sport (Adams, 2018; Hosick & Sproull, 2012; Johnson et al., 2012). When I first came to the United States to study, the progress of my studies was lagging behind that of other student-athletes in the beginning. I gave up my academic pursuits for tennis when I was studying in Taiwan, because the athletic system in Taiwan has different academic expectations compared to the United States. According to my experience as a student-athlete in the United States, I observed that many outstanding student-athletes select a diverse range of majors, not just physical education due to being an athlete - which is the opposite to Taiwan’s education program. The reason why this is the opposite in Taiwan’s academic expectations is that; if a student-athlete is in their program, which is considered not as diverse, the student-athlete only has limited choices in their major. The majors that Taiwan allows for their student-athletes are either related to their sport or restricted choices outside of that field. For example, Taiwanese student-athletes are often restricted to majors that are within the physical education department. The United States allows for more diversity when it comes to student-athletes choosing their major, while Taiwan restricts their student-athletes on their majors. Taiwan’s system for the development of student-athletes is quite different from those of the United States education system. As a result of Taiwan's system, student-athletes often encounter challenges in developing academic skills (Chan, 2018). The reason behind the system’s impact on student-athletes is because the system values singular interest above exploring other interests, which is the path that they feel will allow student-athletes to perform their best. Due to the requirements of Taiwan's education system, there is no set standard for the academic performance of student-athletes as a lot of their time is devoted to training, competitions, and travel (Huang et al, 2016). As a result, Taiwanese student-athletes STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 6 usually lack a positive attitude towards academic professional preparation, because they rarely study academically or explore other professional fields and their choices of future careers may be restricted (Chan, 2018). In the United States, there is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) specifically managing student-athletes’ academics, experience, and well-being (Lumpkin, Achen & Hyland, 2015). The purpose of this organization is to combine sports with academic activities and require member organizations to comply with specific rules (National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA], 2009c, July; Paskus, 2012). The NCAA recognized student-athletes from the stage of cognitive career development and discussed the skills that can transfer from the sports environment to the workplace as part of the principles of coaching student-athletes’ career development (Huang et al., 2016; Miller & Buttell, 2018). The NCAA provides sufficient resources to enable student-athletes to succeed in sports and at the same time, have the academic ability to pass appropriate academic standards (Fletcher et al., 2003; Hazelbaker, 2015; Johnson et al., 2012), which will develop more comprehensive student-athletes. This background knowledge is prevalent in my project because of the differences that govern the United States’ and Taiwan’s systems. This is important because with different systems within different cultural expectations often result in different outcomes. The student-athletes in Taiwan believe that a level of training relatively higher than most countries is needed for success, while student-athletes in the United States believe that training should not be overdone which also will affect student-athletes injury rate (Swindell et al., 2019). No matter their training beliefs, student-athletes are focused on achievements in the present moment and some student-athletes look to create a life-long career. However, with that said, there are not a lot of athletes who can reach the top of professional sports (Huang et al., 2016). In the process of seeking the ultimate achievement, student-athletes STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 7 often ignore their potential, ability, exploration, and cultivation in other areas while pursuing sports performance and after the end of their sports career (Jian-Hong et al., 2019). The NCAA supports that outstanding academic performance, student-athlete experience, health, and safety are rated as the highest priority of organizational values in the sports sector (Cooper et al., 2015). The organization’s policy clearly states that student-athletes are "students first, athletes second," which poses unique challenges for American student-athletes because they face both physical and academic pressures (Huml et al., 2019; Lu et al., 2012; NCAA, 2009b). However, the NCAA system allows student-athletes to be fully prepared for their career planning (Miller & Buttell, 2018). In the later stages of college careers, if student-athletes give up their ambitions for sports careers, the role of students, according to the position of the NCAA, should be more prominent in their identity hierarchy. On the contrary, Taiwan’s athletic educational system is athlete first and student second ideology (Chan, 2018). At the end of the student-athletes’ sports career, the process of how to transition to using their unique skills within the workplace is important (Spenard, 2011). Taiwan’s athletic system could create another stage that can help student-athletes be more successful during this transition and the system could provide a career advisor, who can help student-athletes make effective long-term career planning and adaptation roles in advance after they graduate (Lin, M., 2019; Miller & Buttell, 2018; Spenard, 2011). Moreover, the understanding of the national and institutional systems, as well as their impact on the individual student experiences regarding the development of student-athletes, is a critical step in terms of improving student-athletes’ success and holistic development. According to the American sports culture and the operation method of the education system for student-athletes, student-athletes have a comprehensive development whether in sports or academic aspects (Hosick & Sproull, 2012; Juhász, 2013). This is important because it demonstrates that permitting more STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 8 diverse majors, provides student-athletes more opportunities outside of their sport (Paskus, 2012). As a review, the purpose of my project is based on the suggestions and experiences put forward by scholars in Taiwan and the United States: I want to help and inspire young student-athletes in Taiwan. This will allow me to analyze the value and identity of student-athletes in Taiwan and provide complete NCAA guidance and insights for the Taiwan sports education system in cultivating student athletes' professional development. Literature Reviews Symbolic Interaction Theory The theory of symbolic interaction originated from Chicago scholars. Among them, George Herbert Mead contributed the most. It was comprehensively developed by Herbert Blumer in the 1950s. The main concepts of symbolic interaction theory can be divided into symbols, self, mind, and role-playing. In the theory of symbolic interaction, context refers to the situation that people face before instinctively acting (Smith & Hamon, 2016). In fact, not everyone has the same symbols, which creates meaning to become different in a certain context. Similarly, people can only truly understand the meaning of symbols if they regard symbols as a system. For example, being a student-athlete has different symbolic meanings under various backgrounds. In Taiwan, most people think that student-athletes do not like to study, so they choose to be athletes. On the contrary, in the United States, people have respected the status of student-athletes because they know how hard it is to take care of both academics and sport. Therefore, explaining the differences between the symbols is very important for understanding human behavior and interaction. William Isaac Thomas (2017) believed that a person's subjective interpretation of a situation directly affects their behavior. Here, the subjective meaning includes which factors he takes into consideration and how to interpret them. Of course, the so-called subjective STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 9 interpretation is not entirely subjective (Stryker, 2017). In fact, a person’s interpretation of a situation is a reflection of their previous socialization achievements (Stryker, 2017). An example of this is a Taiwanese student-athlete who comes to the United States, their signs of socialization of achievements will become different because they experience the difference in environment within the system of signs. However, if a Taiwanese student-athlete stays in Taiwan, they will not experience this same socialization achievement (Kitsantas et al., 2018). My project will show the importance of socialization achievement within the differences between Taiwan and the United States. The symbolic interaction theory can be related to the looking-glass self-theory put forth by American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley in 1902. In this proposition, human behavior depends on a large extent of the knowledge of self and this knowledge is mainly formed through social interaction with others (Scheff, 2005). The evaluation and attitude of others towards oneself is a "mirror" reflecting oneself, through which the individual knows and grasps oneself. Therefore, the human self is formed in the connection with others (Scheff, 2005). From my observation as a student-athlete from Taiwan, Taiwanese student-athletes think that they cannot be successful in their academic endeavors because of the identity that student-athletes have in the Taiwanese community. Some student athletes from other countries have realized that their self-image has changed to be more closely aligned to the identity that student-athletes have in the American community (Kitsantas et al., 2018). With all that said, these theoretical concepts can be applied to the student-athletes in Taiwan and the United States. The theories show the importance the environment that influences the self-image of a student-athlete. Identities of Student-Athletes Athlete status is the degree to which one identifies with the role of an athlete and expects others to recognize that role. Research by Yukhymenko-Lescroart (2018) agrees that STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 10 student-athlete identity building is associated with developing student-athlete motivation, achievement, and behavior. In other words, student-athlete status does not refer to a single continuum of high student status on the one hand and high athlete status on the other (Yopyk & Prentice, 2005). Rather, these identifications occur independently and non-exclusively. Student-athletes play the dual roles of student and athlete, with corresponding identities (Di Landy et al., 2018). However, many people's stereotype of an athlete or student-athlete may be not smart and lazy (Dee, 2014). Being an athlete is hard work. Student-athletes need to spend a lot of time training every day and travel to tournaments. While training and traveling, student-athletes may not have time to take care of academics because their daily schedule is full and physically demanding. Therefore, the issues of concern regarding the academic and career development of student-athletes are who they are as student-athletes and their academic stereotypes. There is much literature in different fields that has demonstrated that stereotype threat can negatively affect a person's motivation, behavior, and performance (Kitsantas et al., 2018; Riciputi & Erdal, 2017). One of the misconceptions surrounding athletic identity is that the more student-athletes focus their time and energy on athletic identity, the less they invest in career maturity (Yopyk & Prentice, 2005). Student-athletes may change their self-identity or self-values about who they are, and make equal efforts in both areas (academic and athletic). Numerous studies have shown what it looks like to prioritize and work hard on these two fields (Riciputi & Erdal, 2017; Yopyk & Prentice, 2005; Yukhymenko-Lescroart, 2018). The Concept of Receiving Education in Taiwan In modern Taiwanese society, in order to be a scholar a person must be at the top of society (Chen & Ho, 2012). Taiwanese parents believe that getting good grades in academics is equal to success (Chen & Ho, 2012). However, under this constant vicious cycle of ideas, Taiwan's education system for student-athletes cannot coexist with diversified development STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 11 (Lally & Kerr, 2005). Therefore, most parents in Taiwan are reluctant to let their children engage in sports because the sports do not allow for diversified development (Yu & Bairner, 2011). These problems are not as simple as adding certain benefits to the athletic system to improve the positive image of student-athletes in academics. These are part of the Taiwanese education system and must be addressed at the grassroots level to change the student-athlete image. The Current Education System Policy of Student-Athletes in Taiwan In Taiwan, three-level training is included in elite athletic training. The three-level training consists of elementary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools, which are the three most critical periods for the training of athletes (Yu, 2011). Therefore, the elite training model of Taiwan's various tertiary sports has contributed to many well-known student-athletes in international competitions (Lu, 2020). In addition, student-athletes in Taiwan are forced to enroll in "special athletic classes" which provide additional training time and flexible schedules to participate in the competitions (Wu & Chang, 2019). According to Lin (2019), athletes make outstanding achievements at an early age because these children practice constantly every day. Taiwanese student-athletes sacrificed their childhood, including hanging out with friends and studying with their peers. The main reason why these student-athletes in Taiwan have devoted themselves to only one sport, at such an early age, is to get into the prestigious universities in Taiwan (Lin, 2019). In Taiwan, there is a system for entering higher education specifically designed for student-athletes: Elite Athletic Students Recommended for Admission (Tsai, 2006). This policy requires that student-athletes only need to have the best results in sports to apply for high school or university. Taiwanese student-athletes do not need to have excellent academic grades to enter an elite university in Taiwan. STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 12 Introduction of the National Collegiate Athletic Association In the United States, there is an association specifically designed for college student-athletes, called NCAA (Lumpkin et al., 2015). The NCAA is the most representative national sports organization for student-athletes in the United State, which was established in 1906 (Oriard, 2012). Its governance mechanisms include supervision mechanisms and resource allocation mechanisms (Erdmann, 1995). These mechanisms are essential to the NCAA because it enforces student-athletes to have self-management regarding balance between their academics and their sport (Adams, 2018). Its purpose is to give young people with athletic skills higher education through the development of career preparation (Judge, 1991; Miller & Buttell, 2018; Paskus, 2012). In fact, NCAA member schools ensure that student-athletes can successfully meet the academic requirements of American universities by providing advanced teaching technology, individual tutoring, and academic advisors who specialize in helping student-athletes (Lumpkin, Achen & Hyland, 2015; NCAA, 2009a). The NCAA also provides a project plan, to help current student-athletes complete their studies and American universities can provide scholarships to help them successfully complete their degrees (Lumpkin et al., 2015; Miller, 2011; NCAA, 2009d). According to the NCAA (2021) website, the NCAA executive committee has three division levels. It is composed of many member alliances, colleges, and universities. It meets the different requirements of members through classification and represents the interests of student-athletes (Martyn et al., 2019). According to the differences in school scale, academic level, geographical location, and economic level of the colleges and universities, the NCAA divides more than 1,100 colleges into three divisions and 130 sports leagues (NCAA, 2021). The annual competition can penetrate into 23 sports and more than 400,000 student-athletes. The NCAA includes single events and multi-event leagues and is the main form of competition for sports teams in participating colleges (NCAA, 2021). As a result, only the STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 13 best teams in the leagues are eligible to participate in the national championships (NCAA, 2021). Therefore, in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of student-athletes for learning and training, many colleges and universities offer higher scholarships (Yen, 2011). American universities provide excellent scholarships for athletes (depending on sports) (Juhász, 2013). Schools provide full scholarships (including four-year tuition and miscellaneous fees, room and board, equipment costs, etc.), and additional monthly living expenses and food supplements. In addition to NCAA Division I offering generous athlete scholarships, Division II and Division III will also provide scholarships for student-athletes in academic performance to cover tuition. Division III does not provide scholarships for athletic performance, but according to statistics, up to 80% of Division III student-athletes receive academic scholarships (NCAA, 2009d). The NCAA Requirements for Academic Performance The NCAA believes that if athletes do not increase academic learning, it is also difficult to become outstanding athletes (Paskus, 2012.) The standards of the NCAA’s (2021) official website have a set of rigid admission requirements for the academic performance of student-athletes (Hazelbaker, 2015; Johnson et al., 2012; Lumpkin, Achen & Hyland, 2015; Petr & McArdle, 2012). In American colleges and universities, the academic performance of student-athletes, the minimum of 16 core specific courses completed, earn at least a 2.3 GPA, and the progress of obtaining a degree under the NCAA regulations (Johnson et al., 2012; NCAA, 2009c). Once student-athletes demonstrate poor academic performance during school, they will lose their qualifications for training, competitions, and the sports scholarship that follows will also be canceled by the school (Hazelbaker, 2015; Hosick & Sproull, 2012). The overall emphasis on cultural education in the United States seems to push athletes to receive higher education. To a certain extent, that is true, especially for team sports such as: basketball, soccer, and football, which requires cooperation between teammates through STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 14 tactical understanding. Furthermore, student-athletes must take the daily coursework seriously and are required to attend at least 2 to 3 hours of training every day (Ayers et al., 2012). Many researchers agree that student-athletes are different in the United States than in Taiwan (Huang et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2021; Yu & Bairner, 2011). The America’s culture and system puts more emphasis on the identity of student-athletes (Juhász, 2013.). Students first, athletes second approach (Foster & Huml, 2017). Student Athletes’ Career Needs & Development The future of being a student-athlete in the United States allows for multifaceted opportunities. Many people are curious about the development prospects of student-athletes after they graduate from the university. Student-athletes’ opportunities are not restricted to work related to their sport’s field. The unique training model of student-athletes in the United States provides an excellent example of the talent module not only for professional competitive sports but also for when they leave sports and take a non-sports professional role (Cooper, Weight & Fulton, 2015, Miller & Buttell, 2018). NCAA provides specialized education and vocational training programs for student-athletes, such as the Student-Athlete Leadership Forum and the Sports Professional Forum (Navarro & Malvaso, 2015). These forums are designed to enhance the personal happiness and future career development prospects of American college student-athletes (Lally & Kerr, 2005). NCAA has an independent student-athlete employment development guidance center, which provides personalized career direction consultation and job recommendations for student-athletes who cannot continue their sports (Brooks et al., 1987; Lumpkin, Achen & Hyland, 2015; Miller & Buttell, 2018). Being a Successful Student-Athlete in the United States The system of the NCAA gives student-athletes in the United States a clear goal for the future by constantly absorbing different academic knowledge during school, such as student-STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 15 athletes’ awareness of their limits on the professional field and being able to plan their career development ahead (Paskus, 2012). Coupled with athletic experience, student-athletes have always been popular employees for well-known companies in the U.S. recruitment market, because they believe that student-athletes are often: goal-oriented, mentally tough, hard workers, display time-management skills, self-confident, team players, and oftentimes leaders (Kitsantas et al., 2018). Hence, being confined to the status of athletes and coaches is not the only career path for athletes. In most American universities, community is a concept closely tied to cultural identity. Who you are as a person is closely related to the community from which you come. As an important measure of college student-athletes, community service is a way to show future interview officials in the workplace that they not only care about the community, schools and their sport, but also manage their time well to balance volunteer and student-athletes' work, which is a great way to make other commitments (Andrassy & Bruening, 2011). A student-athlete can measure that student-athlete's leadership from community service work (Andrassy & Bruening, 2011). The purpose of community service and volunteer service is to use their actions to help solve a certain current social problem. American Education values and fosters a passion for giving back to the community with their student-athletes. They do not like to just have outstanding student-athletes, as a student-athlete with good morals and intelligence who can learn well and know how to give back to society is the student-athlete who is most likely to succeed in the future (Andrassy & Bruening, 2011). According to Cooper and colleagues (2015), the NCAA system's philosophy of integrating sports and education, emphasizing sports talents, and academic education has played a pivotal role in the process of training student-athletes. In addition, for student-athletes to master sports skills, it is also very important to make effective use of education to promote the development of psychological quality and complete personality (Chu, 1989). STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 16 The Current Athletic Environment & System in Taiwan Taiwanese student-athletes have always been impacted by their regional culture because of the expectations of academic performance in Taiwan (Hsu & Li, 2020). Taiwanese student-athletes are expected to do a lot of training as opposed to studying, which is the opposite of the United States. Taiwanese student-athletes have fewer prospects because of the cultural expectations in Taiwan (Sum et al., 2017). Currently, the Taiwanese student-athletes are still expected to play rather than study. In addition to training, the Taiwanese academic performance should also be included in the qualifying for participation in competitions, which will benefit the prospects for student-athletes after university. As a result of the Taiwanese rules, retired professional athletes have gradually stepped off the stage of competition, which has made these athletes feel stuck without many opportunities (Chan, 2020). Therefore, the diversified development of athletes is ignored in Taiwanese academic education (Yu, 2010). Development of Comprehensive Skills in Taiwan Student-athletes in Taiwan have learned the tough mentality of training in a sport (Lin & Liu, 2017). The school's expectations also only require physical education classes that student-athletes learn only four hours a day on general subjects and the rest of the time, which is usually more than eight hours, would be spent on the training (Yu, 2010). As a result, Hsu and Li (2020) argued against the Taiwanese rules since research shows that Taiwanese student-athletes are more prone to only being good at sports rather than other academia. Hsu and Li (2020) believed that this environment is stifling student-athletes’ other development possibilities and causing many athletes to retire after graduating, which the research shows that Taiwanese student-athletes face the dilemma of unemployment. The book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by Ratey and Hagerman (2008) pointed out that it is better to arrange difficult subjects after moderate STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 17 exercise, which shows that exercise and schoolwork can complement each other without affecting each other. This information is relevant to my project because the research provides information about how student-athletes do not learn other skills and will be stuck as a result of this. System Issues of the Ministry of Education in Taiwan Taiwan's system has profoundly affected the athletic education ecology (Fish, 2017). The existing system’s strategy and the entry system for physical education students spend more time on athletics rather than academics, which research shows makes student-athletes think that education is not important. Fish (2017) expected that the changes in the system could reverse the traditional concept of sports, promote appropriate projects, knowledge at different ages and stages, and adjust the curriculum according to students' abilities, environment, and needs. This will allow for the past standardized norms to be further reformed into ability-oriented guidance and help student-athletes achieve the goal of balanced development of sports and academics (Adams, 2018). The implementation of the curriculum reform in the whole country is not easy. It cannot be changed only by the leaders, but also needs to be supported by the teachers and the students. Student-athletes have an impact on classroom performance due to training. As a coach, they know better how to effectively improve this situation, and increase the horizontal communication with teachers to help student-athletes together. Re-examining Taiwan's sports professional education, conceiving a more complete system, and working together to cultivate elites in Taiwan's sports arena is an option to eradicate existing problems. Sports vs. Academic Performance In recent years, the impact of stereotypes on student-athletes' academic attitudes or academic performance has been explored in the field of sports. Researchers Yopyk and Prentice (2005) found that student-athletes face the pressure of a dual role of student and STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 18 athlete, and therefore may be more likely to be threatened by stereotypes such as "dumb-jock" in academic situations. Fletcher and colleagues’ (2003) study supported being a student-athlete in the United States and how a student-athlete can be successful. Overall, many sources agree that there is a system needed for student-athletes to achieve academically and to become a well-rounded person in their career (Popp et al., 2011; Schouten, 2016; Wu & Chang, 2019; Lin, 2019). However, the Taiwan model emphasizes the quality of the sport. With that said, Yu and Bairner (2011) and Yu (2010) believed the system in Taiwan should just focus on sports performance for their student-athletes. In conclusion, the future development of student-athletes’ education is not only a matter of academics but there is resistance against this change in Taiwan (Sun, 2016). Purpose The purpose of this research was to understand the different approaches taken by the educational systems in Taiwan and the United States towards student-athletes and the importance of the overall development of student-athletes. The study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the experiences of student-athletes in Taiwan and the United States, and therefore give suggestions to policymakers and educators in Taiwan regarding the development of their student-athletes. The expectation of this research was that Taiwan's Athletic Department, Education Department, and Taiwanese can change the value and identity of student-athletes in Taiwan. The results of this study provide complete NCAA's guidance to the Taiwan athletic educational system and can be modeled after. As a result, Taiwan can cultivate outstanding student-athletes' professional development, whether in sports or academics. Research shows that Taiwan student-athletes will benefit from the NCAA guidance by utilizing their model. As a result of inputting the NCAA guidance, the student-athlete will STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 19 have more options for their career even after they graduate. However, identities of student-athletes have been influenced by their educational experience and systems in different countries. In addition, through the different educational system and the communities, the experiences and the identity of student-athletes themselves could be different. Specifically, the research answered the following questions: 1. What are the lived experiences of student-athletes in the United States and in Taiwan? 2. What are the factors that influence student-athletes to balance their academics and their sport? 3. How are the identities of student-athletes’ identities formed in different educational systems? Method Participants For the current study, participants consisted of student-athletes selected from the various universities in Taiwan and the United States. The participants in the United States were attending a public institution in northern Utah. The participants in Taiwan were selected in the largest metropolitan areas from Taipei City, the institution of the universities are the top 5 sports national schools in Taiwan. In terms of sports level, both institutions are Division I in Taiwan and the United States. There was a total of eight research participants chosen based on these two factors: (1) the experience of being a student-athlete, and (2) the experience with the educational system based on the participants’ country. Furthermore, participants were all 18 years or older. Each group of four participants included two who identified as female and two who identified as male student-athletes. Participants in the United States The two male participants in the United States were volunteers from the men’s football and golf team. The participant who was on the football team (E.A.) started to play football STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 20 when he was in 12th grade and was influenced by his father and grandfather who also played for the same school he is attending, which is the main reason he wants to be a football athlete and study in the same university. The participant from the men’s golf team is from Mexico (H.C.). He started to play golf when he was 10 years old and was influenced by his father, he wanted to be a student-athlete in the United States because he saw the movies about American student-athletes. He feels there is good chance to play golf and study in the United States since he likes doing things besides golf. He wants to explore more areas and meet friends as a regular student, and Mexico does not have the similar athletic system to manage Mexican student-athletes. Two female participants were from the women’s tennis team and golf team. The participant from the tennis team is from Mexico (A.M.) and she started to play tennis when she was very little because her grandpa brought tennis into her town. All the members from her family are big fans of tennis. She did not like to play tennis when she was little because she felt it was a family expectation she had to do. When she was 12 years old, she started to like playing tennis because she won her first championship title which gave her confidence. She came to the United States to get a better education and tennis level than she could in Mexico. She could also get a full-ride scholarship. The participant from the women’s golf team (T.B.) is originally from the United States. She was influenced by her brother to playing golf because she is a competitive person and she enjoys the moment when she gets rewards after all the hard works. Participants in Taiwan The two male participants in Taiwan-Taipei City were volunteers from the men’s baseball team and swimming team. The participant (P.L.Y.) who started to play baseball when he was 11 years old was influenced by MLB professional athletes. When he was in junior high school, he started to invest more time in baseball because he had some sport STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 21 achievements and received attention. He also did not like to go to school; he preferred playing baseball instead of going to classes. The participant (J.C.X.) from the swimming team started to learn swimming at 12 years old because his parent thought he had a lot of energy. When he went into junior high school, he had to decide if he was going to attend regular academic classes or athletic classes. As a result, he chose to be an student-athlete because he was not interested in studying and he had more confidence in the sport of (swimming). However, at that time his grandparent did not agree that he should be an athlete because they did not want him to give up his academics. The other two Taiwanese female participants were from the women’s golf team and shooting (air pistol) team. The participant on the women’s golf team (Z.Y.W.) started learning golf when she was 10 years old, influenced by her father. From junior school, she decided to fully focus on golf because she thinks that she already put a lot of time in golf and she thinks it is a long-tern sport she can use it as her career. In addition, she wanted to continue to get into a good college by using golf achievements. The participant on the shooting team (Y.J.H.) started to learn shooting when she was 9 years old based on self-interest and with her parents’ support. She was nominated as an outstanding athlete for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In addition, she is planning to study master of sport management after she graduated. Design The current study utilized a qualitative research design. Therefore, the researcher conducted in-depth open-ended interviews to form data to analyze various explorations of the results. This study adopted the method of interviewing student-athletes about their school, training period, and overall experience. The interviews were conducted via Zoom. The interview was one-on-one with the allocated time of an hour. In addition, the researcher obtained the interviewee's consent before recording the entire interview process; all the STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 22 recordings were transcribed and key phrases were translated into text data by the researcher for analysis. The informed consent form (see Appendix A) disclosed the purpose of the study, permission to record and use their experience, and personal information in the study. Upon volunteering consent, participants were then asked questions about their background, such as how long they have been working with the athletic department, how many years they have been playing, as well as how long they have been a student-athlete (See Appendix B). Procedure Upon IRB approval, the researcher randomly selected participants from Taipei, Taiwan. For the United States, the research participants were selected from a public university in northern Utah. The researcher posted a recruitment post about this study via social media tool (Instagram) to reach out the volunteer student-athletes. Once the interview schedule was confirmed, the interviews in the United States were in-person. The interviews with student-athletes in Taiwan were sent the Zoom meeting invitation link to each participant’s email to respond to the interview. Before each interview started recording, the researcher gave or sent the consent form to participants to participate in this study. All the interviews were completed in twenty-two days. The interviews were conducted from March 23, 2022 to April 13, 2022. Next, all the interview recordings were automatically downloaded to the file once the interview is finished. The researcher used the video management provided by Weber State University to upload the files to transcribe the recordings with English interviews; the interviews with Mandarin were transcribed by researcher translate to a Word Document. Data Analysis The interview data analysis in this study used structured analysis methods. The data was used for both deductive interviews and more exploratory interviews. There was a total of six steps involved. In the first step, I became familiar with the interview data. The recorded STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 23 interview allowed me to process the data, browse all the data of the entire interview, and start taking notes of the data. In the second step, I assigned codes to the data. The code was a brief description of the content of the interview; therefore, every time I noticed something interesting in the data, I wrote down a code. The code is a description, not an explanation. Next, in the third step, I classified the code into topics. The code identified interesting information in the data in which the subject was broader and involved active interpretation of the code and data. I looked at the code list and its related excerpts and organized the code into broader topics that noted that the interview data is interesting. For the fourth step, I reviewed and improved the themes identified in the third step. I read through all the excerpts related to the code to explore whether they supported the topic, whether there were contradictions, and if the topics overlapped. If there were many contradictions within a topic or it became too broad, I considered splitting the topic into separate topics or moving some codes/excerpts to more suitable existing topics. In the fifth step, I named and described each topic identified in the previous steps. In the description of the topic, I not only described what the topic was about but also described what was interesting about the topic and why it is interesting. In addition, if I found that the theme was too diverse or complex to tell a coherent story, I repeated step 4 and redesign the theme. Finally, the report was produced based on the data and the analysis. Results Several themes emerged from the data: enrollment and scholarship, college majors, schedules, balance, support, mental health, and identity. Enrollments, Scholarships, and College Majors The student-athletes from Taiwan began investing significant time in their sports when they were around 11 years old and continued through college. When they applied for the universities, they used their most outstanding sport performances to be directly admitted STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 24 to the school, without any academic test. This is called the Exclusive Recruit Enrollment policy in Taiwan form Taiwanese participants explained how they enroll to their school. On the other hand, the participants in the United States took the SAT or ACT test for academic verification and their sport performances to enroll to the school. Furthermore, the female student-athletes (Y.J.H.) in Taiwan said that “I did not receive scholarships, unless I have achievements on the field then I would have a chance to apply.” However, all participants in the United States have received the full-ride scholarships when they are recruited by the school. For many student-athletes a full athletics scholarship was the ultimate goal as they typically cover tuition and fees, books, housing, travel and board, supplies, and sometimes even living expense. But the living expenses are typically a different amount for different sports. In addition, the full athletics scholarship also covered student-athlete’s medical need, such as doctor’s appointments, surgery, and physical therapy. One of the male participants (E.A.) from the football team in the United States said “I was recruited by four schools, each school offered me different amounts of stipends, which was the biggest part that I considered before I signed the contract.” The other female student-athlete (A.M.) in the United States said “I am very grateful I have full athletics scholarships, so that, myself and my family do not need to worry financially, at the same time I can get professional training with my tennis. I am not afforded these opportunities and benefits if I am attending university in Mexico.” The options for choosing an academic major differ between the participants from the United States and Taiwan. In terms of academic majors, the Taiwanese student-athletes who are on the men’s baseball team who is senior and women’s golf team who is senior are both majored in Department of Ball Sports; the student-athlete on the men’s swimming team who is junior, major in Department of Aquatic Sports and the student-athlete on the women’s shooting (pistol) team who is senior, major in Department of Athletics. “I used my golf technique and the achievements to admitted to the school, my major was directly designated STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 25 because of my sport, and the courses I am taking are about sports science, sports exercise, sports psychology, physical education, and I also taking a few general classes: Math, Chinese, English and physical creatures,” from the participant (Z.Y.W.) who on the women’s golf team in Taiwan. On the contrary, the United States student-athlete on the men’s football team who is senior, majoring in Spanish with a minor in Business Administration; the male on the golf team who is junior, majoring in Integrated Studies with a minor in Spanish. The female student-athlete on the women’s tennis team who is junior, majoring in Business Administration with a minor in French; the other female on the golf team who is senior, majoring in Human Resources with a minor in Psychology. “I was having a hard time with choosing my major. However, once I met with my athletics advisor, I was able to choose the best major for me. I really enjoy taking business classes right now and I have a direction with what I want to do after I graduated,” from the female participant (T.B.) in the United States. Schedules, Balance, and Support from Athletic Program The schedule of student-athletes in Taiwan and the United States are similar. They have weight and conditioning training in the early morning, go to classes until noon, and then they start their practice in the afternoon. There is a limit to the amount of training hours set forth by NCAA in the United States. Each sport has different set of rules for in-season and off-season (See Appendix D), and coaches are not allowed to request student-athletes to practice extra hours, only the student-athlete can request extra training. “Our coaches are required to pass a test and keep up-to-date with NCAA rules changes, because the NCAA change rules consistently and if we break the rules, me and my coaches may be suspended from practice or matches by the NCAA,” from the participant (A.M.) in the United States. For Taiwan, each school’s athletic department has their own training hours requirement since there is no national entity such as NCAA to supervise schools, student-athletes, and coaches. STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 26 One of the Taiwanese student-athlete (J.C.X.) motioned that “sometimes I don’t like our coach usually made someone to stay longer after the team practice, he always picks his favorite player on the team and do the extra benefits for my teammate.” In Taiwan’s universities there are four tournament competitions. But at the same time, student-athletes in Taiwan are allowed to attend the professional tournaments if they would like. Also, student-athletes are allowed to compete on the national team to represent Taiwan, such as at Universiade, Asian Games, and Olympics. “I am nominated to represent Taiwan at the 2024 Paris Olympic,” said from the female participant on the shooting team (Y.J.H.). In contrast, student-athletes in the United States are not allowing to participate in any professional tournaments, all the tournament must represent to school. Different sports have a certain number of tournaments per year in the United States by NCAA Division I school requirements: members of the men’s and women’s golf team can play 10 tournaments per year, those on men’s football can play 12 games per year, and women’s tennis can play 25 dates per year. Different sports have different standards. For example, the rules of tennis tournament requirement, it can be 2 matches in the same day, a so-called double-header which can be counted as a single date. One male participant (H.C.) for the golf team said “I would like to play professional in the future, but now I really enjoy playing college, since NCAA made different rules between college and professional tournaments, it is actually interesting.” According to the result of the student-athletes’ experiences, a couple participants were strongly agreed that “time management is the primary skill-set needed for a student-athlete, because we have schoolwork, training, travel, and competitions, and we have to plan ahead to organized the daily schedule.” In terms of academics, student-athletes in Taiwan do not feel a lot of pressure when they were in high school, because the subjects for classes are about sport which they are interested in. A few of the participants, student-athletes from Taiwanese point STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 27 out if they go to class consistently, and go to take their exams, there is 90% they will pass the class because professors do no finalize grades based only on exam scores. They also take into account the students overall participation. The participant (P.L.Y.) “my classmates are all student-athletes as well, so I think grading is fair for everyone as long as they being involved in the class.” The participants in Taiwan choose to be an student-athletes because they have been an athlete since they were in high school “athlete’s class,” which results in a lack of academic achievement during high school. Those experiences made them have to continue with their sport into college because they view it as the only profession option they have. A participant from the baseball team (P.L.Y.) said “I enjoyed my athlete’s experience, but I kind of regretted my athletic experience as well, because I don’t have other skills besides baseball and now, I will graduate soon, but I still do not know what should I do since I am not going to play professional. I wish I could have more time or opportunities to focus on academics during high school, so I would not be stressful in my senior year.” On the other hand, student-athletes in the United States are facing the same requirement standard as regular students in class. The same number of assignments, projects, and exams. They feel the professor does not treat student-athletes special, such as fewer assignments or grading them more easily. The participants indicated that the professors are understanding of student-athletes and willing to help, if student-athletes had a hard time in class or assignments, professors are easy to communicate when they will miss classes for travels.” During the experiences of being student-athletes in the United States, all the skills they have learned are not just about winning competitions. Through the sports they have “learned more about teamwork, sportsmanship, work ethics, attitude, endurance and perseverance and how to deal with failures. “Moreover, individual sports, such as tennis, are played as a team sport in the college which helps student-athletes learn how to cooperate with STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 28 different personalities, teammates, and leadership styles within the team (A.M.).” Those skill-sets are practiced daily by student-athletes and non-student athletes may not be readily exposed to those and thus not learned as well. With these marketable qualities, the participants believed that it could be helpful in their future because “being a student-athlete is such a unique role,” from the participant in the United States (T.B.). In addition, people may be curious on how student-athletes balance training and learning. Being a student-athletes must not be easy, but this experience will definitely give them a different value. The secret of time management is to make the most of every minute, sacrifice spare time, and focus on your own learning. Whether it is international student-athletes or American student-athletes, everyone has the same time allocation. Because the training intensity of NCAA Division I is high level, student-athletes have weight lifting in the early morning, then go to the classes, after that, they have another training in the afternoon, and most weekends they will go travel. One of the female student-athlete (A.M.) said that “the daily routine of student-athlete comes with a lot of sacrifice and the pressure, but I know that everything they do has value because I can see my growth in every aspect.” Overall, student-athletes in the United States describe that being a student-athlete is not just physical fatigue, but also mental fatigue. “I get very busy when every year I am in season, it is kind of overwhelming, because we do not have weekends off, we always traveling and when we going to school the next day, it is tiring the schedules of being student-athlete for sure,” from participant on the men’s golf team (H.C.). The athletic program in the United States has resources for student-athletes. For example, student-athletes who can register classes earlier than regular students because they need to match their training and travel schedules. The athletic department provides athletic advisors who help student-athletes to choose classes, and create the travel letters for student-athletes to give it to their professors, letting them know the dates the athletes will miss for tournaments so STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 29 professor do not penalize them for their attendance. Athletic advisors have the access to track student-athletes’ grades and how they doing at school. If they see the grades dropping, a tutor will be provided for the student-athlete or have a required study hours at the study hall. The role of athletic advisor is to make sure student-athletes are eligible based on NCAA rules and help them to be successful in the classes. At the same point, participant (T.B.) mentioned that “our coaches always tell the team that school comes first, athletics come second.” Also, the athletic department provides physical therapy, a nutritionist, and mental health psychologist if student-athletes are struggling in sport or personally. According to the female participant (A.M.) in the United States, “I think that the athletic department has comprehensive supports and sources we can use whenever they needed. They just want to make everything easier for student-athletes which is super helpful for me.” The participants from Taiwan reported fewer supports compared to the participants from the United States. Student-athlete (J.C.X.) in Taiwan mentioned that “we do not have an athletic advisor, sports nutritionist, or sports psychologist, but the department does provide athletic trainers for treatment.” According to one participant (Y.J.H.), the “coaches will check my grades sometimes, most of the coaches do not have high expectation about student-athletes’ academic achievement.” From the Taiwanese male participant (P.L.Y.), “my coaches value our attitude and behavior in class more than achieving good grades.” When the student-athletes need help, they normally get resources from campus’s certain department, but not specific for student-athletes, which the participant (Z.Y.W.) said that “so many student-athletes in my class and the team thinks athletic department should have a team can create more resources for us, not just support us when we achieved the good results.” Mental Health “Metal Health is becoming an important topic in college sport, that is why I choose to be the president of student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC), because when I was STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 30 freshman, I have a lot of mental health problem, not on the field or in class but also personal.” mentioned by a participant (T.B.) from the United States. SAAC is the committee made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. In addition, the purpose of SAAC is to generate a student-athletes’ voices within the institution and the conference. Further, NCAA legislation requires that all member conferences have SAACs. The participants in the United States have been through more experience than student-athletes in Taiwan. The United States student-athletes are college students, with all the daily life challenges young adults are facing. As student-athlete (E.T.) “no matter what team are you in, we represent the whole student-athletes and our organization for our school, we are carrying the hopes and expectations of our campus and community. Our wins and losses are seen by all, questioned by many, and criticized publicly.” The role of student-athletes in the United State is positive, but the participant (E.A.) feels that “this becomes pressure by the public because people will have high standard with them, such as get the championship, facing the competitive pressure every week, and how they are doing well in school.” The positive pressure turned to student-athletes’ mental health issues. On the other hand, student-athletes in Taiwan have less stress than student-athlete in the United States. “We are used to the label on us (athletes are not smart and lazy), our role is not important or popular in this society or campus, we are not feeling the pressure from the public which we also feel sad because the people in Taiwan or the public are look down the kids who is learning sport” from Taiwanese student-athlete (P.L.Y.). Mostly, student-athletes’ pressures are from the team. It is hard to compete with teammates, but they have to do it all the time because there is competition to represent the school, making everyone fight for their own position. STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 31 The Identity of Student-Athletes The identity of student-athletes comes with sacrificing participants’ social life. Also, the view of the identity differs in different cultures. Participants’ family in the United States and Taiwan are very supportive, proud, and respect student-athletes. But in Taiwan, participants think that “there is always a stereotype of student-athlete which is negative, we feel people look down at student-athletes unless we achieved outstanding results in the sport,” from Taiwanese student-athlete (Y.J.H.) Otherwise, people in Taiwan would usually think student-athletes have “strong physique and simple mind.” This phrase has come from each participant in the interview. “Most parents put their kids in the sports because they don’t think they are good enough in academics, so make them do sport and used that as advantage to get into national universities,” form participant in Taiwan (J.C.X.). People in Taiwan think student-athletes are fully focused on their sport, not on academic. Having spent a lot of time in training and taken classes all about sports, if they did not become a professional athlete after they graduated, "I feel as an student-athlete in Taiwan, we only can find the job that is related to the sports or be a coach with our degree, which it could be limits our future career choices,” from Taiwanese participant’s view (P.L.Y.). In the end of each interview, all but except one female student-athlete on the golf team, they were clarified that they are not going to compete professionally after graduation. Each participant indicated that if they have the right to choose a major in academic, “I would like to choose a major outside of the sports, I think that would be new chapter for me and would be fun besides sport (Z.Y.W.)”, such as study in Art of Performance, Japanese, Human Anatomy, Educational, Architecture and psychology are the majors they would like to study in Taiwan if they have choices. The participants mentioned that “the career of being a professional athlete is not long-term, and not every student-athlete can even make it, especially when the body is break down or got injuries, it is hard to go back to the field, so that if we have more choices in their educational, STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 32 I will not worry about the limitations of finding a job in the future,” from Taiwanese student-athlete (P.L.Y.). In the United States, student-athletes are very proud of themselves because many people in America are very passionate about sports. “I think people and even my siblings are respect and admire student-athletes because they knew the role of being a student-athletes and received the full ride scholarships is not easy, it comes with a lot of sacrifice, hard work, good efforts, being mentally tough, capable, and balancing school and sports, and handling the pressure,” from the student-athlete (A.M.) in the United States. The United States student-athletes expressed gratitude for what they have, even though being a student-athlete is tiring. “I am able to do the things I really enjoying, which not a lot of people get the chance to do which I truly appreciate,” from the participants (E.A.) in the United States. Lastly, the participants (T.B.) from the football team and both men’s and women’s golf in the United States said that “I want to play professionally after they graduate. I do not know how many years I will going to play, but I do not worry about it, I think I will have a good position at that time because I will have my degrees with other options to continue their career.” Discussion Different cultures with different concepts, educational system, and athletic department could make a huge impact on the environments for student-athletes. The impact is not only for student-athletes’ educational journey, but also their career after they are finished with their sports (Hosick & Sproull, 2012; Hsu & Li, 2020). In this study, I provide evidence that sports and academic are actually two things that can be separated (Fletcher et al., 2003; Yukhymenko-Lescroart, 2018). Some student-athletes can do both things well, and some student-athlete may not able to do both things at the same time (Riciputi & Erdal, 2017; Yopyk & Prentice, 2005). It depends on the degree of personal effort, which it comes to the balance are the priority skill to have of be student-athletes which shows that the NCAA STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 33 (2019) is a good organization for student-athletes’ career (Adams, 2018; Cooper et al., 2015; Lumpkin et al., 2015; Miller & Buttell, 2018; Paskus, 2012). During the interviews with Taiwanese student-athletes, the interviewer realized that participants will likely struggle finding a job after they graduated (Chan, 2020; Hsu & Li, 2020). Because they are not going into professional sports, they want to change their direction of their profession at this point. But they do not have another professional degree that can transfer to other direction (Yu, 2010). This study shows that participants are lacking in their academics since elementary school in the early age (Lin, 2019; Wu & Chang, 2019; Yu, 2010). The educational system of manage student-athletes in Taiwan could be a main issue from the elementary school stage (Fish, 2017; Sun, 2016). The operation mode of physical education classes from elementary school to high school in Taiwan may have established the stereotype of "strong physique and simple mind" (Hsu & Li, 2020; Sum et al., 2017). And the education system of athletic classes is seen as stepping stone to enter the national universities (Hsu & Li, 2020; Tsai, 2006). Schools set up athletic classes and provide simple syllabuses that cannot solve the learning problems of student-athletes which the level of student-athletes in athletic classes are becomes behind the ordinary class, which is also an inevitable result in terms of academics (Yu, 2010). In addition, most student-athletes have a lively personality and are more casual, and overtraining, which leads to fatigue and less focus on the content of the class, the stereotype of "strong physique and simple mind" has been unwittingly spread (Yopyk & Prentice, 2005). And the students of the athletic classes gradually become more and more different than regular students, and teachers' expectations for the academic results of athletic classes no longer exist (Fish, 2017; Hsu & Li, 2020; Yu, 2010). For Taiwanese student-athletes, athletic classes from elementary to high school become a tool to gain access to higher education (Tsai, 2006). Sports performance is STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 34 necessary to enter a national university, but the participants in this study indicated that they would likely have to give up their sport, that they have cultivated for many years, to earn a stable job such as a physical education teacher or coach rather than get to play professional sport. Taiwan's lack of attention to sports and the concept that sports have no future has long been deeply rooted in people's mindset, which has also caused many college student-athletes to feel annoyed about their future (Hsu & Li, 2020; Riciputi & Erdal, 2017). Therefore, education in Taiwan should try not to set up physical education classes in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, so that students can choose what they like and learn talents they are interested in. The university can also continue to develop into other departments, and can also focus on sports (Fish, 2017). Due to the different sports environments, in the United States, the sports industry is one of the top ten industries (Hosick & Sproull, 2012; Juhász, 2013). In addition to the well-known four major leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB), tennis, golf, volleyball, and other sports are also thriving, and most sports are business-oriented. With that said, this study found that in the United States, the value of an athlete can be commercialized, and even as a student-athlete, the athlete's efforts should be given reasonable remuneration, this might be the reason why the student-athletes are more valuable than student-athletes in Taiwan; on the other hand, in Taiwan, sports are regarded as a part of education, which often limits the freedom of student-athletes (Fish, 2017; Juhász, 2013). According to the results of the student-athletes in the United States, the experience is very rich and fulfilling, and those who have experienced it will miss the sweat they paid and the emotion they gained during that time. This study found that United States student-athletes feel that their time in college has been rewarding with a combination of learning and training because they all have been through the challenge of the school and sport (Huml et al., 2019; Kitsantas et al., 2018). STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 35 In the United States, there is no "sports major". Athletes can enter universities and choose their favorite major like ordinary students. Whether it is law, business, engineering, sports science, no one will limit the choice of majors for student athletes, and no one will give a poor educational environment because you are a student-athletes. And this study supports Fletcher and colleagues (2003) which showed that the NCAA believes that academics are as important as sports, a student-athletes could be a comprehensive and successful person (Cooper et al., 2015; Miller & Buttell, 2018). In the United States, from the NCAA’s (2021) for student-athletes, study is the same as normal students, and the academic requirements are very high, and there is a lot of homework, because if your GPA falls below a certain point, you are banned from being a student-athlete, and then scholarships will also be cancelled (Hazelbaker, 2015; Hosick & Sproull, 2012; Petr & McArdle, 2012; NCAA, 2009d). The development of American student-athletes after graduation is very diverse (Brooks et al., 1987; Lally & Kerr, 2005; Miller & Buttell, 2018). This experience can give them not only in sports level, but also time management, teamwork, multi-line work, and other skills that will be extremely important in the future (Miller & Buttell, 2018; Navarro & Malvaso, 2015; Paskus, 2012). Symbolic Interaction Theory According to the experiences of the student-athletes, symbolic interaction theory by Herbert Blumer in the 1950s has shown the connection with the identity of student-athletes. For example, different symbols, self, mind, and role-playing with different cultures of background have changed how student-athletes act (Kitsantas et al., 2018). William Isaac Thomas (2017) argues that contextual interpretations reflect the achievement of socialization explaining the impact of student-athletes experiencing different contexts in different countries. Student-Athletes' social interactions with other people in sports create positive and STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 36 negative identities (Di Landy et al., 2018). Sports is one of the important symbols of American culture. In addition, most Americans love sports and have shown the value of sports in the United States (Juhász, 2013). Therefore, the status of student-athletes is positive and confident for American student-athletes. Conversely, Taiwanese student-athletes were indeed negatively socialized by situational responses to sports that led to perceptions of student-athlete identities (Yopyk & Prentice, 2005). This is why most Taiwanese have a stereotype of student-athletes (Dee, 2014; Di Landy et al., 2018). Thus, Symbolic interaction theory can offer some ideas demonstrating that if student-athletes are more influenced by the value of external objects, such as winning trophies or other recognition, their behavior will become more and more volatile. In the process of sports, student-athletes take appropriate action when they realize that something is important to them. If this thing is not attractive to student-athletes, the proportion of related behaviors will be very small. For example, the environment of Taiwan’s culture, athletic and education system made student-athletes think their sport is the main part in their education, so they never feel the academic is the priority as being a student-athlete. Because they have been working so hard to this professional level, the student-athletes should continue to focus on sports while they are in college, which make the student-athletes in Taiwan not care about the school. The Taiwan’s society has limited the career options and lack of opportunities of student-athletes’ careers in the future when they are no longer to play sports (Chan, 2020). But, student-athletes in the United States have to put academics as a priority, and these are circumstances that arise because of the culture and NCAA’s system (Hazelbaker, 2015). Therefore, when student-athletes are studying, the so-called positive and negative performance basis depends on the things they come into contact with, in terms of their importance and attention to the student-athletes. Identity Emerges from the Student-Athlete’s Social Interaction STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 37 The looking-glass self-theory by American sociologist Charles Horton in 1902 has explained that student-athletes’ social result arises are from human interaction, and the meaning of identity to a student-athlete is determined by what others perceive as meaning to the matter, and in their interactions with each other, the meaning of things to each other is formed (Scheff, 2005). For example, sports are a large part of American culture, so student-athlete status can be admired in the United States, and they are confidence with the identity of being a student-athletes. Conversely, sports may not be that popular in Taiwanese culture, which is why most Taiwanese have a stereotype of student-athletes, which make student-athletes used to have that negative image on their identity, sometimes they will not even care about that the label (Scheff, 2005). Therefore, the point of view of symbolic interactionists is to interpret the external meaning of student-athletes who passively carry the expectations and expectations of the mainstream structure of the sports environment in the education system, and through the interaction with the sports society, interpret the meaning presented by the other party, interpret the situation and the situation at that time (Smith & Hamon, 2016). Interpretation of self-concept, and the person’s response with appropriate behavior of the other party's meaning to achieve the other party's role expectations for the self (Thomas, 2017). Once role expectations are met, student-athlete role behaviors emerge. But for the same meaning, different countries’ student-athletes are interpreting the meaning of the identity, and there will be different behavioral results, so there are so-called comprehensive and incomprehensive student-athlete identities. Limitations The limitations of this research are that a relatively small sample of participants were involved. To elevate the integrity of the research it would be more advantage to break it down into the following categories of the participants: student-athletes in other countries with the STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 38 same cultures, parents, coaches, athletic staffs, athletic compliances athletic advisors, and professors. It would be interesting to review how others perceive the identity of student-athletes in different sports cultures. Especially with professors in Taiwan, the researcher would like to know through the teaching experiences between student-athletes and regular students, if it has changed the identity of student-athletes or not. One of the limitations is all the interviews with the student-athletes in Taiwan were not being able to be in-person, only interview by Zoom. In addition, this research could have added the self-confidence scale for the student-athlete participants to identify their level of confidence or the side they would like to do better. Also, the interview question could have added “what are the suggestions and policies or resources would student-athletes recommend to their educational and athletic departments?” Further Research The future of this research is to continue to find out more about the educational system and athletic system in Eastern culture countries, such as Japan, China or Korea. As well as other countries of Western culture, such as the U.K., Germany or Canada. The interviews could be extended to more categories, for example, interviewing parents of young students identified as athlete. In addition, the further research could look at a cohort of graduated student-athletes' careers. For example, it can look at the careers of former college athletes to see what job they do as post-graduation. Moreover, the researcher would like to excavate student-athletes’ major in academic, to find out what are the most and least popular majors for student-athletes and why. Plus, how are the student-athletes’ academic performance in those majors. This study also demonstrates that a well-structured organization such as the NCAA can help provide opportunities and guide student-athletes towards successful career paths. The NCAA organizational structure provides a system in which schools can be monitored STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 39 and held accountable in the United States. For example, how many rules does NCAA has, and how often they add/delete rules or how they audit and verify rules. Furthermore, future research can expand to international student-athletes in the United States. What sports have recruited the most international student-athletes, females or males, and what are the percentage for international student-athletes in NCAA Division I schools? Plus, what are the experiences of being an international student-athlete and why they were decided to come to the United States instead of stay in their own countries. Conclusion In Taiwan, athletes are constrained by the stereotype of "strong physique and simple mind". In the United States, student-athletes are regarded as professional employees, because student-athletes have to work hard, travel while taking care of their schoolwork Student-athletes are the role model in the eyes of most students and professors. These circumstances between Taiwan and the United States can support Symbolic Interaction Theory, the environments people were exposed/raised in the society, has impacted the identity of student-athletes. The view of the identity is not just how people think of athletes or student-athletes, but also student-athletes themselves. For example, looking-glass self-theory combined with symbolic interaction theory have shown that the participants are attending university in the United States in this study are confident who they are. But the participants in Taiwan they are used to how people think who they are. They are confident on the field, but they are not confident in academics, which it might be the reason why student-athletes are used to people calling them “strong physique and simple mind.” In the study, most of Taiwan's student-athletes have experienced long-term and high-intensity training since a very young age, just to get close to the professional sports stage of their dreams. However, not every athlete can achieve their dreams, and professional athletics STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 40 is a profession with a high elimination rate; or they use sport as a tool to get into the highly ranked universities in Taiwan since they will have more competition if they are regular students. Unfortunately, this policy will lead more young teenagers to give up their academic pursuits at such early age because they think they can avoid school work. This study can let student-athletes and all the young teenager’s parents realized that while every student-athlete’s dreams about becoming a professional athlete, they have to think about life without sports, absorb different knowledge, and not set limitations on their future. Therefore, to recommending the United States educational athletic system to Taiwan may bring more opportunities for Taiwanese teenager athletes and student-athletes. Regarding the future development of student-athletes and Taiwan sports, perhaps we can only see whether the government can effectively formulate comprehensive planning policies, and cooperate with schools to arrange appropriate academic environments and training to create a better working mechanism. For athletic classes, there must be a more appropriate and more in line with the students' class mechanism. Student-athletes cannot be defined by grades. Most importantly, this research could suggest that the Taiwan Ministry of Education re-emphasize sports programs and formulate more effective educational plans for sports classes, so that student-athletes can train without worries of school and compete for schools. May let student-athletes' future has comprehensive skills. The student-athletes in the United States mentioned that "the teammates, professors and relevant staff of the school are all care about student-athletes very much. The reason is that you are a student-athlete. If you are an ordinary student, you may not be able to reach so many people at one time. You get so much care, attentions and love. Because you are in a team, everyone trains together and competes for honor together, so you will have different feelings and cohesion. These are the things that they have been brought to by being a student-athlete. These are very helpful for their four years in college, whether it is a reflection of their STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 41 own value or integration into American society.” But at the same time, these attentions will become more student-athletes in the United States would have mental health and using drugs issues, and these may cost suicide because they are under the spotlights. Most importantly, this study made student-athletes in the United States to have a chance to look back themselves the life of being a student-athlete. What are the challenges they have overcome and what are the memories they would not able to get as a student-athlete or after they graduate? This study has given them a chance to reflected themselves, to recognized who they are as their role, does playing this role is helpful for them to be a better person or in the future? Those happiness and sadness moments are worth? Or make student-athletes be grateful and appreciate the experiences they are having right now. Finally, on the career to job searching, many companies are focus on personal leadership, mentality, and teamwork ability. These are precisely the necessary characteristics of student-athletes, coupled with the academic ability that is not inferior, such students will undoubtedly be in demand in the market, and some of them will also have the opportunity to enter the sports profession. From this study, the identity of student athletes in Taiwan would impact how companies in Taiwan think or look of student-athletes. When they see student-athletes’ resume, the degree is related to sport, the interviewees would always have the stereotype of "strong physique and simple mind" comes to their mind. This negative impression may impact and hurt student-athletes’ impression before the interviewees do not even know their personality. On the other hand, the identity of student-athletes in the United States may help them to have advantages when they in job interview if they have the degree the company wants and plus with the experiences of being a student-athlete. The educational athletic system in Taiwan for student-athletes may increase the number of teenager athletes who go aboard, such as to the United States to get better academic education journey and play their sport at the same time since they are not allow to STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 42 choose their major in Taiwan. 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STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 51 Appendix A: Informed Consent IRB STUDY AY21-22-254 WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY INFORMED CONSENT Experiences of Student-Athletes: A Comparative Study Between Taiwan and the U.S[ You are invited to participate in a research study of Experiences of Student-Athlete between Taiwan and the United States. You were selected as a possible subject because you are Student-Athlete who is participant in the university. We ask that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study. The study is being conducted by Pei-Hsuan, Kuo and Weber State University/Master of Education. STUDY PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to using English and Mandarin to do the research. NUMBER OF PEOPLE TAKING PART IN THE STUDY: If you agree to participate, you will be one of 8 participate. 4 participates from Taiwan, 4 participates from the United States who will be participating in this research. PROCEDURES FOR THE STUDY: If you agree to be in the study, you will do the following things: All participants will not be assigned pseudonyms and the interviews will be used in the video recording and the translate. The interviews will be recorded using the video-recording function of Zoom, the interview will not over an hour. The researcher, Pei-Hsuan, Kuo, will translate the video recording data and then do content analysis of the data after it is transcribed to find useful themes addressing the research questions. All the data, including interview recordings, interview notes, and translation, will be in the form of electronic data and no hard copy data will be produced. Thus, the video recordings of the interviews, transcripts, interview notes, translations are the only electronic data produced by this study. RISKS OF TAKING PART IN THE STUDY: For face-to-face research, the risks include the possibility of being infected by the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or other communicable diseases. The researcher will wear a mask if needed while in-person interview. Although only general questions will be asked during the interview, possible risks of participating in this research may include emotional or psychological distress from talking about participants' experiences and identities. Another option is that study participants can refuse to provide answers to any questions or choose to stop participating in the study altogether. STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 52 Examples of possible risk/side effect statements include: The risks of completing the interview are being uncomfortable answering the questions. The risks of possible loss of confidentiality. "Please note that possible risks of your participation may include emotional or psychological distress from talking about your experiences and identity. If you experience any distress, please inform the Principal Investigator Please note that you may refuse to provide an answer at any time for any reason any problems or to stop participating in the research altogether for any reason." BENEFITS OF TAKING PART IN THE STUDY You will not receive payment for taking part in this study. ALTERNATIVES TO TAKING PART IN THE STUDY: Instead of being in the study, you have another option which is that study participants can refuse to provide answers to any questions any time or choose to stop participating in the study altogether for any reason. COSTS/ COMPENSATION FOR INJURY In the event of physical injury resulting from your participation in this research, necessary medical treatment will be provided to you and billed as part of your medical expenses. Costs not covered by your health care insurer will be your responsibility. Also, it is your responsibility to determine the extent of your health care coverage. There is no program in place for other monetary compensation for such injuries. However, you are not giving up any legal rights or benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you are participating in research which is not conducted at a medical facility, you will be responsible for seeking medical care and for the expenses associated with any care received. CONFIDENTIALITY Efforts will be made to keep your personal information confidential. We cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality. Your personal information may be disclosed if required by law. Your identity will be held in confidence in reports in which the study may be published video recordings of the interviews, transcripts, interview notes, translations are the only electronic data produced by this study. All electronic data will be stored on the principal investigator's computer and password protected. Every file will be password protected and encrypted. The password will be in the form of a passphrase to ensure the principle of using strong passwords. Computers should only be used when a secure network is available. After the transcription is complete, the video recording will be destroyed. CONTACTS FORR PRO QUESTIONS O BLEMS For questions about the study, contact the researcher Pei-Hsuan, Kuo (Patty) at 801-791-7617 or the researcher’s mentor Yimin, Wang at 734-972-6017. For questions about your rights as a research participant or to discuss problems, complaints or concerns about a research study, or to obtain information, or offer input, contact the Chair of the IRB Committee IRB@weber.edu. VOLUNTARY NATURE OF STUDY STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 53 Taking part in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to take part or may leave the study at any time. Leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are entitled. Your decision whether or not to participate in this study will not affect your current or future relations with Weber State University. SUBJECT’S CONSENT In consideration of all of the above, I give my consent to participate in this research study. I will be given a copy of this informed consent document to keep for my records. I agree to take part in this study. Subject’s Printed Name: Subject’s Signature: Date: (must be dated by the subject) Printed Name of Person Obtaining Consent: Signature of Person Obtaining Consent: Date: STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 54 Appendix B: Interview Protocol The research questions, along with the analysis of the interview, will contribute to the understanding of the experiences of student-athletes in Taiwan and the United States, and the roles the NCAA and the educational systems have played in their experiences. Focus was on the themes of academic-sports balance and the holistic development of student-athletes. For Student-Athletes: 1. Describe your life since you have been a student-athlete. 2. What is your major/academic discipline? What do you think of the major/academic discipline you are pursuing? 3. What have you learned as a student-athlete? 4. What are the challenges you have met and how did you overcome them? 5. What is your daily routine like as a student-athlete? 6. How do you balance academics and sport? 7. Since what age, have you realized/decided that you would be a student-athlete? How was that decision made? Whether it was a one-time decision or it takes a process to make this decision? Have you ever regretted being a student-athlete? 8. When you decided to be a student-athlete, did you get adequate support from your family, friends and relatives?... What did they say? 9. How do you think your friends/relatives would describe you? 10. How do you think that is related (not related) to your identity as student-athlete? [Explain in a culturally appropriate and sensitive way.] 11. How do you think others (your parents, community, relatives, friends) perceive student-athletes in general? 12. What are your aspirations after graduation and what experiences have helped you as a student-athlete with those aspirations? STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 55 Appendix C: IRB Approval Letter Dear Yimin Wang [original chair]: The Weber State University Institutional Review Board has rendered the decision below for Experiences of Student-Athletes: A Comparative Study Between Taiwan and the United States. Decision: Approved Approval: March 24, 2022 Selected Category: 4. Collection of data through noninvasive procedures (not involving general anesthesia or sedation) routinely employed in clinical practice, excluding procedures involving x-rays or microwaves. Where medical devices are employed, they must be cleared/approved for marketing. (Studies intended to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the medical device are not generally eligible for expedited review, including studies of cleared medical devices for new indications.) 6. Collection of data from voice, video, digital, or image recordings made for research purposes. Findings: Research Notes: Subjects are considered adults, signatures/consent are required, and they may choose not to participate. Anonymity and confidentiality are addressed appropriately, and the type of information gathered could not "reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects' financial standing, employability, or reputation" (Code of Federal Regulations 45 CFR 46, Subpart D). STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 56 You may proceed at this time; you have one year to complete the study. Please remember that any anticipated changes to the project and approved procedures must be submitted to the IRB prior to implementation. Any unanticipated problems that arise during any stage of the project require a written report to the IRB and possible suspension of the project. If you have any question please contact your review committee chair or irb@weber.edu. Sincerely, Drs Dowdell, Toone & Williams Chair, College of Education IRB Sub-committee Weber State Institutional Review Board STUDENT-ATHLETES IN TAIWAN AND THE U.S. 57 Appendix D: Countable Athletically Related Activities (CARA)