Ecology of Dual Careers
This website provides information on the project, findings which emerge from the project as and when they become available, and allows you to contact the project team if you have any further questions.
Project overview
It has been suggested that, in addition to individual attributes and knowledge, the environment athletes are in can also have an effect on their development (Henriksen & Stambulova, 2017; Henriksen, Stambulova, & Roessler, 2010a, 2010b, 2011). This research indicates that, independent of athletes having the pre-requisite key competencies to be successful, they may encounter challenges with the environment which they cannot control.
As a result, to advance current knowledge and supplement the work which has already been carried out, the mission of the current work is to:
- develop a comprehensive understanding of the dual career development environments (DCDEs) across Europe
- provide guidelines for the development and optimisation of DCDEs supporting talented and elite athletes’ in their pursuit of sporting and academic excellence
To achieve the project mission, there are four aims:
- To identify and classify different types of DCDEs across Europe and define criteria of their effectiveness and efficiency.
- To identify factors contributing to the effectiveness and efficiency of DCDEs through exploration of selected DCDEs in participating countries by exploration of their structure, dual career arrangements, organisational culture, and the role of dual career service providers
- To develop and test a DCDE monitoring tool (DCDEM) aimed at assisting stakeholders when checking the current status of their DCDE in relation to their structure, dual career arrangements, organisational culture, and the role of dual career service providers and helping them develop strategies to optimize their environments
- To disseminate the project findings and provide implementation guidelines to national governing bodies, DCDE stakeholders, dual career service providers, and dual career researchers on the development and optimisation of the DCDEs.
For a more comprehensive outline, please refer to this presentation of the project which outlines the key work packages and the methods which will be used to achieve the overall aims of the work.
Our project team
Robert Morris
Project Lead and Senior Lecturer at Stirling University
Emily Cartigny
Research Assistant for Eco-DC Erasmus Project and LJMU
Guy Taylor
Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) National Director
Colin Allen
National Lead - Operations for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)
Paul Wylleman
Professor and Head of Department Topsport and Study at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Koen De Brandt
Postdoctoral Researcher and Co-ordinator of Department Topsport and Study at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Kristel Taelman
Co-ordinator at Sport Vlaanderen
Kristoffer Henriksen
Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology at USD
Magnus Wonsyld
Manager of Dual Career Provision at Team Denmark
Tatiana Ryba
Senior Researcher at University of Jyväskylä
Milla Saarinen
PhD Student at University of Jyväskylä
Saša Cecić Erpič
Associate Professor at University of Ljubljana
Mojca Doupona Topič
Professor at University of Ljubljana
Miquel Torregrossa
Assistant Professor at Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona (UAB)
Yago Ramis
Postdoctoral Researcher at Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona (UAB)
Natalia Stambulova
Professor in Sport and Exercise at Halmstad University
Lukas Linnér
PhD Student at Halmstad University
Kent Lindahl
Manager of Dual Career Provision and Higher Coaching Programme at Swedish Sports Federation
Contact us
If you would like to contact the research team, please email Dr Robert Morris.
