Ten essential features of European dual career development environments : A multiple case study

This research was supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union (Grant ID: 590476-EPP-1-2017-1-UK-SPO-SCP). The authors would like to express their gratitude to all who participated in the study. We thank all members of the Erasmus+ Sport project entitled "Ecology of Dual Career - Exploring Dual Career Development Environments across Europe" (ECO-DC) for their cooperation during this study and the entirety of the project. Thanks to Dr. Robert Morris for leading the project as a whole and his involvement in the United Kingdom case. For data collection, we would like to thank Sofie Smismans, Simon Defruyt, Natalia Korhonen, Aku Nikander, Milla Saarinen, Urška Levac, Lukas Linnér, and members of the research group in sport and exercise psychology (GEPE) at the UAB. Aim: Dual career development environments (DCDEs) support athletes' effort in combining their competitive sporting careers with education or work. The characteristics of the environments may differ across cultures. The aim was to identify essential features of DCDEs based on a cross-case analysis of seven European DCDEs in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom within the Erasmus+ Sport project "Ecology of Dual Career". Design: The study was designed as a multiple case study and based on two holistic ecological working models (Henriksen et al., 2020). The cross-case analysis included series of focus group discussions, in which two-three researchers from each partner country and four dual career (DC) support providers compared the findings across seven national cases with a primary focus on similarities rather than differences. Results: A list of ten essential features of the DCDEs, structured into two overarching themes. (1) Holistic structure with five subthemes: Dedicated DC support team, Integration of efforts across the whole environment, A clear understanding of DC issues and support from across the environment, Role models and mentorship, and Access to expert support. (2) Shared DC philosophy also had five subthemes: A whole-person approach, An empowerment approach, Flexible DC solutions, Care of DC athlete's mental health and wellbeing, and An open and proactive approach to the development of the environment. Conclusion: The features are introduced in the manner of discussions, thus providing detailed information about the DCDEs without losing (too much) contextual information. These features can help researcher-practitioners to understand DCDE