Self-Efficacy and social support of Academy cricketers

Abstract

This article aims to provide an initial insight into the role that South African provincial cricket academies play in talent development of cricketers by reflecting on possible changes in academy cricketers’ self-efficacy and perceived social support over an academy season, as well as indicating the relationship between self-efficacy and social support. A purposive sample of 65 male, university-age (18-25 years) provincial academy cricketers completed a self-efficacy questionnaire and a social support questionnaire, designed specifically for the purposes of the current study, at the culmination of their academy programme. A pre-experimental post-test-pre-test design was used. The results indicated significant positive changes in self-efficacy, esteem social support, informational social support and tangible social support over a cricket academy season. A significant correlation between self-efficacy and informational social support was found. Although this preliminary study provided evidence of increases in self-efficacy and perceived social support of South African provincial academy cricketers over an academy season, psychometrically tested scales need to be developed to measure these constructs, whilst larger, randomised sample sizes would make the results more generalisable.

Keywords: Self-efficacy; Social Support; Informational social support; Sport academy; Cricket

South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 2012, 34(2): 27-39