Abstract:

Problem Statement: The number of University institutions that offer the degree “Physical Activity and Sport Sciences” in Spain has grown remarkably, as well as the number of students who sign on it every year. With the arrival of the Bologna Plan, the need of specializing these kind of degrees arises. Thus, it seems that there is a need to fit the contents of the degrees that the University offers, to the student’s demand, which generally are in accordance with their academic profile.
Purpose of Study: To analyse the current profile of the “Physical Activity and Sport Sciences” student.
Research Methods: A non experimental, sectional and qualitative study was carried out , by means of a self-reported questionnaire. We chose randomly one hundred students who were taking their first year in “Physical Activity and Sport Sciences” degree.
Findings: Ninety six students (71.9% men), with an average age of 18.57±1.23 years, took part in this survey. Most of the students (75.3%) came from bachillerato (higher secondary-education course) and a high number of them (64.1%) were living in places located within a radius inferior to 100 km from the University. The outcome showed that 71.9% of those polled were men. Out of the total sample, 84.6% of the students admitted to be looking for an academic training focused on didactic-sporting formation. However, “high performance training” (49.2%) and “physical activity and health” (44.4%), were the two preferred specialties. Finally, 48.6% of those enquired said that the greatest job opportunities were strongly linked to the professional field of physical education, mainly working as a teacher.
Conclusions: The profile of the student that signs in the first year of “Physical Activity and Sport Sciences” degree, is mainly a man, with an average age of nearly 18 years old, coming from bachillerato, and whose family home is close to the University institution. They enter this degree vocationally and they show a likeliness for the “high performance training” and for the “physical activity and health” curricular itineraries. However, they admit that the teaching itinerary is the one which offers the main professional demand.

Keywords:

Curriculum, Profile, Sport Sciences, Student.