COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012). Title of the thesis or dissertation (Doctoral Thesis / Master’s Dissertation). Johannesburg: University of Johannesburg. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/102000/0002 (Accessed: 22 August 2017). AN INVESTIGATION OF STUDENT-ATHLETE SUPPORT SERVICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAMS IN GAUTENG By Christa Kgamphe (Student number: 802048570) Master thesis Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master Philosophiae (Sport Management) at the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG Supervisor : Dr P Serra Co-supervisor : Prof A Temane Johannesburg 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express gratitude to a number of people who have contributed in different ways and made it possible. Top of the list, my study leader, my mentor, my critic, my cheerleader Dr Pamela Serra. You have been my source of strength and motivation. You saw me through the toughest of times and embraced my highest moments, I am actually convinced that you were super mental for believing in me so much and poured your life into my future. Thank you for all your sacrifices to make this study and my life, a success. My Most Valuable People (MVPs) are the players, coaches and support staff that took their time during the cold nights after matches, to assist me with data collection. A truck of love to my family; Alnorar Buang “Sbuza” Kgamphe (mom), Ausi Kate (my pillar), Letlhogonolo, Ofentse, thank you for always protecting and supporting me. We are finally here; our family achievement. Morena Modimo a mpolokele lona, ke se ke leng sone ka lona. To my boys; Bonolo, Thato and Oarabile, I promised you to complete it and Mafloza did for you. To my new extended family, the Janes. Thank you for always making my life a tad easier so that I could focus on completing this study. Thank you for being my cheerleaders and making me feel like the smartest girl on this planet even when I was experiencing multiple mind blocks. You are such a blessing to me. My partner, my fiancée, my everything, Refiloe Jane. This has been a crazy journey for us and you have been my oxygen since day one. Thank you for supporting my journey no matter how bumpy and rocky it was. Thank you for staying up late with me, always picking up papers after me and reminding me why I even started. This one is for us my love. The ALPHA & OMEGA, the Lord my Saviour. All started with you and all continues with you, as well as it will all end with you. Your timing has been absolutely perfect and thank you for trusting me with this task. I have one more request from you Ramasedi. Please ii tell Mashi I love her and will never stop telling the world how much she loved me. Tell her the PhD will be for her and Ma’Carly. “Deuteronomy 31:8 - Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor forsake you - Amen”. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE AFFIDAVIT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES xiv LIST OF GRAPHS xv LIST OF TABLES xvi LIST OF ANNEXURES xvii ABSTRACT xviii CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.1.1 High-performance student-athletes 1 1.1.2 Student-athlete support services 2 1.2 Research problem 3 1.3 Research aim and objectives of the study 5 1.3.1 Research aim of the study 5 1.3.2 Research objectives and hypotheses of the quantitative phase 5 iv 1.3.3 Research objectives and questions of the qualitative phase 6 1.3.4 Research objectives and questions of the integration phase 7 1.4 Concept of analysis 8 1.4.1 Student-athlete 8 1.4.2 Higher Education Institutional landscape in South Africa 8 1.4.3 Scholarship as a support service 8 1.5 Research design and methodology 9 1.5.1 Methods applied in quantitative phase 11 1.5.1.1 Research paradigm and design 11 1.5.1.2 Sampling 11 1.5.1.3 Data collection 12 1.5.1.4 Data analysis and reporting 12 1.5.1.5 Evaluating the quality 12 1.5.2 Methods applied in the qualitative phase 13 1.5.2.1 Research paradigm design 13 1.5.2.2 Sampling 13 1.5.2.3 Data collection 14 1.5.2.4 Data analysis and reporting 14 1.5.2.5 Evaluation the quality 14 1.5.3 Integration phase 15 1.6 Proposed contribution of the study 15 v 1.6.1 The contribution to the body of knowledge in Sport management 16 1.6.2 Managerial contribution 16 1.7 Limitations of the study 16 1.8 The research outline 17 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW 2 Introduction 18 2.1 Women’s football 18 2.2 Modern women’s football in Europe 19 2.3 Football in South Africa 20 2.4 South African Football Association (SAFA) 20 2.5 Women’s football in South Africa 21 2.6 University Sport South Africa (USSA) 23 2.7 The student-athlete 25 2.8 Student-athlete support services 26 2.8.1 Administration and management of scholarships 27 2.8.2 Physiotherapy 28 2.8.3 Counselling and sport psychology 29 2.8.4 Strength and conditioning 30 2.8.5 Nutrition 31 2.8.6 Career guidance 32 vi 2.9 Conceptual frameworks 34 2.9.1 System Theory (ST) 34 2.9.1.1 Systems Theory and effectiveness 36 2.9.1.2 Systems Theory and feedback 38 2.9.1.3 Organisation as a system 38 2.9.1.4 The qualities of an ideal system 39 2.9.2 Service Quality Management (SQM) 39 2.10 Summary 41 CHAPTER THREE – METHODOLOGY 3. Introduction 43 3.1 Quantitative research phase 43 3.1.1 Paradigm of the quantitative research design 43 3.1.2 Quantitative research design 44 3.1.3 Sampling of the quantitative research phase 45 3.1.4 Quantitative data collection 46 3.1.5 Quantitative data analysis and reporting 47 3.1.6 Quantitative quality evaluation 47 3.2 Qualitative research 51 3.2.1 Paradigm of the qualitative research design 52 3.2.2 Qualitative research design 52 vii 3.2.3 Qualitative sampling 53 3.2.4 Qualitative data collection 53 3.2.5 Qualitative data analysis and reporting 55 3.2.5.1 The procedure of conventional content analysis 56 3.2.6 Qualitative quality evaluation 58 3.2.6.1 Credibility 58 3.2.6.1.1 Peer debriefing 59 3.2.6.1.2 Prolonged engagement 59 3.2.6.1.3 Member check 60 3.2.6.2 Transferability 61 3.2.6.3 Confirmability 61 3.2.6.4 Authenticity 62 3.3 Mixed method or integration 62 3.3.1 Mixed method design 62 3.3.2 Method 64 3.3.3 Interpretation and reporting 64 3.4 Ethics 65 3.5 Summary 65 CHAPTER FOUR – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4. Introduction 67 viii 4.1 Quantitative research phase 67 4.1.1 Demographics profile of participants in this study 68 4.1.1.1 Age range of participants in this study 68 4.1.1.2 Race composition of student-athletes 69 4.1.1.3 Level of education of student-athletes 69 4.1.1.4 Playing position of participants 70 4.2 Student-athletes’ connotation of student-athlete support services 71 4.3 Availability of support services offered at the respective HEIs 73 4.3.1 Overall student-athlete support service salience across HIEs 74 4.4 Awareness and utilisation of support services 75 4.4.1 Frequency of utilisation of support services 76 4.5 Communication of support services 77 4.5.1 Communication channels of support services 78 4.5.1.1 Communication channels of support services of individual HEIs 79 4.6 Perceptions on the importance of support services at HEIs 80 4.7 Comparison of support services across HEIs 80 4.8 Improvement of support services 83 4.8.1 Support services ‘wishlist’ by participants of study 83 4.9 Student-athletes’ perceptions of their HEIs support service system 84 4.10 Qualitative research phase 86 4.10.1 Demographic profiling of interviewees 86 ix 4.10.2 Gender and racial profiling of HEIs’ management of women’s football 87 4.10.3 Job position of HEIs’ management of women’s football 87 4.10.4 Job experience of HEIs’ management of women’s football 88 4.10.5 Connotation of student-athlete support services of HEIs’ management 88 of women’s football 4.10.5.1 HEI 1‘s connotation on support services 88 4.10.5.2 HEI 2‘s connotation on support services 90 4.10.5.3 HEI 3‘s connotation on support services 91 4.10.5.4 HEI 4‘s connotation on support services 92 4.10.5.5 HEI 5‘s connotation on support services 93 4.10.5.6 HEI 6‘s connotation on support services 95 4.10.5.7 HEI 7‘s connotation on support services 96 4.10.5.8 HEI 8‘s connotation on support services 97 4.10.5.9 Overall HEIs’ connotation on support services 98 4.11 The availability of student-athlete support services outlined by HEIs’ 99 management 4.12 The overall perception of HEIs’ management on the most important 101 student-athlete support services 4.13 Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs) ‘wishlist’ of student-athlete support service 103 4.13.1 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 1 management 103 4.13.2 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 2 management 104 4.13.3 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 3 management 105 4.13.4 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 4 management 106 4.13.5 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 5 management 107 x 4.13.6 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 6 management 108 4.13.7 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 7 management 109 4.13.8 Wishlist word cloud for HEI 8 management 110 4.14 The overall Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs) ‘wishlist’ of student- 114 athlete support services 4.15 Integration phase of the study 115 4.16 Summary 130 CHAPTER FIVE – DISCUSSION 5.