Socio-economic, educational, and status characteristics of Ontario interschool athletes

Three social and education issues, i.e., socioeconomic class biases in interschool competitive sports programs, relationships between school sports participation and educational achievement/aspiration, and the influence of the status ascribed to interschool sports participation on achievement/aspiration were examined in the light of data gathered in a recent study of interschool sport programs in Ontario. Interschool athletes, when compared to other students, were found to (1) come more often from the professional and less often from the labour class; (2) more often possess higher educational aspirations; and (3) not attain higher grades in their school work. These findings were examined in relationship to factors of cost of program, perceived status of interschool sports, student identification with the values promoted in the school system, upward social mobility, and encouragement of significant others. Implications for the education system in Canada were drawn.