The Fifth Element is Knowledge: Readings on Education, Hip-Hop, and Sport helps students critically examine issues related to race, gender, identity, inequality, politics, and economics through the lenses of education, hip-hop culture, and sport. The featured readings facilitate the development of students' critical academic and psychosocial talents while connecting them to relevant issues in different social contexts. The articles are organized into seven sections. Sections I and II describe the foundations and overarching structures and conditions that shape education, hip-hop, and sport. The next three sections address the ways that athletes experience hip-hop culture. Students read articles that examine the prominent, global cultural phenomenon of hip-hop and sport and how it will continue to influence the world, now and in the future. Each section includes discussion questions to encourage further exploration of the material and spark critical conversations. Underscoring the political significance and social influence of the nexus of education, hip-hop, and sport, The Fifth Element is Knowledge is an ideal resource for courses that examine sociology, contemporary social issues, and culture.

Making the Connection: Data-Informed Practices in Academic Support Centers for College Athletes is practical and ideal for those who seek to use research to inform their individual and organizational practices. This volume is primarily intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, though scholars, researchers, teachers, practitioners, coaches, athletics administrators, and advocates of intercollegiate athletics will also find it useful. It comprises a series of chapters that cover a wide range of evidence-based approaches designed to enhance the practices of those who work closely with college athletes. Given the breadth of the field overall, this single volume is not exhaustive, but the current concerns, challenges, and themes of relevance to higher education researchers, practitioners, and others are well addressed. The intent of the text is to spark conversation about how college and university constituents can reframe their thinking about the importance of innovative research to careful, informed practice. Likewise, the contributors hope that it will inspire greater awareness and action among practitioners, as well as advance scholarship in the area of athletics. Each chapter includes current research, and in some cases theoretical perspectives, which should assist practitioners enhance the well-being of college athletes. Each chapter also offers guided discussion questions that are ideal for use as the basis of further conversation in the classroom setting. Adopters of this text will benefit from leading voices in the field who delve into complex issues, shedding new light and presenting unique opportunities for understanding a diversity of perspectives on evidence-based practices in support centers for athletes. In all, this volume provides a rich portrait of data-driven practices designed to assist practitioners and others who work closely with college athletes, and lays the groundwork for an ambitious and long overdue agenda to further develop innovative research that informs the practices of athletics stakeholders and improves the quality of experiences for college athletes.

By critically examining the legal, institutional, and social factors that prohibit or promote students' college choices, this Volume undermines the notion that African American students and their families are opposed to formal education, and reveals structural barriers which they face in accessing elite institutions. For African American students, unequal education is rooted in the history in the legacy of slavery and of the history of institutional and structural racism in United States. The long legacy of racism in education cannot be dismissed when reflecting on the college choice experiences of African American students made today. Authors uniquely apply Critical Race Theory (CRT) to analyse the college selection process of high achieving African American students and, highlight the similarities and differences within an impressive group of students, therefore challenging the deficit notions of African American students as perpetual under-achievers. They also show that contrary to the general assumption, African American parents are inclined towards providing their sons and daughters higher education at the elite institutes of US. The decision is often influenced by analysis of factors including the allocation of school resources, parental attitudes, university recruitment, campus outreach, and affordability. The issues of discrimination on the grounds of race, class, and gender often plays a vital role in decision making process. This text will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics, professionals and policy makers in the field of Race & Ethnicity in Higher Education, Sociology of Education, Equality & Human Rights, and African American Studies.

By critically examining the legal, institutional, and social factors that prohibit or promote students' college choices, this Volume undermines the notion that African American students and their families are opposed to formal education, and reveals structural barriers which they face in accessing elite institutions. For African American students, unequal education is rooted in the history in the legacy of slavery and of the history of institutional and structural racism in United States. The long legacy of racism in education cannot be dismissed when reflecting on the college choice experiences of African American students made today. Authors uniquely apply Critical Race Theory (CRT) to analyse the college selection process of high achieving African American students and, highlight the similarities and differences within an impressive group of students, therefore challenging the deficit notions of African American students as perpetual under-achievers. They also show that contrary to the general assumption, African American parents are inclined towards providing their sons and daughters higher education at the elite institutes of US. The decision is often influenced by analysis of factors including the allocation of school resources, parental attitudes, university recruitment, campus outreach, and affordability. The issues of discrimination on the grounds of race, class, and gender often plays a vital role in decision making process. This text will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics, professionals and policy makers in the field of Race & Ethnicity in Higher Education, Sociology of Education, Equality & Human Rights, and African American Studies.

College athletes are at the very center of emerging campus debates over their legal, financial, and academic role. Amid ongoing litigation and pressure from internal and external stakeholders, many policy makers and university leaders are scrambling to determine the nature of this role. This timely and comprehensive volume identifies and discusses bylaws and legal decisions that have impacted the college athlete's ability to pursue higher education. It also explains and critiques the formal policies of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and member institutions while examining critical issues relevant to the growing fields of sport management, athletic administration, and sports law. Aimed at anyone seeking to enhance their understanding of the intercollegiate athletics landscape, College Athletes' Rights and Well-Being is divided into four sections. The first lays out the historical foundations that have shaped the intercollegiate athletic experience. Subsequent sections describe the principles, structures, and conditions that influence how athletes experience campus life, as well as the increasingly commercialized business enterprise of college sports. Told from the perspective of athletes and written by leading scholars and researchers, the book's sixteen chapters are enhanced with useful lists of key terms and conversation-provoking discussion questions. Touching on everything from concussion protocols and collective bargaining to amateurism, Title IX's gender-separate allowance, and conference realignment, this important book is designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, educators, practitioners, policy makers, athletic administrators, and advocates of college athletes.

Intercollegiate athletics continue to bedevil American higher education. At once tied closely with their institutions, athletic programs often operate outside the traditional university governance structure while contributing significantly to a school's culture, identity, and financial outlook. Introduction to Intercollegiate Athletics, edited by Eddie Comeaux, explores the complexities of intercollegiate athletics while explaining the organizational structures, key players, terms, and important issues most relevant to the growing but often misunderstood fields of recreational studies, sports management, and athletic administration. The book is divided into eight sections, the first three of which describe the foundations, overarching structures, and conditions that shape athletics and higher education. Three others explore the ways college athletes experience life on campus, and the final two delve into the current and future policy contexts of intercollegiate athletics. Written by a diverse group of expert scholars, the book's twenty-eight chapters are enhanced with useful glossaries, reflections from athletics stakeholders, relevant case studies, and conversation-provoking discussion questions. Aimed at upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, teachers, practitioners, athletic administrators, and advocates of intercollegiate athletics, Introduction to Intercollegiate Athletics provides readers with up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge about the changes to-and challenges faced by-university athletics programs.

Intercollegiate athletics continue to bedevil American higher education. At once tied closely with their institutions, athletic programs often operate outside the traditional university governance structure while contributing significantly to a school's culture, identity, and financial outlook. Introduction to Intercollegiate Athletics, edited by Eddie Comeaux, explores the complexities of intercollegiate athletics while explaining the organizational structures, key players, terms, and important issues most relevant to the growing but often misunderstood fields of recreational studies, sports management, and athletic administration. The book is divided into eight sections, the first three of which describe the foundations, overarching structures, and conditions that shape athletics and higher education. Three others explore the ways college athletes experience life on campus, and the final two delve into the current and future policy contexts of intercollegiate athletics. Written by a diverse group of expert scholars, the book's twenty-eight chapters are enhanced with useful glossaries, reflections from athletics stakeholders, relevant case studies, and conversation-provoking discussion questions. Aimed at upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, teachers, practitioners, athletic administrators, and advocates of intercollegiate athletics, Introduction to Intercollegiate Athletics provides readers with up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge about the changes to-and challenges faced by-university athletics programs.

Making the Connection: Data-Informed Practices in Academic Support Centers for College Athletes is practical and ideal for those who seek to use research to inform their individual and organizational practices. This volume is primarily intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, though scholars, researchers, teachers, practitioners, coaches, athletics administrators, and advocates of intercollegiate athletics will also find it useful. It comprises a series of chapters that cover a wide range of evidence-based approaches designed to enhance the practices of those who work closely with college athletes. Given the breadth of the field overall, this single volume is not exhaustive, but the current concerns, challenges, and themes of relevance to higher education researchers, practitioners, and others are well addressed. The intent of the text is to spark conversation about how college and university constituents can reframe their thinking about the importance of innovative research to careful, informed practice. Likewise, the contributors hope that it will inspire greater awareness and action among practitioners, as well as advance scholarship in the area of athletics. Each chapter includes current research, and in some cases theoretical perspectives, which should assist practitioners enhance the well-being of college athletes. Each chapter also offers guided discussion questions that are ideal for use as the basis of further conversation in the classroom setting. Adopters of this text will benefit from leading voices in the field who delve into complex issues, shedding new light and presenting unique opportunities for understanding a diversity of perspectives on evidence-based practices in support centers for athletes. In all, this volume provides a rich portrait of data-driven practices designed to assist practitioners and others who work closely with college athletes, and lays the groundwork for an ambitious and long overdue agenda to further develop innovative research that informs the practices of athletics stakeholders and improves the quality of experiences for college athletes.