Facilitating sport and study: The case of a dual career development environment in Sweden

This case study of a dual career development environment (DCDE) was informed by the holistic ecological approach (HEA) and aimed at: (a) providing a holistic description of a DCDE at university level in Sweden, and (b) investigating the factors influencing the environment’s effectiveness in facilitating the development of student-athletes. We blended ‘in situ’ observations, interviews, and documents analysis to explore the case, and HEA-informed working models were transformed into empirical models summarizing the case. Findings show a well-coordinated DCDE with the key role of coaches in the daily dual career support, and how efforts were integrated through a dual career-support team sharing a philosophy of facilitating healthy performance development and life balance, with a whole-person and empowerment approach. This study adds to the literature by identifying features of a successful DCDE and insights from the case can be useful for practitioners in their quest to optimize their DCDEs and support.