"Athlete" as a type of student
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6127-2026-1-176-183
The relevance of this study stems from the regulatory environment allowing full-time students to combine work with study, and the insufficient study of the impact of this legislative innovation on the development of a significant psychologically new stratum of full-time working students. Academician V.T. Lisovsky previously described a special type of student, dubbed the “Athlete”, in his works. This type was characteristic of both the Soviet period of higher education, as well as the perestroika and post-perestroika periods. This type was most often characterized as skipping classes and being uninclined to research. Currently, a significant number of full-time students, across various fields and specializations, legally miss classes due to work. The aim of the study was to identify and describe the specific characteristics of the “Athlete” student type in the modern context of full-time education. The study hypothesis was that the very fact of systematically skipping classes during full-time study is the main reason, neutralizing other typological differences among students by specialization. The research method used was active interviewing. Participants in the comparative study were full-time students majoring in Teacher Education (N = 40) who combined study and work. Of these, 20 were studying Physical Education and 20 were studying History. The nonparametric χ2 test was used to analyze the results. It was found that working full-time students studying in different fields of study do not fundamentally differ as student types. The study focused on two typological characteristics of students: study motives and attitudes toward university education. Nearly identical motives for missing classes were identified, due to both objective and subjective reasons. No significant differences were found for the second typological characteristic. It was concluded that the “Athlete” student type was relevant for the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century, when student athletes most often studied in specialties not related to their sports activities.
Keywords: student personality, student type, athlete, V.T. Lisovsky typology, working student
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Issue: 1, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 1
Rubric: PSYCHOLOGY
Pages: 176 — 183
Downloads: 12