Ecology of Dual Careers Work Package 2 Report

Abstract

This report provides a summary of work package 2 of the Ecology of Dual Career ERASMUS+ project, which aims to: identify factors contributing to the effectiveness and efficiency of dual career development environments (DCDEs) through the exploration of selected DCDEs in participating countries by exploration of their structure, dual career arrangements, organizational culture, and the role of dual career service providers. First, the report outlines the seven case studies that were conducted to explore successful dual career development environments. These case studies each develop two models: (1) an environment model, that outlines the key structures of the case study’s micro and macro environment, including the national culture; and (2) an environment success factors model, that outlines the features and daily processes that lead to the environment’s success. Second, the project team analyzed the features that were common to all seven successful environments, including dedicated dual career (DC) support team, integration of efforts across the whole environment, a clear understanding of DC issues and support from across the environment, role models and mentorship, access to expert support a whole person approach, an empowerment approach, flexible DC solutions, care of DC athlete’s mental health and wellbeing, and an open and proactive approach to the development of the environment. These dual career development environment success factors are outlined in this report, along with real world examples.