The development and initial validation of the dual career competency questionnaire for support providers (DCCQ-SP)

While dual career support providers (DCSPs) are important (European Commission, 2012), little is known on their competencies required to support student-athletes during their dual career (DC). To address this gap, two studies on DCSPs’ competencies were conducted as part of the Gold in Education and Elite Sport (GEES) project. In a first study, the Dual Career Competency Questionnaire for Support Providers (DCCQ-SP) was developed, a questionnaire aimed at measuring the perceived importance and possession of DCSPs’ competencies. The DCCQ-SP consists of 33 competencies divided into six competency factors: (1) Advocacy and cooperation competencies, (2) Reflection and self-management competencies, (3) Organisational competencies, (4) Awareness of student-athletes’ environment, (5) Empowerment competencies, and (6) Relationship competencies. In the follow-up study, the DCCQ-SP was validated and used to provide the DCSPs’ competency scores in a sample of 330 DCSPs from nine European countries. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed acceptable to excellent fit indices for the proposed 6-factor structure. DCSPs scored all competencies as important to very important and reported average to good possession of the DCCQ-SP competencies. While further validation is advocated, the DCCQ-SP can be considered a valuable instrument in enhancing DCSPs’ professional development, education and accountability.