Resources

Key points

As an OERu course, learners are not required to purchase any prescribed texts. All study materials are available as Open Educational Resources or open access publications. You will find this page to be a useful reference point whilst studying these micro-courses. The Introduction to the course gives an overview of Elite Sports Performance: Psychological Perspectives, including the learning objectives. The Sequence of study shows the structure of the course and the order in which to approach your tasks. The Reference materials for this course are all Open Educational Resources. They are free to download and use. Open access online journals - you will use these journals when completing the tasks.

Introduction to the course

Elite sport features in the lives of huge numbers of people around the world, while the global sport market is estimated to be worth in excess of $500 billion dollars a year and growing steadily. Understanding and influencing psychological aspects of sport performance represents a complex and intriguing challenge. This open online micro-course provides a foundational level experience of theories that explain the impact of psychological factors on sport behaviour, and exposure to performance enhancement strategies that are commonly applied in the elite sport environment. It seeks to provide a foundation for further study of the theory and practices of sport psychology. The target audiences for this micro-course are: students who wish to develop their interest in the psychology of elite sport, perhaps with a view to pursuing further formal study in the area; existing practitioners in the world of sport who wish to enhance their knowledge and understanding of sport psychology; and others who seek to extend their knowledge and understanding of sport psychology. Upon successful completion of this 40-hour course, students will be able to: explain how psychological factors influence sport performance; outline psychological strategies that are used to enhance sport performance; and use digital tools to research, analyse, and present information related to psychological perspectives of elite sport performance.

Sequence of study for this course

This micro-course is designed to take approximately 40 hours to complete. It is divided into two segments of 5 hours each, and two segments of 15 hours each. Those who wish to be assessed for course credit will submit one assignment. In order, the Tasks are: Introductory task Context evaluation Psychological influences on performance Performance enhancement strategies

Reference materials

The reference material for this course includes four chapters of an e-textbook that can be downloaded. Click on the chapter titles to download. These chapters are designed to be viewed online. There is an option to print but the interactive elements will be lost.

Boxing in the Philippines	Cricket in Sri Lanka	Rugby in New Zealand	Track cycling in Australia

More chapters will be made available soon.

Open access online journals

The following open access online journals are all searchable at the article level. Students can also browse for articles or other open access journals through the Directory of Open Access Journals which has an excellent search facility.

• Advances in Physical Education
• Archives of Exercise in Health and Disease
• Asian Journal of Sports Medicine
• Athletic Insight
• Facta Universitatis Series: Physical Education and Sport
• International Journal of Exercise Science
• International Quarterly of Sport Science
• Journal of Human Sport and Exercise
• Journal of Physical Education and Sport
• Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
• Open Access Library
• Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine
• Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum
• Serbian Journal of Sport Sciences
• South African Journal of Sports Medicine
• Sport Science
• The Sport Journal

Useful links

Many of the resources on these sites are free.

• Asian South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP)
• Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
• British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES)
• European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC)
• International Society for Physical Activity and Health
• International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP)
• Open Access Library
• North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA)