ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to present a cultural framework that can be used to think about and research athlete learning in elite sport. It discusses the contemporary elite sport context and theories that researchers have employed to understand learning in elite sport. The book explores the effects the elite sport ways of life have on athletes' learning as self-development represents the core topic. It outlines how the demands of elite sport, including its competitive pressures, intensity of training, behavioural demands, and long-term commitment, create a precarious environment that may be detrimental to athletes' health, education, and social life. The book also discusses nine case studies of female and male elite athletes and their learning as self-development and examines the cultural perspective of learning and case study methodology.
