Facilitating life skills transfer from sport to the classroom: An intervention assisting a high school teacher-coach

Abstract

Sport has been deemed a favorable context to foster positive youth development and life skills. However, researchers have cautioned for vigilance before assuming that sport naturally leads to positive developmental outcomes. An important aspect in understanding sport participation outcomes consists of examining how sport leaders facilitate the development and transfer of life skills. In the context of Canadian high school sport, teacher-coaches are considered key adults in the delivery of sport programs. Informed by the Pierce et al. life skills transfer model and the Bean et al. life skills continuum, an intervention was implemented, using action research principles, with a high school teacher-coach to facilitate student-athletes’ life skills transfer from sport to the classroom. Data were collected via pre-post intervention interviews with the teacher-coach, post-intervention interviews with five student-athletes, coach observations, and a researcher reflective journal. A thematic analysis was conducted to examine the contextual and psychological factors influencing life skills development and transfer. Results indicated that the teacher-coach played an important role in influencing contextual and psychological factors, in both the sport and the classroom, which shaped student-athletes’ life skills development and transfer experiences. Implications for coach education are discussed as they relate to the benefits of on-the-ground support for coaches to promote positive youth development. Lay summary: An intervention was implemented to help a high school teacher-coach learn how to facilitate life skills transfer from sport to the classroom. Several factors were shown to influence student-athletes’ ability to transfer their life skills from sport to the classroom. The results are discussed in relation to their theoretical, methodological, and practical implications. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE A life skills transfer intervention was designed to take advantage of the privileged position of teacher-coaches who hold considerable influence in both sport and in the classroom. For the athletes, being taught life skills by the same person in two different school contexts appeared to be conducive to transfer, thereby reinforcing the importance of consistent messaging. Awareness, support, and confidence were shown to be key factors in enabling the athletes to transfer their life skills beyond sport.