Transfer of Life Skills in Sport-Based Youth Development Programs: A Conceptual Framework Bridging Learning to Application

ABSTRACT

Research has demonstrated that many quality sport-based youth development programs promote life skill acquisition (e.g., leadership, self-control) with the ultimate goal of facilitating positive outcomes in youth participants’ social and academic environments. Researchers call this “transfer of life skills” (i.e., the idea that physical, behavioral, and cognitive skills youth learn in sport can be applied in non-sport settings to promote healthy development). However, research surrounding this topic has been mixed, as many studies found evidence of transfer. In this article, a variety of learning theories were integrated to propose a conceptual framework for the transfer of life skills in sport-based youth development. Specifically, this article focuses on how research overlooked the cognitive processes that bridge student learning within a sport program to application outside of the program. A description of the cognitive components youth experience during transfer are described and represented in a logic model.

KEYWORDS:

• Transfer
• life skills
• sport-based youth development
• transformative learning