An interpretive analysis of life skills associated with sport participation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how people may learn life skills through their involvement in regular competitive sport programmes. Interviews were conducted with 40 young adults (20 males and 20 females) who were participants in competitive youth sport during their adolescence. Data were transcribed verbatim and subjected to an interpretive analysis. We present three main interpretations of participants’ experiences based around the idea that sport itself did not teach life skills. Rather, social interactions were central to how people learned life skills. First, participants learned social life skills through interactions with peers in sport contexts; these skills retained meaning in the participants’ adult lives. Second, participants’ parents used sport to reinforce values relating to sportspersonship and work ethic. Third, coaches emphasised hard work and teamwork but also had some negative influences on participants’ experiences. Overall, these findings reinforce the idea that sport can provide an educational context for acquiring life skills but highlight that interactions with key social agents (peers, parents and coaches) are crucial components of how people learn life skills through their involvement in sport. In particular, peer interactions appeared to be the most meaningful aspects of youth sport participation.

Keywords:

• positive youth development
• peers
• parents
• coaches

Acknowledgements

This study was partially funded by grants from the Killam Research Fund (University of Alberta), an operating grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grant #: 410‐2005‐0548), and an establishment grant from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, all awarded to the lead investigator.