Developing Communication and Organization Skills: The ELITE Life Skills Reflective Practice Intervention

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the ELITE intervention as a method of increasing the perceived use of communication and organization skills in young people. The participants were three male field hockey players and two female tennis players from a British university. We used a series of single subject, multiple baselines, with minimal meaningful harm and benefit criteria and SMD all effect sizes to evaluate the ELITE intervention. The results revealed no meaningful harm from participating in the program, and the tennis players showed meaningful benefits. SMD all effect sizes all demonstrated that the intervention had a positive effect. Post intervention interviews indicated that participants valued the targeted life skills, and the program was enjoyable. Implications of this study suggest that scholars and practitioners can use the ELITE intervention to increase life skills in young people.

Exploring the perceived effectiveness of a life skills development program for high-performance athletes

“…Improved time management was also noted by some of the parents. The finding that time management skills were seen as essential self-organization skills has been reported elsewhere (e.g., Jones & Lavallee, 2009;Jones et al, 2011). The present study provides direct evidence of time-management skills learned on the programme being transferred to the context of academic studies; a finding that other studies on life-skills programs in athletes have been unable to demonstrate (e.g., Goudas & Giannoudis, 2008;Jones et al, 2011).…”

“…The finding that time management skills were seen as essential self-organization skills has been reported elsewhere (e.g., Jones & Lavallee, 2009;Jones et al, 2011). The present study provides direct evidence of time-management skills learned on the programme being transferred to the context of academic studies; a finding that other studies on life-skills programs in athletes have been unable to demonstrate (e.g., Goudas & Giannoudis, 2008;Jones et al, 2011). However, this finding is entirely consistent with recent research that has demonstrated transfer of motivation for adaptive skills and behaviours across contexts (Fleig, Kerschreiter, Schwarzer, Pomp, & Lippke, 2014;Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2012, 2014.…”

“…Another gap in the literature on life skills interventions is the inclusion of high level performance athletes, and this is a strength of the current study. In one of only a few studies that have conducted with highlevel athletes (at least county level, some international), Jones, Lavallee, and Tod (2011) reported improvements in perceived use of communication and organizational skills in sport. However, the study by Jones et al (2011) did not explore whether participants transferred life skills across to other life domains.…”

“…In one of only a few studies that have conducted with highlevel athletes (at least county level, some international), Jones, Lavallee, and Tod (2011) reported improvements in perceived use of communication and organizational skills in sport. However, the study by Jones et al (2011) did not explore whether participants transferred life skills across to other life domains. A particular strength of the current study is its focus on whether participants use life skills taught on the programme in other life domains outside of sport.…”

Developing sport-based after-school programmes using a participatory action research approach

“…Then, in a subsequent session, the researchers/fieldworkers used reflective techniques (Holt et al 2007, Jones et al 2011 and asked children to provide specific examples of how they had used these skills in their lives. The children were then expected to try to apply some of these skills in their daily lives.…”