Sport is deemed by many researchers and practitioners as a favourable context to foster positive youth development (PYD), including the acquisition of life skills (Petitpas et al., 2005). However, researchers have cautioned for vigilance before assuming with assurance that sport leads to positive developmental outcomes (Coakley, 2011). Consequently, it is important to understand how sport leaders can facilitate the development and transfer of life skills. In the context of high school sport in Canada, teacher-coaches are considered essential adults in the delivery of school sport programs. Using Pierce et al.’s (2017) life skills transfer model, the present thesis explored the contextual and psychological factors influencing the development and transfer of life skills. An intervention was designed, using action research principles, with two high school teacher-coaches. Data were collected via teacher-coach pre- and post-intervention interviews, as well as student-athlete post-intervention interviews (i.e., five student-athletes per teacher-coach). Further, data were gathered through observation, and audio recording of each life skill implementation, as well as a researcher reflective journal. The results indicated that teacher-coaches played an important role in influencing contextual and psychological factors, in both the learning and the transfer context, which shaped student-athletes’ life skills development and transfer. The study has practical implications for coach education programs, suggesting the benefits of on the ground support to provide coaches and teacher-coaches with the necessary tools to promote PYD.

Hasta hace unas décadas, muchas competencias personales y emocionales habían sido subestimadas por una lógica racional, sin embargo, hoy están siendo revalorizadas y son requeridas en la mayoría de puestos de trabajo. Distintos estudios demuestran que en determinados contextos son tan o más influyentes que las cognitivas para el desempeño de un profesional. Es por ello que el presente trabajo, busca conocer los alcances de la musicoterapia como una herramienta alternativa para el desarrollo de ciertas habilidades blandas blandas, como la comunicación interpersonal en organizaciones en Lima, Perú. La metodología utilizada en esta investigación es de carácter cualitativo. Se obtuvo la información a través de entrevistas semi estructuradas a profesionales de recursos humanos, psicólogos y musicoterapeuts, para analizar sus percepciones con respecto a los alcances de esta herramienta. De esta manera, se combinó el análisis de la literatura con las entrevistas a especialistas. Dentro de las principales conclusiones encontramos que los profesionales de distintos rubros coinciden en que las habilidades blandas son parte de la fórmula del éxito para cualquier profesional, tanto personal como laboral y a su vez que estas influyen en la cultura organizacional. Asimismo, los expertos consideraron que la musicoterapia sí podría ser una vía para desarrollar dichas habilidades en colaboradores de empresas en Lima, Perú. / Until a few decades ago, many personal and emotional skills had been underestimated by a rational logic, however, today they are being revalued and are required in most jobs. Different studies show that in certain contexts they are as or more influential than cognitive ones for the performance of a professional. That is why the present work seeks to know the scope of music therapy as an alternative tool for the development of certain soft soft skills, such as interpersonal communication in organizations in Lima, Peru. The methodology used in this research is qualitative. The information was obtained through semi-structured interviews with human resources professionals, psychologists and music therapists, to analyze their perceptions regarding the scope of this tool. In this way, the analysis of the literature was combined with the interviews with specialists. Among the main conclusions, we find that professionals from different fields agree that soft skills are part of the formula for success for any professional, both personal and work, and in turn they influence the organizational culture. The experts also considered that music therapy could be a way to develop these skills in collaborators of companies in Lima, Peru. / Tesis

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Despite extensive statements about the importance of possessing good interpersonal skills, little quantitative evidence has been brought forth to investigate these claims. At the same time, training in soft, or interpersonal, skills continues for organizational managers, customer service representatives, and members of formal work teams. Based on these considerations, the current research was guided by five broad questions. First, are gender and the Big Five personality variables important predictors in the use and effectiveness of interpersonal skills? Second, what is the relationship between various interpersonal skills and important personal and workplace outcomes? Third, given that training in interpersonal skills is prevalent in organizations today, does this training work? Further, and perhaps more importantly, under what conditions do these training interventions result in optimal outcomes? Lastly, does job complexity moderate the relationship between interpersonal skills and outcomes? To answer these questions, a series of meta-analytic investigations was conducted. The results of these analyses provided evidence for the existence of meaningful antecedents of interpersonal skills. In addition, relationships between interpersonal skills and outcomes were identified, with hypotheses in this area confirmed. The results of this research demonstrate the beneficial impact of interpersonal skills training for improving interpersonal skills. Finally, in line with predictions, job complexity was identified as a moderator of the relationship between interpersonal skills and outcomes. The current document concludes with recommendations both for researchers interested in furthering the science of interpersonal skills research, and for practitioners charged with improving the interpersonal skills of their workforce.

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Yes / The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and importance of management skills in the pharmacy profession and pharmacists’ ability to respond to current and future challenges in healthcare provision. As service professionals, pharmacists are engaged based on their expertise and skills, and are noted for their contribution to the knowledge-based economy and control over the application of their knowledge (Abbott, 1991). The same premise would apply to other professionals e.g. healthcare (nurses, doctors and psychologists); legal (lawyers, solicitors and barristers); consultancy; accountancy; banking and architecture (von Nordenflycht, 2010). An exploratory analysis of UK and Spanish pharmacists’ roles and their adoption of management skills was thus undertaken. Both healthcare systems are very similar and likewise the clinical training and role of pharmacists, professional standards and regulations are similar but there are subtle differences. Data were collected using semi-structured online surveys; two thirds of the data were collected from a UK audience and the final third from Spanish pharmacists. The data collection was planned and iterative in the first two stages (stage one influencing stage two) (UK) and the final stage (Spain) offered an opportunistic comparator study. The results demonstrated that there was overwhelming support for management skills to be part of undergraduate studies. The outputs of this study identify the most important management skills pharmacists need to perform effectively. Consideration was also given to the impact of inability to perform in their role, and hence the possibility of occupational derailment (leaving their role or being demoted). These findings offer important learning to support workforce development in all professional services.

The growing interest in positive factors that promote thriving and flourishing in psychology research and education in recent years has prompted an increased focus on the importance of non-intellectual or transferrable skills, in particular character strengths, social, and interpersonal abilities. A recent UK government white paper was published citing the importance of character in education; however, the extant research literature is largely drawn from American and Australian populations, with the majority of studies being cross sectional. Researchers and educators should be cautious of causal interpretations and generalisation of these findings to other populations. Research from the UK, with its differing culture and education system, is limited, and there is a clear need for longitudinal, UK research to clarify both the nature of these causal relationships, and whether USA findings can be generalised to the UK. Such research is particularly important in order to accurately inform and evaluate any potential applications of strengths based approaches in education. The current thesis reports findings from a short term, longitudinal study of the influence of self-perceived strengths on teacher assessments and exam results in a cohort of UK adolescents from 3rd to 4th year across two schools in Aberdeen. Pupils completed self-report measures of strengths (Strengths Assessment Inventory – Youth; SAI-Y), coping (WOC-R), Optimism (LOT-R), and Trait Affect (PANAS) at three time points: baseline (time 1), 8 months later (time 2), and a further 5 months later (time 3). Teacher assessments of pupil progress by subject for each participant were obtained following time 2 data collection and participant exam results after time 3. Chapter 1 (study 1a) reports the psychometric validation of a relatively new strengths measure for children and young people (SAI-Y) in a UK adolescent population, based on time 1 data. Findings show the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the SAI-Y compare well with previous validation studies, indicating this measure is a valid tool for describing character strengths in UK as well as US adolescents. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to derive an empirical factor structure for the SAI-Y. The psychometric data and analyses suggest that the factorial structure of the SAI-Y is different in the study population, but that the new 12 factor structure is valid for this sample. In addition, relative to the other measures used in this study, the SAI-Y captures a range of differing constructs relative to the WOC-R, PANAS and LOT-R, so that the SAI-Y is a useful, psychometrically valid tool for measuring a wider range of non-intellectual abilities in future strengths based research. Chapter 2 (study 1b) reports findings on the predictive relationship between pupils self-reported strengths at time 1, and teacher assessments of pupil progress at time 2, as investigated using exploratory and stepwise regression analyses. Findings showed that Pupils who score highly on Functional Behaviour (SAI-Y) tend to be assessed as excelling or performing in line with expectations by teachers 8 months later. In particular, pupils who self-report higher levels of Functional Behaviour are more likely to be assessed as excelling than performing as expected, in that functional behaviour was more strongly predictive of Green (excelling) than of Amber (performing as expected) assessments. Chapter 3 (study 1c) reports the results of exploratory and stepwise regression analyses to determine the predictive relationships between pupil self-reported strengths and exam results. Findings indicate that Functional Behaviour is consistently predictive of 13 successful academic achievement, particularly for higher levels of attainment (e.g. cumulative Total Score, A and B awards at N5, and proportion of exams passed at N5 level). Chapter 4 (study 1d) addresses the predictive relationships between teacher assessments of pupil progress and exam results, based on data from time 1 and 3. Analyses of Pupil Progress assessments for pupils participating at Time 1 and 3, using both exploratory and stepwise regression, showed a consistent, predictive relationship between Green (exceeding expectations) assessments and higher levels of exam success (N5 total score, percentage of passes at N5, and number of A, B, and C grades at N5). Analyses indicate Amber pupil progress to be a consistent predictor of almost all levels of exam success. Chapter 5 (study 1e) Investigates the Influence of time on predictors of outcomes (Teacher Assessments and Exams), as well as the relative influence of Strengths and Teacher Assessments on Exam Outcomes. Longitudinal regression analyses to assesses the influence of time in the predictive relationships found between Strengths and positive outcomes (Teacher Assessments and Exams), as well as the relative predictive influence of Strengths and Teacher Assessments on Exam outcomes, were conducted based on data from Time 1 and Time 3. Findings are interpreted and discussed in the context of strengths based educating, successful learning, and positive youth development; recommendations for future research directions are considered.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Violence and aggression are becoming commonplace occurrences in the South African society. It has no cultural, age or gender preference and its effects are becoming more and more visible in the economic, social and interpersonal levels. This assignment aimed to reflect the relationship between aggression and social skills by means of a literature survey. Different theories were discussed to explain the development off aggression and social skills as well as the relationship between these two variables. The primary focus was on the influence of exposure to aggression and/or social skills in childhood years. The development of aggression and social skills plays an important role when it comes to the clarification of the interaction between aggression and social skills. The focus was on external factors like socio-political and socio-economical factors, as well as factors on a more interpersonal level like the family and the education system outside the family. Researchers found that there is an interaction between aggression and the shortfall off specific social skills like: effective communication skills, assertiveness, conflict management or problemsolving skills, disclosure and emotional support. In conclusion, recommendations are made with future research in mind. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geweld en aggressie is besig om 'n allerdaagse verskynsel in die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap te word. Dié geweld het geen grense ten opsigte van kultuur, ouderdom of geslag nie en oefen sigbare druk op sosiale, ekonomiese en interpersoonlike vlakke uit. Die doel van hierdie werkstuk was om die moontlike verband tussen aggressie en sosiale vaardighede aan die hand van 'n literatuurstudie te bespreek. Verskeie teorieë is bespreek om die ontwikkeling van aggressie en sosiale vaardighede asook die verband tussen die twee veranderlikes te ondersoek. Daar is hoofsaaklik gefokus op die invloed van blootstelling aan aggressie en/of sosiale vaardighede in die kinderjare. Die ontstaan van aggressie en sosiale vaardighede speel 'n belangrike rol by die verklaring van die verband tussen aggressie en sosiale vaardighede. Daar is gefokus op eksterne faktore naamlik sosio-politiese en sosio-ekonomiese faktore asook faktore op 'n meer interpersoonlike vlak naamlik die gesin en die opvoedingstelsel buite die gesin. Navorsers het gevind dat daar 'n verband is tussen aggressie en 'n tekort aan spesifieke sosiale vaardighede naamlik: effektiewe kommunikasievaardighede, selfgelding, konflikbestuur of probleemoplossingsvaardighede, ontsluiting en emosionele ondersteuning. Ten slotte is aanbevelings met die oog op toekomstige navorsing gemaak.

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