Understanding the Transfer of Values-Based Youth Sport Program Goals From a Bioecological Perspective

The recent increase of after-school programming for underserved youth has included research on values-based physical activity programs. Discovering how these programs work and learning the extent of their short- and long-term impact appear to be the centerpieces of many of these studies. One model that has received considerable attention is Hellison's Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR), the ultimate aim of which is to transfer responsibility goals to other contexts. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework to understand the transfer of values-based youth program goals by applying a bioecological theory of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1995). First, we review this theory by focusing on the four components of the Process-Person-Context-Time model. Second, we present a review of TPSR program evaluation studies based on the bioecological model of value-transfer in youth sport programs. Finally, we provide implications for future program development and research.