Leisure Experienced by Students in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Curricula

Authors

  • John T. Hultsman

Keywords:

Leisure, curricula, perceived freedom, intrinsic motivation, positive affect, discriminant analysis.

Abstract

The recreation, parks, and leisure profession is still evolving, both in terms of service delivery and research. This evolution seems to be moving the focus of the discipline from the objective and concrete to a more subjective and abstract posture. Simultaneously ,leisure-related curricula have evolved along dissimilar lines in that they continue to focus primarily on the pragmatic issues centering around professional preparation. This paper reports the results of an investigation undertaken to determine if positive perceptions of leisure are associated with the study of leisure-related phenomena. The results indicate that individuals who study leisure do not perceive leisure experiences more positively than students in an unrelated discipline. Therefore, leisure-related curricula should consider expanding their focus to incorporate the affective domain of learning.

Published

1987-07-04

Issue

Section

Regular Papers