The purpose of this study was to examine the social benefits whitewater paddlers derive from a city whitewater park. Many communities are investing great sums of time and money in the development of whitewater parks, with the expectation that these parks will generate social benefits for park users and their surrounding communities (Moorman et…

Although students in the broad field of leisure studies may pursue a variety of opportunities post-graduation, employment within local parks and recreation represents one potential career path. Unfortunately, the Great Recession disproportionately impacted local parks and recreation relative to competing public services. As such, this article…

"Experience design" is a term that has risen to the forefront in a variety of professional fields and has relevance for the field of park and recreation. Park and recreation professionals are primarily focused on providing experiences and thus could naturally consider themselves experienced designers. Surprisingly, experience design is…

Accreditation is a critical process in maintaining standards of consistency and excellence in the academic preparation of students for their chosen profession. While academic programs, professional associations, and credentialing organizations all recognize the importance of programmatic accreditation in recreational therapy professional…

This chapter presents an overview of six additional disciplines. Descriptions and resources for psychology, arts and music, women's studies, religious studies, parks and recreation, and interdisciplinary studies are included.

This article provides a response to the article "Leisure Studies is for Experience, Not Industry," by Harmon (2018). In responding to Harmon's critique, I address two important issues; both could be expanded into full-length articles but are treated only briefly in this response. First, it is critical to clearly understand and…

This practice-based approach argues service learning can teach social justice in parks & recreation management education. The US parks system creation and history is rooted in injustice. Use of US parks and park service employment remain inequitable today. Significant work must be done in the provision of recreation and park services to all…

The recreation sector is continually challenged to make good decisions related to program delivery, facility development, and resource allocation. Planning is a tool that can set in motion better decision making. For many recreation professionals, some aspect of planning, whether that be developing, implementing, or evaluating a plan, fall within…

The third edition of "A Career with Meaning" offers new perspectives on the field and updates on trends and research related to each career area. Of note is the renewed emphasis in our field and thus on understanding the role recreation and leisure play in promoting health and wellness, sustainability, and social justice. The book uses…

Mountain biking is currently one of the fastest growing recreational activities in the world (Outdoor Foundation, 2013), but documenting the benefits has been challenging. The Benefits of Hiking Scale (BHS), a 38-item instrument assessing the values and benefits of using trails, has been used in national and state park trail research (Freidt,…

In this paper we discuss the intractability of the "great divide" between higher education and professional practice in parks, recreation, and tourism. We begin by drawing parallels between our field and other professional fields to demonstrate that the issue is not ours alone; indeed, it is common to most professional fields. We then…

Promotion with tenure is often the ultimate goal for PhD students who choose to pursue a career in higher education. Extensive mentorship is provided for tenure-track faculty to smooth the path toward promotion with tenure, but most faculty members achieve this goal relatively early in their careers, leaving years if not decades ahead in a tenured…

Those of us who serve the discipline of parks, recreation, tourism and related professions have long struggled with visibility and viability on university campuses. This struggle is magnified by the absence of an adequate umbrella term and the variability in the names of our academic programs and the colleges in which we reside. For some, the…

The history of parks and recreation is deeply rooted in child's play. From Joseph Lee's writings about the developmental benefits of child's play at the beginning of the 20th century to the establishment of the University of Illinois's Motor Performance and Play Research Laboratory in the 1960s and 1970s, child's play has been a central focus of…

We assessed the efficacy of the educational simulation Quagmire to deliver curriculum focused on park and protected area management in a time of record visitor use. Specifically, our study evaluated how Quagmire prepared contemporary students to maximize field-based learning during a week-long experience at Capitol Reef National Park, USA (Capitol…