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…

Beginning with the question of the usefulness of Rousseau's "Émile" for contemporary education, this article explores the fantasy held by educational thinkers and practitioners regarding Rousseau's concept of Natural Education. Using French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan's theory of fantasy, which is based on a relationship between the…

The purpose of this study is to use the recreation specialization construct to examine the diversity of mountain bike riders in the US to meet their needs better, and to help strengthen the sport and the outdoor economy. At one end of the specialization continuum are Completely High Specialists, and at the other end are Completely Low Specialists.…

Environmental interpretation provides visitors with positive experiences in nature while managing their impacts. Existing research has concentrated on the influence of interpretive programs on visitor knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Little empirical research exists on how visitors perceive their environment. In this research we examine the…

Addressing the social and economic disparities equity-owed low-income residents experience that prevent participation in community sport and recreation is complex. Community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) has been utilized to facilitate the participation of equity-owed communities in sport and recreation initiatives. However, in this…

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…

Kuh and colleagues (2008) use the term "high-impact practices" (HIPs) to describe co-curricular programs that are particularly effective in advancing student learning. The original list of HIPs does not include campus employment, which McClellan et al. (2018) argued should be added. According to the results from the 2019 NASPA survey…

With the study reported on here we aimed to determine and compare teacher perceptions of the concept of virtual reality between Turkish and South African teachers using metaphors. We adopted a phenomenological approach, and a questionnaire was administered to a total of 100 teachers in both countries, using random sampling. The study included 4…

As adults, we intuitively understand how others' goals influence their information-seeking preferences. For example, you might recommend a dense book full of mechanistic details to someone trying to learn about a topic in-depth, but a more lighthearted book filled with surprising stories to someone seeking entertainment. Moreover, you might do…

Leadership in Leisure Services (AHSC 361) is the most experiential class offered to students majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. One interactive feature of this required course is a multi-part assignment that deals with group facilitation, personal introspection, and evaluation. This "Assignment…

In a university context, peer assisted learning (PAL) refers to students supporting the learning of other students. While PAL is used extensively in health and medical sciences fields to enhance student learning, there are few examples of how it has been incorporated within recreation education contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine…

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…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Plus non-conforming identities (LGBTQ+) individuals who have pursued a professional career in the outdoor recreation industry. Six stories of queer identity in the outdoors were gifted to this study, with the…

Rural youths often feel compelled to leave their home communities to seek new opportunities, especially at the secondary-postsecondary educational transition. These decisions are driven in part by perceived developmental imperatives to leave rural regions given messages that success is best achieved elsewhere. The present study used the framework…

Background: While barriers to participation in physical activity are well documented, there is no consolidated evidence on strategies promoting participation of people with intellectual disability in physical activities. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to examine initiatives used to facilitate the inclusion of people with intellectual…