chapter

18The Nature of Recreation and Leisure As a Profession

Introduction

1. ________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________

Definition of a Professional

“. . . professions are unique in that their members have special knowledge, perform a specialized role and have control over their occupation’s structure, function, practice and destiny.”

—Sessoms, 1991, p. 249

Evaluating the Leisure Services Profession

• Several criteria have been identified as defining a profession (Kraus, 2001; Sessoms, 1991).

• The following 6 criteria define whether recreation and leisure services qualify as a profession:

1. __________________________________

2. __________________________________

3. __________________________________

4. __________________________________

5. __________________________________

6. __________________________________

Social Value and Purpose

• Ask someone what they like to do on the weekend or how they want to spend their retirement years. Chances are the response you get will contain some reference to leisure. True? False?

• Recreation and leisure have social value and serve a purpose in today’s society. How?

• What is it about leisure opportunities that make them so valuable to the people who participate in them?

Our Professional Mandate

“One of the characteristics of a profession is that it has a social mandate.• __________________________________________

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• Without a mandate, there is no soul, no sense of purpose, no sustaining will, which attracts people to the cause …”

(Sessoms,1992, p. 47)

Benefits Approach to Leisure

Benefits approach to leisure (BAL) “is not only a philosophy about the roles of leisure in society and how leisure service delivery systems should be managed, but also a system for directing leisure research, instruction, policy development, and management.”

(Driver & Bruns, 1999, p. 349)

Benefits Approach Outcomes

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2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Positive Outcome Categories

• ______________________________________– ____________________________________– ____________________________________

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• ______________________________________

• ______________________________________

But the Benefits Are Not Endless: Cautionary Notes

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(continued)

But the Benefits Are Not Endless: Cautionary Notes (continued)

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Public Recognition

• “Obviously there is a paradox: While leisure is the leading economic sector and the most important social service sector, the scope and magnitude of the benefits of leisure are not recognized and appreciated.”

• At the start of the 21st century, neither Canada nor the United States had federal policies that “broadly recognize, protect, and promote leisure as a significant business and social service.” What are the question and implications of this?

—Driver & Bruns,1999

(continued)

Public Recognition (continued)

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Four Reasons for Recreation and Leisure’s Poor Public Profile

• First factor:

– _________________________________________________

– _________________________________________________

• Second factor:

– ________________________________________________

– __________________________________________________– __________________________________________________

(continued)

Four Reasons for Recreation and Leisure’s Poor Public Profile

(continued)

• Third and related factor:– __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________– __________________________________________________

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• Final factor (although there are undoubtedly others):– __________________________________________________– __________________________________________________

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Efforts to Improve the Public’s Perception of Recreation and Leisure

• Research: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Repositioning: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Discussion: Subject: Challenges of Public Perception

What are some of the challenges of improving the public’s perception of our field?

How can we improve these challenges?

Specialized Professional Preparation

• Recreation and leisure studies are multidisciplinary in nature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Most of our academic programs can trace their roots and evolution to one of three basic areas:1. ____________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________3. _____________________________________________

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Specialized Body of Knowledge

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• ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quality Assurance Through Accreditation, Certification,

and Professional Associations

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• ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ________________________________________________________________________________________________ – ________________________________________________– __________________________________________________

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Professional Code of Ethics Defined

• ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample Code of Ethics: National Park and Recreation Association

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Summary• ______________________________________

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(continued)

Summary (continued)

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Discussion:Subject: Driver & Burns

“Obviously there is a paradox: while leisure is the leading economic sector and the most important social service sector, the scope and magnitude of the benefits of leisure are not recognized and appreciated” (Driver & Bruns, 1999).

Discuss the implications of this statement in the playground.