Meaningfully Engaging Youth At Risk in Recreation and Leisure Contexts

• Author / Creator

  Hopper, Tristan D.

• The overall purpose of this dissertation research was to gain a better understanding of the meaningful engagement of youth at risk in recreation and leisure contexts. To address this purpose, three studies were conducted. The first study completed explores how youth-led leisure opportunities can help young people caught in the dynamics of exclusion and marginalization, which often magnify inequities and hinder positive developmental outcomes. Through a critical review of the literature, and a reflection on the gaps identified within the examined literature, a conceptual model of mechanisms involving leisure and youth engagement is presented for potential use in future research and practice. Overall, the paper suggests that simply because leisure programs for young people at risk are developed, the use of a top-down, prescriptive approach can be detrimental to them. Importantly the first study highlights the importance of youth-led/guided approaches to meaningful engagement of youth at risk and how leisure can provide an avenue for promoting meaning-making. Using a case study approach, the purpose of the second study was to explore how engaging youth at risk through a youth-led approach to recreation and leisure programming can contribute to leisure-induced meaning-making. Seven women (four youth at risk [18- 22 years] and three adult recreation practitioners) participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Data were also generated via participant-observation and field notes. Elo and Kyngäs (2008) three-phase process of content analysis was used to analyze findings. Findings suggest that youth-led approaches to recreation and leisure programming can contribute to leisure-induced meaning-making by: (a) supporting interests and endeavors; (b) connecting to community; (c) overcoming barriers, together; (d) co-creating safe spaces to be engaged; and (e) developing personal and collective positive outcomes. This research makes theoretical contributions to the leisure literature, and provides essential insights regarding proactive engagement of youth at risk and meaning-making for practitioners and policy makers from a practical perspective. Finally, the purpose of the third qualitative description was to better understand the role of relationships in meaningfully engaging youth at risk within the context of recreation and leisure. Data were generated via group interviews with 10 participants; one group interview included practitioners employed in youth targeted recreation contexts (three men and three women) and the second group interview included four youth at risk (two men and two women). Elo and Kyngäs’s (2008) three-phase process of content analysis was used to analyze data. Findings highlight the role of relationships in meaningfully engaging youth at risk through: (a) purposeful activity; (b) (re)writing stories; (c) balance and respect; (d) reflexivity; and (e) growth, transformation, and action. This research makes contributions to the recreation and leisure literature and provides essential insights regarding the proactive role relationships play in meaningfully engaging young people.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Leisure
  • Meaning-Making
  • Recreation
  • Youth at risk
  • Social justice

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3WP9TP42

• License

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