Exploring the Meaning and Experiences of Recreation for Young People and Parents Living with Lower Incomes

• Author / Creator

  Kingsley, Bethan C

• The purpose of the research was to explore the meaning and experiences of recreation for young people and parents who live with lower incomes in a predominantly affluent community. I responded to the research purpose by speaking with ten youth (aged 13-18 years) and six parents living with lower incomes in a primarily affluent county (population 92,000) on the edge of a mid-sized city in Western Canada. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and writing practices that additionally informed the analytic process. Three papers are presented in the dissertation to show the varied meaning and experiences of sport for young people and parents living with lower incomes. The first paper highlights how young people’s ways of being were shaped by their material and familial circumstances, impacting their participation in and relationship to sport. The second paper draws attention to the exclusionary practices of sport that are rationalized through demands for narrow forms of ‘ability’. The final paper shifts attention to the parents’ experiences of supporting the recreation involvement of their children while living with lower incomes.The study represents an exploration of the ways class relations are (re)produced in and through recreation to fill a prominent gap in the current academic literature. The three papers collectively show the similar and divergent ways the study participants subjectively experienced recreation in relation to their lower incomes. In particular, the dissertation highlights crucial areas of change to expand the ways recreation is currently provided so that it can be meaningful for more youth. The dissertation is particularly relevant for academics, practitioners and policy-makers who are interested in challenging the narrow and exclusionary ways recreation is often provided.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Lower incomes
  • Youth
  • Recreation
  • Sports
  • Parents
  • Bourdieu

• Graduation date

  Fall 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3319SB0J

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.