NATURE OF THE ACADIA RECREATION DEGREE
Although curriculum development was an ongoing process, and course content was being continually updated based upon new knowledge discovered through research, the essence of the program remained consistent throughout its lifespan. The curriculum, for most of the duration of the program, consisted of 5 areas: leisure studies, recreation tools, recreation settings, business basics, and professional practise.
The field of recreation is informed by the leisure discipline. Leisure Studies is a branch of social science that explores and analyses the concept of leisure in a broad context. Leisure is generally associated with free time, that is time of one’s own free from obligations such as paid labour, household maintenance, and family responsibilities. For Greek philosophers, leisure was not simply an opportunity for inactivity but rather the freedom to pursue life enhancing pursuits that would define the quality of ones’ life. Once the concept of leisure is understood, the professional practise of recreation becomes one of creating opportunities for life enhancing experiences rather then simply program provision designed to fill free time. Although an accreditation process does not exist within Canada for Recreation and Leisure Studies academic programs, it does in the United States and other countries. In order for professionals to work in the recreation field, they must hold a Recreation degree from an accredited Academic Institution. Such programs have at their core, a set of leisure discipline courses. In the absence of accreditation standards in Canada, most universities developed curriculum based on the American model. There are a number of community colleges that offer 2 year programs in recreation, and most such programs offer a series of skill development courses designed to prepare recreation activity leaders. The 4 year university degree programs, based upon the leisure disciplinary core, are designed to prepare managers and leaders for the field.
Following are examples of the types of topics that students would have explored in depth in order to gain an understanding of leisure:
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With a solid understanding the power and potential of leisure, students come to understand the role that recreation can play within individuals, communities, and society in general. By taking courses in other disciplines such as sociology, psychology, political science, and education, students understand better the interface between leisure/recreation delivery system and other facets of society.
In order to serve as a recreation practitioner, there are a number of professional tool development courses required in such areas as leadership, programming, administration, planning, facilitation, community development, organizational development, and professional development. These courses were taught within a leisure/recreation context using content from the field and developing skills required within the field. These types of courses not only provide the theoretical underpinnings of these types of tools, students also had opportunities to develop the tools through a variety of group projects, fieldwork, and practicums.
Given that the field of recreation services is closely aligned with other fields such as health and wellness, education, and social services it is important that students understand management from a broader perspective than simply recreation management. As such, students took a range of courses from the School of Business on such topics as marketing, finance,
human resources, planning, and entrepreneurship.
In order to serve as a recreation practitioner, there are a number of professional tool development courses required in such areas as leadership, programming, administration, planning, facilitation, community development, organizational development, and professional development. These courses were taught within a leisure/recreation context using content from the field and developing skills required within the field. These types of courses not only provide the theoretical underpinnings of these types of tools, students also had opportunities to develop the tools through a variety of group projects, fieldwork, and practicums.
Given that the field of recreation services is closely aligned with other fields such as health and wellness, education, and social services it is important that students understand management from a broader perspective than simply recreation management. As such, students took a range of courses from the School of Business on such topics as marketing, finance,
human resources, planning, and entrepreneurship.
A portion of the program enabled students to develop an individual area of focus in order to help prepare them to pursue specific types of careers. This consisted of selecting elective courses, often with the aid of a faculty advisor, to develop a specific area of expertise within the field. Examples of the types of areas one might pursue through a collection of electives include the following:
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Understanding the nature of Recreation degree program at Acadia, it is not difficult to see why graduates would make use of the knowledge and skills to pursue a wide variety of careers.