Service Learning in a Collegiate Recreation Program: Understanding the Impacts on Personal Understanding and Academic Success in Therapeutic Recreation vs Non-Therapeutic Recreation Concentrations

<p>Service Learning is steadily becoming a more utilized method of teaching in collegiate settings and thus the purpose of this research was to (1) Examine how service learning in a collegiate recreation program may or may not benefit students academically and personally and (2) Determine if therapeutic recreation students perceive service learning to be more beneficial than other concentrations in the recreation field. It was hypothesized that service learning would benefit undergraduate and graduate students both academically and personally and that undergraduate therapeutic recreation majors would perceive service learning to be more beneficial than other concentrations. The findings supported both hypotheses. Students reported service learning as unanimously beneficial, both academically and personally and therapeutic recreation students perceived service learning as more beneficial than other concentrations. In conclusion, service learning is perceived as a beneficial educational process and its use should be continued in the recreation programs curriculum. More research is necessary to determine if service learning is beneficial in all collegiate recreation programs across all available concentrations. More research is also needed to enhance understanding of how learning is enhanced by service. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Recreation and Park Administration

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2015

Author dc:creator

• Fisher, Eden Ernestine

• Collegiate
• Recreation
• Service Learning
• Therapeutic
• Higher Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2015 Eden Ernestine Fisher

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/259

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1257