Positive Programming: The Common Denominator.

Programming is often perceived as the heart of the field of leisure services. At the very least, we could probably all agree that programming is a common denominator of leisure services entities, no matter the setting, philosophy, target populations, or funding sources. Thus it becomes important to periodically review the literature and examine the state of the research as it relates to programming in parks, recreation, and leisure services.

The past two decades have seen a wide variety of recreation and leisure programs developed and implemented in schools, parks and recreation departments, camps, and other community centers. Many of us share ideas, themes, and information to offer the highest-quality program possible. When reviewing the research literature as it relates to programming, we found that while much of the emphasis is on activity and skill (e.g., how people learn, what people learn), recent research has focused on programming for specifically targeted groups. This is the literature we will examine.

Programs for Youth Considered "At Risk"

There has been much written about "at-risk" adolescents, a group identified as being at risk of dropping out of school; impacted by violence, substance abuse, and teen pregnancy; and affected by other social ills (Wright, Harwell & Allen, 1998). In particular, one group of adolescents may face greater challenges because of its geographic location: rural youth. According to recent research conducted by Wright, Harwell and Allen (1998), these young people suffer from a lack of sufficient programs and services, social isolation, and educational deficits.

Combining a community-based intervention approach with Benefits-Based Management, Wright and colleagues designed and delivered Success Through Recreation in Disadvantaged Environments, a nine-week, five-hours-a-day prescriptive summer recreation program for disadvantaged youth. The young people involved in the STRIDE program were selected by school personnel based on behavioral/academic problems at school and inclusion in the federal free-lunch program. Another group of adolescents attended a traditional day camp, and another comparison group attended no formal recreation program at all during the summer.

Unique components of STRIDE included activity processing, problem solving, journal keeping, motivational speakers, sports clinics and aquatic programs, program ownership, original experiences, and awards and opportunities for positive recognition. Those in the traditional summer-camp setting experienced a program designed for fun rather than any directly stated educational benefit. When comparisons were made, Wright, Harwell, and Allen found that youth in the prescriptive program achieved more growth in scholastic, social, and athletic competence than those in the other two groups. In addition, those in the STRIDE program were the only group to increase on every scale of self-perception, from pretest to posttest. Clearly, prescriptive and well-designed programs can have a positive impact on young people in a variety of ways.

In efforts to address the needs of youth considered "at risk," 10 ways to make a positive impact through programming for recreation services were identified (Allen, Paiseley, Stevens & Harwell, 1998). The authors state that by planning programs based on outcomes and impacts (benefits), a programmer can focus on what the participants can achieve rather than simply on the mechanics of the program. The focus shifts from the means to the end goal.

To foster commitment to the program, Allen et al. suggest that participants become directly involved in the planning process. Participants were less likely to complain of boredom when they were involved in selecting the activities themselves. In addition, when parents, guardians, and other significant adults were involved in the program, youth began to believe that adults cared about them. This can contribute to adolescent resiliency.

Resiliency in young people is important because skills and attitudes related to resiliency have been linked to well-adjusted behavior. Focusing on building resiliency in adolescent participants allows for mutual respect and tolerance and reduces antisocial behavior. In addition, Allen et al. remind us that recreation can be developmental rather than diversionary and can address real-life issues with a very positive outcome. Capitalizing on teachable moments is crucial for teen program success and can be attained through debriefing an activity or program before, during, and after its implementation.

Because of their tenuous positions and the related short- and long-term impacts, youth who are involved with substance abuse are often targeted for research. King, Valerius, and Collins (1998) reported that increases in juvenile violence and crime have often been linked directly to substance abuse in teenagers. In Texas, a substance-abuse prevention and intervention program for teens has taught almost 25,000 adolescents about self-esteem, chemical dependency, family issues, and community resources. The program offers three primary program areas: alcohol- and drug-abuse prevention training, an individual prevention program, and family education.

In their study, King, Valerius, and Collins found that upon completion, participants in these programs showed significant increases in serf-esteem, dealing positively with substance abuse, and knowledge of coping skills and community resources. This was unique because most teen recreation programs include serf-esteem, freedom of choice, skill development, and physical activity but provide little or no knowledge or skills to counter many of the associated risk factors. There is much we can do.

Programs for Women and Girls

Recreation programmers are also beginning to recognize the definitive needs of another population: our nation's young girls. Henderson (1998) provided a synthesis of the research and current state of knowledge about the personal and social needs of girls and related it to parks, recreation, and leisure programming. She reminds us that adolescence can be a difficult time for all youth, and that girls and boys experience that period in their lives differently.

According to Henderson (1998), the majority of girls in the United States will have to face three primary issues -- social contradictions, body changes, and sexuality. Social contradictions include the belief that adolescence is a time of separation from parents and family. For adolescent girls, maintaining positive family relationships is often paramount to their identity. Body changes, of course, include the development of secondary sex characteristics (such as breasts in girls), which often results in mixed messages. Boys reaching puberty often experience increased status, while girls reaching puberty often deal with humiliation and uncertainty. Finally, sexuality includes accepting one's own sexuality, defining a sexual self, making sexual choices, and learning to enjoy physical intimacy, all of which can be confusing and complicated.

In addition to these very critical issues of adolescence, girls also face increased rates of depression, eating disorders, and pre- or posttraumatic stress disorders (from physical and sexual assault) much more frequently than do boys. Each of these has implications for recreation programming. Henderson reminds us that young people want contact with trusted adults, more opportunities to serve the community, safe places, attractive alternatives to gangs, and opportunities to avoid loneliness. In each of these areas, parks, recreation, and leisure programming can play a role.

Another area of recent research that addresses the needs of females related to leisure is the connection of women, girls, and the out of doors (which has traditionally been perceived as a male domain). In the past 10 or 15 years, women have been exhibiting newfound interests in outdoor pursuits. Because of this interest, many all-women programs have been developed (Hornibrook, Brinkert, Parry, Seimens, Mitten & Priest, 1997).

A 1997 study revealed the top 10 reasons that women participate in female-only programs.

* Take part in a physical activity.

* Have new experiences.

* Enjoy a noncompetitive atmosphere,

* Learn new skills.

* Be themselves.

* Recognize their own strengths.

* Relax.

* Be with other women.

* Learn about the environment.

* Experience a nonjudgmental atmosphere.

(Hornibrook et al., 1997)

Jordan's 1998 research of a single-sex women's outdoor recreation program concurred with much of these data. The women chose the single-sex program because the environment was perceived as nonthreatening (no men were present and participants shared a baseline of novice-level skills), the program was reported to be safe and of top quality, it was an opportunity to be with other women and develop friendships, and they could develop outdoor skills and knowledge.

Upon completing an outdoor program, most women felt they had achieved success in the following: belief in themselves, a desire to participate again, pride in their accomplishments, courage, and confidence (Hornibrook et al., 1997). Clearly, the out of doors has much to offer women and girls in terms of skills as well as personal development.

Culp (1998) examined constraints, including stereotypical gender roles, self-concept, differences in outdoor recreation opportunities for males and females, peer and family expectations, access, and physical and environmental factors, in adolescent girls' participation in outdoor recreation. While there are fewer gender restrictions on women's behavior now than in the past, restrictions are still present in stereotypical gender expectations from peers, parents, and social institutions.

Three primary categories of constraints to girls' participation in outdoor recreation were program philosophy, program structure, and gender composition (Culp, 1998). Program philosophy refers to the underlying principles participants felt were important to outdoor programming. The most frequent theme was the importance of girls being able to express themselves through program activities. Creating an atmosphere in which girls could achieve a true sense of accomplishment, and allowing girls to have a choice about their participation were other common themes.

The structure of outdoor programming relates closely to its philosophy. Culp identified four desirable characteristics of outdoor programs for adolescent girls.

* Activities should be both "hands on" and fun.

* There should be a wide variety of activities to chose from, including individual activities and time to be alone.

* There should be opportunities to learn technical, activity-oriented skills as well as outdoor survival skills.

* There should be plenty of unstructured time for "just hanging out with friends."

Gender composition involves whether single- or mixed-gender programming would better meet girls' needs. Overwhelmingly, participants saw a clear benefit in single-sex programming (Culp, 1998). Girls indicated that in a coed situation, they would simply stand back and not participate fully. In addition, the girls indicated that although they would like to have boys around, a single-sex program would probably facilitate higher levels of participation on their part.

Culp (1998) indicated that gender was the most consistent constraint and that adolescent girls perceived fewer opportunities to become involved in outdoor programs. Generally, Culp attributed this difference in opportunity to gender notions about appropriate recreation for girls. From this research, we learn that providing environments in which girls can learn outdoor skills opens wider recreation choices and allows them to move beyond stereotypical gender roles. Carefully structured programs can help to knock down barriers, whereas other types of outdoor programs may just create new constraints or enhance existing ones.

Programs for People with Physical Disabilities

In addition to programming for young women and youth considered at risk, a third well-represented population in the current programming research literature is people with disabilities. Some address programs that are simply adapted to the needs of those involved, while others take a much more therapeutic approach.

Aquatic therapy programs are offered for people who have a wide range of cognitive and physical disabilities. Water-based exercises can increase range of motion, provide increased resistance, and lessen muscle stiffness. A recent article by Broach, Groff, and Dattilo (1997) examined the impact of a swimming program on adults with spinal cord injuries. The participants engaged in an hour-long swimming instruction class three days a week for 15 weeks.

As might be expected, all program participants showed a statistically significant increase in endurance by the end of the program. Body fat percentages also dropped for all participants during the course of the program.

In an interview, participants shared their opinions of the program, their perceptions of their achievements, and their views of how aquatic therapy had affected their lives. While the physical benefits of endurance and strength were mentioned by all, each person also raised several personal or social benefits of the program. For example, one participant stated that swimming gave him a focus, while another said it made him think about his life goals and how to accomplish them. Socializing with the other people in the program was also mentioned.

Another contemporary program focus is the result of integrating therapeutic recreation with wilderness and outdoor programs. Anderson, Schleien, McAvoy, Lais, and Seligmann (1997) explain that wilderness-based adventure recreation programs have become popular tools for therapy, rehabilitation, improved socialization, and personal growth.

The authors conducted an investigation at a nonprofit agency that offers inclusive programming for participants with and without disabilities. Anderson et al. researched the effects of canoe instruction and wilderness canoe trips on attitude, sociometric factors, leisure skills, and quality of life over the course of two years for participants with and without disabilities.

Overall, group members had very positive attitudes toward both disabilities (as a concept) and people with disabilities at the beginning and throughout the course of the study. As a result, group cohesiveness and group expansiveness increased by the end of the second year.

In addition to group relationship skills, canoeing skills increased dramatically. In fact, program participants with disabilities were performing between 80 percent and 95 percent of the canoeing skills correctly and independently by the end of the study, a marked improvement over what was observed at the beginning of the program.

More than 30 percent of all participants said that their interpersonal relations, tolerance of stress and others, and mobility had increased over the course of two years. Additionally, almost 50 percent of the participants with disabilities said that their social activity had increased.

Conclusion

Programming serves as the common denominator among all parks, recreation, and leisure service delivery programs. By being aware of issues related to specific groups, we can ensure positive approaches to programming. This review of the current research literature shows us the direct benefits of prescriptive recreation programming for rural youth considered to be "at risk." By consciously addressing the needs of young people through processing activities and by working on problem solving, skill development, and opportunities for public recognition, we can serve some of the needs of adolescents. We also were reminded that well-designed educational programs (specifically those that target substance abuse) can have a positive impact on self-esteem, coping skills, and basic knowledge levels.

Also, adolescent girls have particular needs. Contradictory social messages, changes in their bodies, and issues surrounding sexuality all impact girls and boys differently, and should be considered in terms of programming. Increased incidents of depression, eating disorders, and pre- or posttraumatic stress disorders further complicate the programming needs of girls.

Finally, this review exposed some of the information that exists in terms of the outdoors setting and how it impacts women, young girls, and people with disabilities. It appears that all populations learn not only the physical skills necessary for outdoor adventure, they also learn about themselves and others.