RLS 225: Leisure Education and Recreation Programming

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering leisure products in the experience economy, agency programming missions, newcomer recreation programming, the six elements of situated activity systems, and symbolic interactionism in leisure.

Evolution of Economic Value and Activity (Pine & Gilmore, 1999)

A framework outlining the four stages of economic offerings: extracting commodities, manufacturing goods, delivering services, and staging experiences.

Product (Kelly, 1985)

An inclusive term defined as 'something that is designed, made, developed, and distributed', which identifies commodities, goods, services, and experiences.

Revenue Stream

The income generated by a product that can be brought to the marketplace and sold by an entrepreneurial programmer across commercial, non-profit, or public agencies.

Goods

Tangible physical entities that individuals possess post-purchase, subdivided into consumable supplies and non-consumable equipment.

Supplies

Consumable leisure goods that must be continually replenished, providing point-of-use availability and characterized by inelastic demand.

Equipment

Non-consumable leisure goods characterized by a low inventory turnover rate that face direct market competition from commercial vendors.

Personal Service

A helpful leisure-related function for which a fee is charged without conferring physical ownership, such as locker rentals, repair, maintenance, or guide services.

Activity

A focused occasion of interaction within a specific situated activity system featuring unique objects, rules, and physical spaces; it is the basic unit of participation.

Event

A collection of activities organized around a central theme or purpose, varying in duration from less than a day up to a full month.

Mission Statement

A long-lasting statement approved by a governing authority that acts as a claim and promise to the public, inspires employees, and guides all organizational tasks.

Organizational Values

The core ideology guiding an organization's operations, answering the question: 'How do we carry out our mission?'

Organizational Vision

An articulation of an ideal future that directs the agency forward, answering the question: 'What impact does our organization want to have on society?'

Comprehensive Program Planning Cycle

A cyclical recreation programming model divided into Stage A (Agency Culture), Stage B (Targeted Program Development), Stage C (Operational Strategies), and Stage D (Follow-Up Analysis).

Environmental Scan (SWOT)

A diagnostic planning tool that examines internal Strengths and Weaknesses along with external Opportunities and Threats across individual, organizational, and community dimensions.

The Programmer's Evaluation Cube (Farrell & Lundegren, 1991)

A three-dimensional programming analysis matrix that systematically cross-references participant life stages, activity classifications, and program formats.

Core Competency

A distinct organizational strength that provides the agency with a unique capability to deliver specific leisure products and programs.

Activity Adherence Gap

A documented disparity where newcomer youth experience steep participation drop-offs in organized physical activities, resulting in adherence rates $2\times$ lower than their peers.

Survival Triage

A critical settlement barrier in newcomer households where urgent immediate needs—such as housing and employment—displace recreational activities entirely.

P.A.S.S. Project

An applied evidence program ('Participating in Arts, Sports, and Society') that bridges settlement work and municipal facilities through direct navigation, system literacy, and anti-racism safety.

Action for Healthy Communities (AHC)

A settlement not-for-profit characterized by broad institutional reach that delivers no-fee newcomer youth soccer clubs, winter sport try-outs, and holistic wraparound supports for parents.

Kyrgyz Association in Canada (KAC)

An ethno-cultural association whose unconditional trust and shared language enable culturally safe hydro-therapy and gentle yoga to address stored somatic trauma.

Suluu Rhythmic Gymnastics (Suluu RG)

A grassroots sport club that removes financial, equipment, and cultural barriers to provide specialized rhythmic gymnastics training, poise, and leadership skills for newcomer girls.

Co-Design

A newcomer recreation leadership principle stating that programmers must never design programs for newcomers without newcomers directly present in the room.

Cultural Safety

The provision of intentional accommodations within mainstream recreation facilities, such as curtained pools, female instructors, and prayer breaks.

Situated Activity System (SAS)

A theoretical model stating that leisure occasions emerge through the intentional manipulation of six interacting elements: interacting people, physical setting, leisure objects, structure, relationships, and animation.

Interacting People

The situated activity system element focused on understanding the target audience, their lifespan developmental stage, and their specific backgrounds.

Physical Setting

The venue and sensory environment of a program—encompassing sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch—which can be modified through decorations, lighting, and spatial arrangement.

Structure (Rules and Formats)

The civil-legal, polite-ceremonial, and relational guidelines and programming formats that structure an activity while sustaining participants' perceived freedom.

Animation

The dynamic mechanism that sets a program into motion and sustains action across progressive frames so that the experience appears spontaneous and natural.

The Service Continuum With Programming Formats

A continuum illustrating the progression from individual provision (Facilitator) to agency provision (Direct Provider) across six programming formats: self-directed, clubs, drop-in, competition, special events, and skill development.

Symbolic Interaction Theory (Blumer, 1969; Denzin, 1978)

A sociological perspective asserting that interaction is symbolic, meanings emerge from social interaction, and participants' interpretations actively shape those meanings.

Leisure Objects

Anything that can be pointed out, indicated, or referred to during an interaction, classified into physical, social, and symbolic/abstract objects.

Interaction Ritual (Lee & Shafer, 2002)

A three-phase cycle—Intake, Thinking-Processing-Planning, and Action—through which individuals mindfully interpret objects and actions to co-create an emergent leisure experience.

The Programmer's Dilemma

The paradox of providing sufficient guidance and controls to ensure a leisure experience occurs while avoiding excessive control that quashes participants' perceived freedom and choice.

Co-Production

A programming paradigm shift requiring participants to play an active, autonomous role in directing and shaping their interactions rather than passively receiving entertainment.