Amy R. Hurd

Geocaching: 21st-century Hide-and-Seek

Abstract This high-tech form of orienteering offers physical educators abundant opportunities for multidisciplinary lessons.

An analysis of the perceived competencies of CEOs in public park and recreation agencies

This study identified the competencies that CEOs in public parks and recreation agencies in the United States perceived they needed in order to perform their duties. Two simultaneous Delphi techniques were used with two different cohorts of CEOs. Thirty jurors were selected from each group with 22 per group agreeing to participate. During the four step process, the jurors were asked to: (a) list competencies they perceived as important for the CEO position; (b) rank the importance of the competency in relation to their job; (c) determine if the categories derived from the results in the previous rounds were accurate; and (d) determine the perceived importance of the competency category to the CEO. Based on the results of the Delphi process, the CEO Competency Framework was developed consisting of three levels of specificity including six general competency categories 20 primary competencies and 72 specific competencies.

Competency development for chief executive officers in YMCAs

Leisure services agencies are seeing a significant shift in the workforce due to a large number of retirements. As a result, succession planning is becoming an important management issue in the profession. In order to develop an effective succession plan, job competencies are needed. The purpose of this paper is to determine the competencies needed by chief executive officers (CEOs) in YMCAs. A Delphi technique was used to identify the competencies that formed the nonprofit competency framework (NCF). This framework consists of six general competency categories including business acumen, communication, community relations, leadership and management, professional practice, and volunteer/board management. Within these general competency categories there are 70 specific competencies. The NCF was compared with public parks and recreation competencies and nongovernmental organization sector competencies. It was determined that YMCA CEOs have competencies that match these two groups and do not necessarily identify with one, more so than the other.

Using Q-methodology in competency development for CEOs in public parks and recreation

This study generated a systematic and comprehensive view of park and recreation CEO competencies by examining how CEOs in public parks and recreation subjectively ranked various competencies using Q-sorts and Q-methodology. Results found three different types of CEOs: the practical CEO, the structured CEO, and the traditionalist CEO. The Practical CEO focused on employee involvement in decision making thus making the work environment a more positive and reinforcing place. The Structured CEO placed an emphasis on structure, organization, and skills. The Traditionalist CEO placed emphasis on formal skill sets, task orientation, and external validation of skills. Understanding that the importance of specific competencies is viewed from different perspectives allows a more informed understanding of how CEOs in public parks and recreation perceive the importance of competencies.

Leisure motivation of older adults in relation to other adult life stages.

This cross-sectional study examined motivation for participation in physical activity at different adult life stages. T test analysis revealed no differences based on gender. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated differences based on life stage. Individuals in the 18–24 age range were highly motivated by competence mastery factors. In addition, participants older than age 65 were more highly motivated by social aspects of leisure. These results suggest that leisure professionals should seek to offer young adults options that help develop skills while older adult options should be focused less on competency and more on building social environments.

A Competency-Based Approach to Preparing Staff as Recreation and Youth Development Leaders.

Youth development professionals and parks and recreation professionals often are charged with providing services to youth. However, the approach of each can be quite different as recreation is a primary focus for recreation professionals and part of many services offered by youth development specialists. Despite the differences, these two groups of professionals can learn a great deal from each other. This article examines youth development and staff training with examples from the field and suggests how youth development professionals can learn from recreation professionals and vice versa. It suggests that parks and recreation professionals can strengthen degree programs, accreditation, certification, and continuing education by incorporating specific youth development competencies established by the National Collaboration for Youth. For their part, youth development professionals can learn from parks and recreation professionals how to enhance recreation programming as part of their services by gaining an understanding of program design, program and activity leadership, and administrative practices. With much debate over whether more education or more experience is a better path for those working with youth, the authors suggest that a combination of both will adhere to the quality of staff. Staff gain further knowledge and skill from academic preparation at the undergraduate and graduate levels, field-based training through jobs and internships, and continuing education courses specializing in youth development competencies and recreation-based competencies set within a youth development environment.

Establishing Cooperative Competency-Based Internships for Parks and Recreation Students.

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 4 • April 2007 A n undergraduate education in parks and recreation goes beyond completion of required general education courses and major courses that focus on such things as programming, facility management, or budgeting. It is assumed that students are not fully prepared for a full-time job until they go through a culminating internship. The classroom generally serves as an artifi cial lab for honing skills such as problem solving, decision making, customer service, or professionalism. The pinnacle of the degree, then, is the senior internship, in which students apply classroom-acquired skills in real-world settings, as required by accreditation standards (National Recreation and Park Association [NRPA], 2004). Internships serve several purposes, including (1) networking with professionals; (2) developing professionalism; (3) demonstrating, refi ning, and acquiring competencies; (4) working toward securing an entry-level position; and (5) bridging the gap between theory and practice (Stier, 2002). Nowhere in this list is “free labor,” that is, having interns doing work that staff does not want to do. Internships take considerable time and effort on the part of all parties: students, university supervisors, and agency supervisors. Internships require a tailor-made experience that is benefi cial to everyone involved, but most importantly to the student. Since internships are generally the culminating undergraduate experience, it is often assumed that students will be fully prepared to enter the workforce on completion of the internship. In supervising senior internships, one senses that senior interns are often unclear about their own professional strengths and weaknesses. They are similarly unclear about the expectations of agency professionals in terms of entry-level employee competencies. Students frequently express concerns about not being ready for their fi rst job or not knowing what skills they need to develop to give themselves a competitive advantage over other job applicants. Likewise, agency supervisors have asked how internship experiences can be improved to help interns develop in terms of specifi c job-related competencies. The purpose of this article is to present a cooperative competency-based internship as a way to improve internship experiences for everyone.

Video Assessment: A High Tech Approach to Teaching Leadership Skills in Recreation

Abstract Gaining leadership skills is an important yet daunting challenge for undergraduates since many have not had the opportunity to either lead participants in activities or examine leadership methods in an academic setting. In the classroom, students learn about the three phases of recreation leadership—preparation, priming the group, and delivery (Jordan, 2007). Oftentimes students then apply these principles in the classroom by leading activities for their peers. To increase learning, this leadership exercise is video-recorded, allowing students to assess their leadership skills using a pre-determined rubric. The result of the video assessment gives the instructor a lucid picture of the individual leader; permits the student-leader the opportunity to examine their leadership skills after the activity is completed; and provides future professionals with a better understanding of the three phases of recreation leadership.

Differences in Employee Perceptions of Entry-Level Competencies of NIRSA Campus Recreation Professionals

Core competencies are defined as skills, knowledge, and abilities that an employee needs to be successful in a job. There has been research examining competencies in a variety of professional recreation settings, including campus recreation. Research in campus recreation has confirmed the understanding of the NIRSA Core Competencies: program delivery; philosophy and theory; personal and professional qualities; legal liabilities and risk management; human resources management; facility planning, management, and design; business management; and research and evaluation. The purpose of this study was to examine competencies of entry-level employees in campus recreation departments. More specifically, this study investigated differences in perceptions of entry-level competencies between entry-level employees, mid-level, and upper-level employees in campus recreation departments. There were 466 campus recreation professionals that participated in the survey research and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests indicated that entry-level employees assign greater importance to specific competencies than employees higher up in the organization.

Step counts and self-reported physical activity among upper elementary school students vary with aerobic fitness

Summary Study aim: The purpose of this study was to examine if step-counts during PE and self-reported PA of elementary grade students varied based on the aerobic capacity. Material and methods: Ninety elementary physical education students, enrolled in the 4th and 5th grade, from one elementary school in the Midwestern USA participated. Each participant completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C), wore a pedometer in PE to measure steps taken, and completed the PACER aerobic fitness test. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between steps taken by students and PAQ-C score in predicting aerobic capacity as measured through the PACER test. Results: Average steps significantly predicted PACER laps (β = 0.48, p < 0.01), as did the PAQ-C (β = 0.28, p < 0.001). For males, average steps significantly predicted PACER laps (β = 0.48 p < 0.01), while the PAQ-C and the PACER beta coefficients were not statistically significant (β = 0.14, p = 0.30). Results for females indicated average steps significantly predicted PACER laps (β = 0.38, p < 0.01), as did the PAQ-C (β = 0.46, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Results from this study indicate that student steps taken during PE and self-report PA has an association with students’ completed PACER laps.