"""Are there any activities?"" Black mothers' perceptions and choices pertaining to recreational activities for their children"

Hallmon, Augustus W

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/90500 Copy

Description

Title

"""Are there any activities?"" Black mothers' perceptions and choices pertaining to recreational activities for their children"

Author(s)

Hallmon, Augustus W

Issue Date

2016-04-04

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Barnett Morris, Lynn

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Barnett Morris, Lynn

Committee Member(s)

• Payne, Laura
• Jarrett, Robin L.
• Murray Nettles, Saundra

Department of Study

Recreation, Sport and Tourism

Discipline

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Positive Youth Development
• Racial Socialization
• Black Community
• Recreation
• Interpretative Description
• Qualitative

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand how Black mothers' beliefs and values guided their choices in out-of-school activities for their children. The study is based on interviews with several Black mothers, which attempted to uncover how Black mothers' lived experience played a role in choosing recreational activities for their children out-of-school free time. This results of this present study provides more context as to why certain activities are deemed by Black mothers more suitable recreational choices than others. Specifically, the findings suggest that there is a shift from what has previously been discussed in the literature about the Black community and what Black mothers stated in this study as to the influences on their recreation choices for their children. The interviews with Black mothers revealed several benefits they perceived to result from recreational activities for their children, as well as a number of influences that impacted their choices for activities, none of which is discussed directly in the previous literature. From this study, we have learned about what factors influence Black mothers' choices in out-of-school recreational activities for their children, the role of race within those choices, and the types of messages that Black mothers communicate to their sons and daughters. For this study, 11 Black mothers with a child/ren between the ages of 7-15 years of age were interviewed about their beliefs and values using an interpretative descriptive design. The interviews were semi-structured and lasted anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour. Black mothers were recruited until conceptual density was achieved in their responses. This study makes significant contributions to the leisure literature, because it is the first study that employs an interpretative descriptive approach in ascertaining Black mothers’ beliefs about choosing out-of-school activities with the intention of developing practical application of these findings. By adopting this approach, this study was able to explain some of the beliefs and values that Black mothers hold in choosing out-of-school recreational activities for their children. Furthermore, by providing various perspectives of Black mothers' ideal recreational choices for their children, what they currently enroll their child in, and what beliefs and values guide those choices, we are better able to understand the Black community’s out-of-school free time participation in recreation activities and what influences those choices. The results of this study also reveal that there exists significant cross-cultural miscommunication between recreational professionals and the minority communities that they are serving. This study, thus, highlights the importance of a cultural competency model in approaching recreation planning, marketing, staff training, etc. in efforts to bridge the gap between the expectations of the minority communities and the actual programs provided by recreation agencies. I argue that by adopting a cultural competency model, and keeping in mind the changing demographic influences in mind, recreation agencies will be able to better serve minority communities as they create and implement new programs. This approach, compared to solely focusing on diversity training, over time will contribute to stronger, more confident minority communities, and to a healthier, more integrated society as a whole.

Graduation Semester

2016-05

Type of Resource

text

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Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 Augustus W. Hallmon

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