Title: Teaching the game of geocaching as a leisure activity at elementary schools Objectives: The objective of this thesis is to promote the game of geocaching as an organised school activity for pupils of upper primary schools. To offer participants the activity they will learn to use in their free time. Methods: The research sample consisted of 32 students from upper primary schools in Prague 4 and Prague 9. There was a pedagogical worker in each group who was helping the students with four theoretical and practical lessons for one month. A questionnaire survey and interview with teachers were used as methods for obtaining data. The questionnaire was presented to the participants before the start of the project and then again one month after its completion. The interview with teachers was carried out only after the intervention. Results: The results of this thesis show that the project participants would like to participate in the game of geocaching in the future. Overall, about a quarter of those surveyed go in for geocaching in their free time, but only 6 % of them were devoted to it after the intervention. Due to the effect of the intervention programme, no demonstrable change of the measured values, obtained from the participants after the project completion, has occurred. Keywords: GPS,...

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To try to determine what the interests of boys and girls in the seventh grade are and how these interests are used in their school work, or are not used, is the purpose of this study.

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In my essay, I explore the dilemma how I respond to the various hobbies that children carry with them to preschool. I want to be able to allow every child to take part of their hobbies at preschool, but I still get stuck in accepting some hobbies, while I deny others. In my stories, I focus on two situations where I have a hard time accepting the children's hobbies, because I think they interfer with preschool routine. Through my questions, I then go on to examine why I react like this, and how I could act differently towards these children. My method is to write a scientific essay, where I explore my own experience through writing, and reflect on my dilemma by looking at it from different angles. I set out from a hermeneutic perspective, where Hans-George Gadamer's theories on preconceptions and the horizon of understanding form a base for my reflections. I've chosen to explore two different approaches that I could take in my response towards the children. One is based on Gert Biesta's thoughts on a pedagogy of interruption, which is about interrupting the children in what they are doing, to make them take a break from their repetitive behaviour and give them new ways to access their hobbies. The other approach departs from Carina Fast's studies on literacy and the potential children have to learn through popular culture, and where I try to base my actions on what they children are currently doing, to elaborate on that instead. I try to apply both of these approaches on my stories, and reflect on how they would work here and what this could lead to. I feel that no two situations are the same and that I can't tell for sure that a certain method is going to work every time, thus I will have to see each and every situation for what it is and try different approaches each time.

Visant « les élèves d’origine modeste », particulièrement les élèves venant d’établissements d’éducation prioritaire et de quartiers de la politique de la ville, le dispositif des internats d'excellence, issu du Plan Espoir Banlieues (2008), se donne pour but de promouvoir l’égalité des chances et de favoriser la mixité sociale au sein des établissements. Cette thèse propose une analyse qualitative de ce dispositif à partir de l'expérience adolescente. Grâce à un travail de terrain (observations, entretiens, questionnaires et analyse des dossiers scolaires) réalisé pendant deux ans dans un internat d'excellence, il sera question de montrer comment les adolescents, considérés comme des acteurs, se réapproprient les différents objectifs du dispositif. Nous réfléchirons ainsi à ce que le dispositif fait à l'expérience adolescente : les adolescents modifient leur sociabilité, leurs loisirs et leur travail scolaire, mais pas toujours comme le dispositif l'aurait espéré. Dans le même temps, nous verrons alors que l'expérience adolescente interroge le dispositif et interpelle sur ses zones d'ombre. / Intended for « pupils of disadvantaged backgrounds », especially pupils from educational priority zones and underprivileged urban areas, the dispositif of internats d’excellence (Boarding schools for excellence), created by the Plan « Espoir banlieues » (2008), aims at promoting equality of opportunities and social diversity within school structures. This thesis offers a sociological qualitative analysis of this dispositif through teenage experience. By means of fieldwork (observations, interviews, questionnaires and analysis of schoolrecords) in one internat d’excellence during two years, we will show how teenagers, considered as actors, appropriate the different objectives of the dispositif. We will consider how the dispositif affects teenage experience : teenagers change their sociability, their hobbies and their schoolwork, but not always in the way planned by the dispositif. At the same time, we will see that teenage experience questions the dispositif and reveals its grey areas.

Thesis (MA(VA))--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates adults who play. Through my investigation, I discovered that play for adults is not distraction or a waste of time as is generally accepted. It is a basic need and necessary for survival. Although there are different forms of play, such as sport matches, hobbies and gambling, I specifically focus on play where objects can be created. This type of play is inherently more creative and stimulates lateral thinking. In play there is a freedom and safe environment which is not necessarily tied to reality. At the same time it is a self-reflective discovery process which stimulates brain activity. In my practice I use plastic bags as an accessible and malleable material to design and make contemporary jewellery. It is a way to act as an active agent in the world, rather than a passive consumer. The discussion of my art pieces forms the primary research of the thesis and is supported by theoretical research. In the process of making a deeper understanding and knowledge is extracted, which can be established through ritual play. New connections are formed in the brain and contrasting ideas can be linked which would otherwise not have happened. Play has value because it does not only stay in ‘play state’. It can spill over to the confrontation, questioning and uniting of the sociological, economical, cultural and political contrasts in my immediate South African environment. Consequently play contributes to our ability to adapt, process everyday contradictions (such as social inequality) and find creative solutions. Furthermore, it possesses the potential to contribute to our social wellbeing, happiness, trust, the will to share and to live empathetically. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis handel oor volwassenes wat speel. Deur my ondersoek ontdek ek dat spel vir volwassenes nie afleiding of ʼn mors van tyd is soos algemeen aanvaar word nie. Dit is ʼn behoefte en noodsaaklik vir oorlewing. Alhoewel daar verskillende vorme van spel is, soos byvoorbeeld sportkragmetings, stokperdjies, dobbelary, fokus ek spesifiek op spel waar objekte gemaak word. Dié tipe spel is inherent kreatief en stimuleer laterale denke. In spel is daar is ʼn vryheid en veilige ruimte wat nie met die werklikheid verenig hoef te word nie, maar terselfdertyd is dit ʼn self-refleksiewe ontdekkingsproses wat breinaktiwiteite verhoog. In my praktyk maak ek gebruik van plastieksakke as toeganklike en vervormbare materiaal om kontemporêre juweliersware te ontwerp en te maak. Dit is ’n manier om as ʼn aktiewe agent in die wêreld op te tree, eerder as ’n passiewe verbruiker. Die bespreking van my kunswerke vorm die primêre navorsing van die tesis en word ondersteun deur teoretiese navorsing. In die maakproses word daar ʼn dieper begrip en kennis ontgin wat vasgelê kan word deur rituele spel. Nuwe konneksies word in die brein gevorm en kontrasterende idees kan verbind word wat nie andersins sou plaasvind nie. Spel is waardevol omdat dit nie net in die ‘spel toestand’ bly nie. Dit kan oorspoel na die konfrontasie, bevraagtekening en vereniging van sosiologiese, ekonomiese, kulturele en politiese kontraste in my onmiddellike Suid-Afrikaanse omgewing. Gevolglik dra spel by tot ons vermoë om aan te pas, alledaagse teenstrydighede (soos sosiale ongelykheid) te verwerk en kreatiewe oplossings te vind. Dit besit verder die potensiaal om by te dra tot ons sosiale welstand, gelukkigheid, vertroue, die wil om te deel en empaties te lewe.

"The purpose of this study was to determine the percent of boys who had hobbies; what influenced their choice of hobbies; what types of hobbies were selected; what were their recreational, educational, and vocational values; and what were their environmental influences...One hundred and ninety-eight questionnaires were filed out in the schools that were in the high economic districts, one hundred ninety-one in the medium districts, and one hundred ninety-seven in the low districts. This made a total of five hundred and sixty-five questionnaires used in the analysis... Comparisons and analyses of all the groups were made by means of numbers, percentages, and averages. "-- leaves 3,7

The diploma thesis deals with the education and traditions in the municipality of Horní Střítež in a comprehensive context. It presents an image of rural life and factors influencing the development of the village and contemporary life of the residents. Alongside principal education concepts, the thesis draws on an extensive context of findings from other academic disciplines. The first part of the thesis describes the historical context of the events that shaped the development of the municipality. Chapters mapping, in more detail, the current events, with particular emphasis on the role of education in the rural family and in the community, the school system and leisure time follow, highlighting the benefits of the traditional conception of life in the country. Theoretical and methodological aspects as well as the ethical aspect are relevant in the application of the qualitative research method. Key words: Education, traditions, leisure time, hobbies, socialisation, family, community, cooperation, participation.

Occupational engagement among older people is important to investigate as older people are the fastest growing segment in our society, and because occupational engagement is viewed within occupational therapy as one of the basic premises for health. Three perspectives of engagement are highlighted in this thesis: evaluation of occupational engagement, the repertoire of occupational engagement, and finally, the relation between occupational engagement and life satisfaction. The overall aim of this thesis was to study aspects of occupational engagement among older people, with a special focus on evaluation of the experiences of an occupation-based group programme, evaluation of leisure, the leisure repertoire, and the relation between occupational engagement and life satisfaction. The thesis is comprised of four studies which all contribute in different ways to an increasing understanding of occupational engagement among older people. In the first study (Study I), three older persons participated in a group activity programme and were interviewed about their experiences of occupational engagement. The qualitative interviews were done with each participant after each group session, in total 15 interviews. The other three studies (Studies II-IV) were based on a subgroup of a population studied in a cross-sectional population-based study, the Umeå 85+ study. Very old people with an MMSE score of 20 or more were included in Studies II, III, and IV (n=156). During home visits, they were interviewed about their occupational engagement (ADL and leisure) and their life satisfaction. The qualitative interviews analysed using a Grounded theory approach, revealed two different dimensions of experiences while engaged in a group programme. The participants described experiences of activation, with a creative force and a place for learning, but also experiences of transformation with reflection, adaptation, and finally, a personal synthesis. Evaluation of occupational engagement through measurement using the modified NPS Interest Checklist (MNPS) was made possible using Rasch analysis. The results revealed preliminary evidence for internal scale validity and person response validity. Scale and person reliability were Rasch equivalents of Cronbach alpha of .98 for items and .66 to .75 for persons, respectively. In their leisure repertoire, very old people were more likely to endorse Social and Cultural activities and least likely to endorse Ballgames and Equipment sport. Traditional gender differences and some differences between older persons in rural versus urban areas and between persons with different cognitive levels were also found. Finally, significant correlations were found between life satisfaction and both engagement in ADL (r =.31) and engagement in leisure (r =.34) among very old people. A forced entry regression revealed that both variables together explained slightly more (12.4%) than leisure alone (11.2%). As a conclusion and in relation to evaluation of occupational engagement during therapy, the experiences of engagement are described by the respondents from both a perspective of action and a perspective of inner reflection, and together they might support the developmental process among older people. Through using Rasch analysis, it was possible to convert ordinal data into linear measures and also to organize leisure occupations into a hierarchical repertoire of engagement. This repertoire gives further understanding for specific tasks and about the general relation between leisure dimensions. Finally, the contribution of occupational engagement to life satisfaction is likely essential, but explains only about 12% of total life satisfaction among very old people.