The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) offers its Swimming and Water Safety Program throughout Canada. The program is delivered by over 35 000 active instructors to over one million participants every year. The research in this thesis is part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary project in partnership with the CRC that examined ways to improve programming for cultural and ethnic minority populations. The thesis is written in the stand alone paper format. The first paper evaluates the program’s content, through a critical whiteness lens, to identify obstacles to offering effective programming to people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Based on these findings, I created and piloted a cultural safety training module for program instructors. The second paper then evaluates the effectiveness of this training module to provide recommendations for the CRC to optimize its management of diversity within its organization and aquatics facilities across the country. Collectively, this thesis bridges both understandings of Eurocanadian and whiteness discourses as well as critical whiteness and organizational theories to more holistically understand processes of inclusion, exclusion, accommodation, and the management of diversity in the context of a nation-wide Canadian sport and recreation program.

The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) offers its Swimming and Water Safety Program throughout Canada. The program is delivered by over 35 000 active instructors to over one million participants every year. The research in this thesis is part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary project in partnership with the CRC that examined ways to improve programming for cultural and ethnic minority populations. The thesis is written in the stand alone paper format. The first paper evaluates the program’s content, through a critical whiteness lens, to identify obstacles to offering effective programming to people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Based on these findings, I created and piloted a cultural safety training module for program instructors. The second paper then evaluates the effectiveness of this training module to provide recommendations for the CRC to optimize its management of diversity within its organization and aquatics facilities across the country. Collectively, this thesis bridges both understandings of Eurocanadian and whiteness discourses as well as critical whiteness and organizational theories to more holistically understand processes of inclusion, exclusion, accommodation, and the management of diversity in the context of a nation-wide Canadian sport and recreation program.

Outside Looking In (OLI) is a youth development through recreation program for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, fieldnotes, and archival documents, in this thesis I examine OLI staff and Board members’ description of OLI’s creation and implementation processes. This thesis is written in the stand alone format and is comprised of two papers. The first paper shows that OLI staff and Board members describe OLI’s creation and implementation as relatively predetermined. At the same time, however, OLI incorporates collaborative approaches to various aspects of program design. While OLI facilitates collaborative processes that can contribute to Aboriginal self-determination, Eurocentric influences and broader colonial forces make efforts to achieve Aboriginal self-determination challenging. The second paper illustrates that OLI’s approach to Aboriginal youth development through recreation creates a hybrid third space that challenges colonial discourses. Together, this thesis not only describes the creation and implementation processes of a youth development through recreation program for Aboriginal peoples, but also how the tensions associated with Aboriginal self-determination and colonial relations of power can permeate such programs.

Outside Looking In (OLI) is a youth development through recreation program for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, fieldnotes, and archival documents, in this thesis I examine OLI staff and Board members’ description of OLI’s creation and implementation processes. This thesis is written in the stand alone format and is comprised of two papers. The first paper shows that OLI staff and Board members describe OLI’s creation and implementation as relatively predetermined. At the same time, however, OLI incorporates collaborative approaches to various aspects of program design. While OLI facilitates collaborative processes that can contribute to Aboriginal self-determination, Eurocentric influences and broader colonial forces make efforts to achieve Aboriginal self-determination challenging. The second paper illustrates that OLI’s approach to Aboriginal youth development through recreation creates a hybrid third space that challenges colonial discourses. Together, this thesis not only describes the creation and implementation processes of a youth development through recreation program for Aboriginal peoples, but also how the tensions associated with Aboriginal self-determination and colonial relations of power can permeate such programs.

Outside Looking In (OLI) is a youth development through recreation program for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, fieldnotes, and archival documents, in this thesis I examine OLI staff and Board members’ description of OLI’s creation and implementation processes. This thesis is written in the stand alone format and is comprised of two papers. The first paper shows that OLI staff and Board members describe OLI’s creation and implementation as relatively predetermined. At the same time, however, OLI incorporates collaborative approaches to various aspects of program design. While OLI facilitates collaborative processes that can contribute to Aboriginal self-determination, Eurocentric influences and broader colonial forces make efforts to achieve Aboriginal self-determination challenging. The second paper illustrates that OLI’s approach to Aboriginal youth development through recreation creates a hybrid third space that challenges colonial discourses. Together, this thesis not only describes the creation and implementation processes of a youth development through recreation program for Aboriginal peoples, but also how the tensions associated with Aboriginal self-determination and colonial relations of power can permeate such programs.

The purpose of the investigation was to determine if participant attitudes toward recreation program elements varied significantly according to racial origin of the individual. The subjects were adults involved in structured and unstructured recreation programs at six community recreation centers operated by the Dallas Recreation Department. The chi-square test was used to determine significance of the difference among participant attitudes. The results of the investigation revealed a statistically significant difference among the three racial groups with regard to their attitudes toward various program elements. Conclusions were that participants from these three racial groups appear to be more different than alike in their attitude toward recreation programming.