Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

A major problem in today's parks and recreation departments is the selection of qualified leaders. The magnitude and quality of recreation programs is apparently directly related to leadership. Information pertaining to present qualifications of recreation leadership is important in selecting or utilizing future recreational leaders.

This thesis suggests that architectural interventions can aid in reintegrating an ethos of interconnectedness between recreationists and nature, as well as between recreationists and community, by emphasizing and intertwining natural forces and cultural flows. The analogy of a skier in motion, interacting with the landscape and gravity, inspires architectural moves. Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, a prime example of a mountain community that has experienced a shift to corporate-based skiing, is the location for this exploration.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / George Ellsworth Johnson, a modest, well-educated man, was an educator and recreation administrator whose professional and intellectual life spanned the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was the first faculty member in the Play and Recreation program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. His ideas about play and education have never before been fully discussed in published literature addressing the history of play, play theory, and recreation. Johnson believed that play has an important role in the education of children. He believed in equal rights and opportunities for girls and women in sports and play. He visited America's southwest to study the recreational practices of Native Americans. Johnson was critical of popular play theories, yet never produced a coherent, scientifically-based theory of his own. His beliefs and ideas reflect the teachings of Plato, William James, and John Dewey. What is important about Johnson is not his just his critique of play theory, but his dedication to promoting play opportunities as a public trust consistent with democratic ideals. Johnson argued that of what children need to be taught, democratic ideals and civic virtue are better learned through play. The playground is no less important than the classroom as the place for moral training. In Johnson's view, play is immensely important to all human life; it is essential to the physical and mental development of children. The play values cherished by Johnson might well prompt those entrusted with play and recreation today to rethink the fundamental values of their work. Why there has been so little attention to Johnson in the written histories of play in America, given his contributions, is hard to explain. Although he was exposed to the racist political and philosophical thought commonly accepted by the NeoDarwinists, he never accepted the racist theories of his day. This study concerns the contributions of one of the pioneers of the American playground movement. / 2031-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the public recreation of Denton under the present administrative setup is serving the needs of the citizenship of Denton. Various agencies affording recreation for their own members or sponsoring recreation activities affecting other inhabitants of Denton were surveyed to determine the present status of administration of public recreation in Denton. The results of the survey were compared with standards set up by the National Recreation Association for cities the size of Denton. From a comparison of the present status and the standards, an effort was made to formulate a basis of administration that would be sound and business-like, well co-ordinated, and consistent with good governmental practice.

For nearly a quarter-century, from 1940 through 1963, Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) mounted annual summer seasons of musical theatre in Malkin Bowl, a converted bandshell in Stanley Park. By the early 1950s, TUTS, now a fully-professional company, had become an enormous popular and financial success, attracting crowds of up to 25,000 per week. For various reasons, the company closed down in 1963, yet so ingrained in Vancouver's cultural fabric had TUTS become, that in 1980 an amateur organization re-appropriated the name for its own summer musical productions in Malkin Bowl. Despite its acknowledged importance in Canadian theatre history, very little research has been devoted to this remarkable company. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to document the early history of TUTS, in particular the years 1940 through 1949 when TUTS was directly funded by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and dominated by the colourful, if somewhat erratic, personality of its general manager, Gordon Hilker. Material for the thesis was obtained primarily through sources located at the City of Vancouver Archives, supplemented by newspaper clippings and by personal interviews. Archival matter included programs, handbills, photographs, and Park Board records, especially minute books and correspondence files. This study will examine the circumstances leading to the creation and subsequent development of TUTS as a civic enterprise. Although the work is designed to be comprehensive, certain topics receive special attention: the nature of the programming; the evolution and training of Canadian talent; the development of a professional company; political factionalism in the elected Park Board; and the relationship between Hilker and the Park Board which varied from mutual admiration to mutual loathing. Particularly analyzed are the pivotal events of 1949 that resulted in a complete change of ownership and management.

For nearly a quarter-century, from 1940 through 1963, Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) mounted annual summer seasons of musical theatre in Malkin Bowl, a converted bandshell in Stanley Park. By the early 1950s, TUTS, now a fully-professional company, had become an enormous popular and financial success, attracting crowds of up to 25,000 per week. For various reasons, the company closed down in 1963, yet so ingrained in Vancouver's cultural fabric had TUTS become, that in 1980 an amateur organization re-appropriated the name for its own summer musical productions in Malkin Bowl. Despite its acknowledged importance in Canadian theatre history, very little research has been devoted to this remarkable company. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to document the early history of TUTS, in particular the years 1940 through 1949 when TUTS was directly funded by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and dominated by the colourful, if somewhat erratic, personality of its general manager, Gordon Hilker. Material for the thesis was obtained primarily through sources located at the City of Vancouver Archives, supplemented by newspaper clippings and by personal interviews. Archival matter included programs, handbills, photographs, and Park Board records, especially minute books and correspondence files. This study will examine the circumstances leading to the creation and subsequent development of TUTS as a civic enterprise. Although the work is designed to be comprehensive, certain topics receive special attention: the nature of the programming; the evolution and training of Canadian talent; the development of a professional company; political factionalism in the elected Park Board; and the relationship between Hilker and the Park Board which varied from mutual admiration to mutual loathing. Particularly analyzed are the pivotal events of 1949 that resulted in a complete change of ownership and management. / Arts, Faculty of / Theatre and Film, Department of / Graduate