The diploma thesis studies the evolution of the national structure of players in the highest Czech basketball league, the `Extraliga{\crq}, between seasons 1998/1999 and 2008/2009. This research is based on analysis of technical registers from individual games. The author splits the studied sample of players into three groups (Czech players aged 20+, foreign players and Czech players below 20 years of age) and evaluates statistical characteristics by virtue of the comparative method. These include the number of players, minutes played, points scored and a coefficient of usefulness. The results confirm the expected increase of the number of foreign players as well as their continuously growing impact on the game. In contrast to this, the trend of participation and usefulness of Czech players under 20 years is shown to be diminishing. Both the hypotheses of the thesis are therefore proven valid. The presented work further utilizes the analysis of references in several directions, namely it points to existing basketball youth centres in the Czech Republic, warns against the diminishing member base of this sport, highlights the change in trend of evolution of imposed limits on the number of foreign players in Extraliga and finally discusses some of the current issues of Czech basketball.

The next part of this thesis deals with the development of children and youth participation, it explains the term 'participation', brings up the specification and importance of youth participation and it deals with the range of participative pedagogy as well. The second part enquires into leisure time centres. The term 'leisure time' is explained in conection with children and youth and conditions and activities of these centres are discussed especially aming at children and youth centres. A function of after-school education is mentioned and the issue of using free time is dealt with in such a way that its utilization can support their active participation. The final part discusses functioning of participation in assorted children and youth centres in South Bohemia. The survey is focused on the examination of grades and forms of participation in a hobby group.

The thesis deals with educational methods as a central element of the educational process as well as one of the original concepts of work in the Salesian youth centres from the standpoint of leisure studies. It is based on a qualitative research conceived as a content analysis of project documents of eight chosen youth centres. In the introduction, the concepts used are delimited, the problematics of Salesian youth centres in the Czech Republic and of educational methods practised there is theoretically presented. In the second part, the object, methods, process and results of the research are described. The other three parts are a synthesis of the knowledge gained in the analysis of the texts, complemented with information from other documents. These three parts describe thoroughly the concepts of education in Salesian youth centres (subjects, objectives, means, organisation forms and methods of education). In the crucial fifth part, treating educational methods, the lack of due attention to the educational methods in the examined documents is noticed.

The presented work deals with social-pedagogy approaches in the issue-based youth work centres. The first part attends to the analysis of the idea {\clqq}unattached youth``. It takes aspect of the lifestyle sociology, the social education and the developmental psychology. The viewed group of the unattached youth is presented as a group of the adolescents; they have problems with the coping strategies in the post-modern society. The second part of the work takes their problems as a starting-point for the next reflec-tion. It determines criteria of the effective youth work dealing with the unattached youth. Finally the third applied part evaluates the four current types of the issue-based youth work: the German open youth work (Offene Kinder- und Jugendarbeit), the British youth work, the Czech issue-based youth work centres and the Czech open youth centres. The evaluation is focused on the criteria of the effective youth work dealing with the unat-tached youth; we derived in the second part. Overall the main aim of this work is to point out the effective issue-based youth work has to take into account the social and developmental needs of the target group.