Back to the future: The potential relationship between leisure and education

There is a long, documented history of the relationships among leisure, recreation, and education dating back to Greek philosophy.Originally there was little differentiation among the terms as they were presented as a unified process for youth and human development. Over time, each of these fields has developed, and their definitions have been shaped and reshaped. Using some of the original conceptions from Aristotle and Plato, coupled with foundational premises suggested by Dewey, this article frames current youth development efforts in a historical context. The authors suggest that perhaps what the separate professions might define as high-quality leisure, recreation, and educational experiences still maintain links among each. They further suggest that planned experiences with increasing levels of coordination can strengthen these links and develop an "education-for-leisure" perspective among participating youth and the choices they make. Self-determination theory (SDT) refers to the autonomy in choosing a particular behavior or action. Youth development opportunities that make connections between the content of a regular school day and choice of activity during out-of-school time can inculcate self-determined leisure choices that are productive. Planned and intentional educational experiences expand the possibilities for productive recreational choices. This article therefore proposes a framework for increasing levels of coordination among educational and recreational entities so that participating youth can develop and adopt an education-for-leisure disposition.