| Description |
This dissertation is comprised of five chapters, three of which are written in an article format and will later be submitted for publication. The remaining two chapters, Chapters 1 and 5, serve as introductory and summary chapters. This dissertation seeks to address conceptually, empirically, and from an evaluative standpoint how recreation settings can serve to promote self-regulation in youth. Recreation programs are ideally situated to support the development of self-regulation in youth. However, the role of self-regulation in recreation programs is one that has seen little review, making it an important topic to examine. Chapter 2 is a synthesis of the literature on self-regulation, youth development, and recreation. This chapter provides practitioners with leverage points on how to support self-regulation in youth. The findings from this synthesis suggest that practitioners can utilize some of the key elements of a recreation program to foster self-regulation. Specifically, practitioners should leverage fun and enjoyment, recreation activities that have developmental attributes, and interpersonal relationships. A discussion with recommendations for practice is presented. The third chapter examines the effects of a mentoring program on youth participants' self-regulation. An 8-week-long mentoring curriculum was implemented in a summer recreation program. The research was conducted with two matched sites from the same recreation agency, one to serve as the treatment site, the other to serve as a comparison site. Self-regulation scores were collected on a sample of youth who received mentoring (n = 29) and youth who did not receive mentoring (n = 35). A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was conducted. Results indicated that youth who received the mentoring showed a greater rate of change over time in self-regulation than the comparison site. These findings suggest that a structured mentoring program is an important mechanism with which to promote youths' self-regulation. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Chapter 4 presents a broader approach to program evaluation by providing an example of program implementation evaluation. This paper draws on the implementation of a youth mentoring program to illustrate the methods used to assess key implementation factors. A mixed methods approach was used to collect implementation data and included the use of a structured journal and interviews with program implementers and participants. The process of assessing program implementation is discussed, highlighting the challenges in conducting program implementation evaluation within a recreation setting. |
