A conservation instructor describes the educational values (for conservation students in a vocational center) of being involved in the construction of community day camp sites. (JT)

Describes the designs of 38 college physical education/recreation buildings, including the educational context and design goals. Includes photographs. (EV)

Increasing ethnic/racial diversity challenges parks and recreation (PR) planners. Research indicates enough group differences in recreational participation and preferences to suggest that racial/ethnic background is an important consideration in PR planning. Facilitated focus group discussions with community members can help planners understand…

Examines the impact of the 1981 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines for playground safety. Although compliance with the guidelines has not stemmed the rising number of accidents, it has enhanced awareness. This article offers an action plan which all communities can use to help alleviate liability problems. (SM)

Safe playgrounds are an essential mission for public park, recreation, education, and child care agencies. The article describes how to create safety programs and offers lists of safety program components, safety inspection steps, and preventive maintenance schedules. It also presents playground safety checklists and notes three available…

Discusses building an outdoor obstacle course with found materials to enhance static playground equipment and promote developmentally appropriate play activity for 3- to 8-year olds. Discusses developmental and learning goals of obstacle courses; includes photographs of building equipment and sample layouts. Encourages enlisting children to help…

Despite strong support for the concept of partnership, 93% of local parks and recreation directors surveyed in northeastern Ohio did not have current links with colleges and universities. Systemic forces such as institutional inertia, lack of partnership-building information, and insufficient or unclear motivational factors may play pivotal roles…

Examines what should be featured in an athletic facility, how to plan for the many different sports and activities that will be housed, and how to get the community involved. Areas addressed include planning for locker rooms and storage, flooring and lighting, building code adherence, spectator seating, building security, and outdoor recreation…

Undergraduate students in a learning laboratory course initially chose a species to study; researched that species' physical and behavioral characteristics; then learned skills necessary to select, operationalize, observe, and record animal behavior accurately. After their classroom preparation, students went to a local zoo to observe the behavior…

The New Zealand early childhood curriculum, "Te Whariki", views learning as occurring through reciprocal and responsive relationships with people, places and things. Relationships and communication are central to young children's learning. Communication, or dialogue, is in fact likely to be young children's principal learning mechanism…

This study was designed to develop the Service Quality Assessment Scale to evaluate the service quality of health-fitness clubs. Through a review of literature, field observations, interviews, modified application of the Delphi technique, and a pilot study, a preliminary scale with 46 items was formulated. The preliminary scale was administered to…

Aside from direct supervision at a recreational facility, safety signs, if designed properly, are the most effective approach to facility safety. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of various sign designs: (l) multiple concepts with text; (2) single concept with text; and (3) single concept with graphics. A discussion of…

The following papers are included in these proceedings: (1) "A Needs Assessment for Computer Applications" (Bruce Holley); (2) "The Home, School, Community Partnership through Community Education" (Jim Burgon); (3) "Building Level Coordinators--How They Spend Their Time" (Burton Olsen and Murray Meszaros); (4) "Programming and Financing the…

Twenty-five papers are presented in this monograph. Topics covered in this conference included: (1) recreational program administration and management; (2) recreational facilities; (3) non-credit instruction; (4) fitness; (5) sport clubs; (6) operation and program; (7) extramural sports; (8) professional development; (9) leadership; (10) outdoor…

Article focused on the outdoor environment of the school- the school yard and its often unexplored possibilities for learning. He described two projects where children were given a voice in what they would like to have on their school yards and the results of their choices. (Editor/RK)