A longitudinal study of changeability in leisure meanings

Abstract

Leisure meanings can remain stable and change over time. However, knowledge about the operation of meanings is generally limited to a single point in time or retrospective findings generated from cross-sectional research. This paper reports a longitudinal panel study that used a continuum of developmentally related meanings to investigate characteristics of change for a group of 35 Australian students as they progressed through a three-year leisure studies programme and then five years after graduation. Results showed approximately two-thirds of students changed meanings during the study and that meanings evolved in a logical progression from less to more developed understandings. The amount of change was relatively small, occurred early in the programme or after graduation and was more evident for younger students with less developed meanings. Sources of change were related to educational and personal contingencies. The paper concludes by presenting several propositions about changeability in meanings and suggesting implications for further research. Keywords: longitudinal research; leisure; meanings; epistemic development; change