The Ways Of Experiencing Leisure: Leisure Meanings Of Undergraduate Students

The aim of the study is to present the results of a study examining the different ways of experiencing the leisure meanings of the undergraduate students studying in a state University in Turkey. Leisure Meanings Inventory (LMI) was used to collect data which was developed by Schulz and Watkins (2007). The first part was comprised of 23 statements related to meanings of leisure. These meanings of leisure included four dimensions which were passing time, exercising choice, escaping pressure, and achieving fulfillment. In the second part of the questionnaire, students were asked to indicate their demographic characteristics (age, gender, education level). A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed, 265 of which were completely answered, resulting in a return rate of 88 percent. According to the results, the sample profile indicates the gender of respondents is dominated by females (52%) and 40% were aged between 21-22 years old. The results of the study revealed that 34% of the participants were freshmen; 22% of them were sophomore and about 21% of the participants were junior, and about 22% of the participants were senior. It was also revealed that the most experienced meaning of leisure was escaping pressure (Mean=4.00; SD=0.91). Passing time (Mean: 3.98; SD=1.01) had the second highest mean scores whereas achieving fulfillment (Mean: 3.89; SD=0.91) and exercising choice (Mean: 3.81; SD=1.01) had the lowest mean scores in regard to experienced meaning of leisure by the undergraduate students. Overall, when all meanings of leisure are evaluated together, escaping pressure and stresses of daily life come to the fore as the most experienced way of leisure.