n response to increases in overweight and obesity as well as insufficient levels of physical activity in the U.S. population, parks and recreation departments have a role to play in promoting ...opportunities for physical activity in communities. Multi-sector partnerships involving park and recreation departments, public health departments, and other community organizations have been identified as a key strategy toward increasing physical activity. However, little is known about organizational and personal factors in public park and recreation agencies that may be associated with health partnership participation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational and personal factors and health partnership participation among public park and recreation departments in North Carolina. A web-based survey was administered to 216 NC municipal and county public park and recreation agencies resulting in a 64% response rate. The results indicated that about a third of the departments participate in formal partnerships with health departments to promote physical activity. Over half of the departments participate in formal partnerships with other community organizations. Less than half of the departments participated in formal partnerships with schools. Results indicated that departments that served larger populations and had larger operating budgets were more likely to engage in partnerships with county health departments. Interestingly, the CPRP status of directors was positively associated with engaging in a partnership with faith based organizations. Departments that focused their efforts on minorities and obesity among teens were more likely to engage in partnerships with school systems and other community organizations. Departments that focused effort upon individuals with disabilities were more likely to engage in partnerships with YMCAs. Effort focused on other target populations, capital budget, number of years in current position, and years of experience were unrelated to partnership participation. Although some findings align with previous partnership research the study has implications for park and recreation administrators. For example, the positive association between professional certification (CPRP) of the department director and partnerships suggests that the certification process is beneficial to building strong relationships between the recreation and parks profession and other community partners. The study also suggests departments who serve smaller populations may need assistance in identifying partners and sustaining partnerships. Future research specific to public parks and recreation providers should examine organizational and personal managerial factors contributing to participation and non-participation in greater depth. Contributions, costs, benefits, and evaluation of partnerships must be better understood for the field to effectively promote physical activity and health. This line of research is increasingly important in a time of agency budget reductions and the persistence of the obesity pandemic.
Although school-sponsored extracurricular sport remains one of the most popular and effective ways to increase adolescents' physical activity levels, it is designed to include a small number of a ...school's elite athletes. Fewer schools offer intramural sports, and little is known about participation in these activities. The purpose of this study is to compare variations in how students participate in interscholastic and intramural school sport programs. Using a sample of seventh and eighth graders in two southeastern middle schools, results indicated that school sport participation levels were higher in intramurals than interscholastic sports for all studied categories of students except for White girls. In addition, students participating in intramural sports played nearly twice as many sports during the school year as students participating in interscholastic sports. Gender and race differences in school sport participation both confirm and contradict previous research and suggest that schools should consider cultural factors when planning sport programs for diverse populations of young people.
Although youth serving agencies exist in all communities, there has been a growing recognition that many are not meeting the needs of certain youth. In some cities this has led to the development of ...initiatives that specifically target youth not drawn to services currently offered. Thus, there is a growing movement to move youth workers into the field to work directly with youth who may be particularly susceptible to negative influences in their community and do not appear to be connected to youth serving agencies, rather than waiting for youth to take the initiative to join a program at a fixed site. One such example, the Roving Leader program, an outreach program run by the Park and Recreation Department, evolved in Austin and San Antonio and has since been adopted by other cities. This ethnographic study was conducted to gain an insight into the day-to-day operations of the Austin Roving Leader program. Specifically this study sought to understand the relationships developed between staff and participants by examining characteristics of Roving Leaders who appeared more successful than others. It also examined the role that the program and the Roving Leaders themselves had within a child's world. Finally it examined some of the challenges faced by the program. The main contribution of the program revolved around the relationships that Roving Leaders were able to develop with both children and families. The program's uniqueness was also rooted in its ability to be grounded in the needs of the community. Thus staff were able to identify rather than assume what those needs were. Furthermore, the flexibility and multi-faceted nature of the program allowed staff to work with kids in a variety of settings and with other members of their extended family which provided valuable context and insight. Important characteristics of Roving Leaders included having the commitment to make a difference and being flexible. However, risks to the long-term sustainability of the program and high attrition rates among staff threatened to undermine these contributions. It is suggested that programs adopt a contextual relationship-based perspective. Thus staff would be better able to reach youth isolated from resources in their community.
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