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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.
Notes
1. The word student/s is used for ease of reference even though individuals moved from being students to graduates after completing the degree. Given the study’s educational context, individuals can be considered students irrespective of whether they are engaged in formal institution‐based learning or informal lifelong learning.
2. While all students commenced the course in the same year and were interviewed within a few weeks prior to or commencing Year 1; several students deferred their studies at different stages during the programme and therefore graduated in different years. Hence, with the exception of Year 1 interviews, the timing of Year 2, 3 and 8 interviews varied slightly to match students’ years of enrolment and graduation.