A Review of Campus Recreation and Sport-Based Experience Literature in Higher Education Contexts

Abstract

This rapid review was conducted to synthesize the empirical research related to campus recreation participatory experiences that was published between 2011 and 2021. To carry out the review, three databases (SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Scopus) were systematically searched for peer reviewed empirical literature related to campus recreation participatory sport experiences. The results were then screened with predetermined criteria and 180 studies remained for data extraction. Data was extracted and trends were identified for discussion. When comparing the results to a similar review conducted on literature published between 1998–2010 (cf. Barcelona & Sweeney, 2012), the results of the reveal that the use of theory is becoming increasingly prevalent as scholars are more regularly providing theoretical frameworks, key constructs and discussing scholarly contributions. The review also revealed limitations such as inconsistencies with measurement and that most studies have been conducted at single institutions, which should both be addressed in future research.

“Rec Sports Was So Good for Me”: How College Graduates Developed Marketable Skills as Recreational Sports Student Employees

“…This study was limited and delimited in several ways. A primary limitation of this study was the single institutional context, as other recreational sports studies have (Wilson, 2022). However, the researchers were very familiar with the institutional and geographic context of the institution.…”

“…Here, research has found that on-campus employment is a critical catalyst for career readiness for college students (Astin, 1993; Carr, 2005; Kuh, 2009), yet the field of collegiate recreation has not explored this topic in detail. Wilson's (2022) review of recreational sports scholarship revealed that few empirical articles focus on how collegiate recreation facilitates career readiness. To date, only four studies (Carr, 2005; Burnett, 2021; McFadden & Wallace-Carr, 2015) have focused on how recreational sports student employees develop workplace competencies.…”