Special Issue "Responsible Leisure and Sustainable Human Development in Times of Change"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ángel De-Juanas Oliva
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Theory of Education and Social Pedagogy, National Distance Education University (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: leisure; social difficulties; time management; life trajectories; psychological wellbeing; youth and sustainability; social values
Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier García-Castilla
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Work, Faculty of Law, National University of Distance Education (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: leisure; educational technology; social exclusion; time management; life trajectories; social work education; youth and sustainability
Prof. Dr. María de los Ángeles Valdemoros-San-Emeterio
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Education, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, Spain
Interests: leisure; didactics; educational theory; adolescents; life trajectories; parents; pedagogy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Society is in a steady state of change. However, the recent pandemic events have entered us into an even greater state of uncertainty. The use and management of time have been proven and are proving to be key in dealing with the various problems associated with the confinement to which millions of people around the world have been subjected. We must be aware that the promotion of healthy and sustainable management of leisure and free time is one of the main socio-educational and psychological concerns in our times. Therefore, it is essential to retake and promote the social, educational, psychological, economic, and political value of leisure time and the activities conducted for this purpose, particularly all those positively impacting curbing the consequences of climate change. To ensure sustainable leisure, we must be able to analyze the causes that are leading society to a gradual and constant increase in life expectancy, an increase in leisure time, and a wide range of leisure activities that do not always lead to good practices in our society. Thus, this Special Issue aims to look for new research, besides recent studies, related to the following topics:

- Impact of leisure activities on education;

- Effect of leisure activities on climate change;

- Leisure time at school before, during, and after confinement;

- Leisure activities and leisure time in the networked society before and during the pandemic;

- Future challenges;

- The role of educational actors in leisure activities;

- Social responsibility, spaces, and relationships in leisure activities;

- Entrepreneurship and sustainable leisure activities;

- Methodologies in psychological and socio-educational intervention in different contexts and leisure activities;

- Studies on social policies and actions related to sustainable leisure;

- Technologies, social media, and innovative initiatives related to responsible leisure;

- Affective and intergenerational relationships for inclusive leisure;

- Socio-cultural diversity, transformation of gender relations, and leisure activities;

- Real protagonism of people and communities in the different spaces and areas related to leisure.

Manuscripts published in this Special Issue should contribute to a better understanding of developments concerning new advances, as well as apply the optimization of resources and the use and management of time. We aim to publish new proposals for leisure activities in different environments in favor of sustainable human development in these times of uncertainty.

Dr. Ángel De-Juanas Oliva
Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier García-Castilla
Prof. Dr. María de los Ángeles Valdemoros-San-Emeterio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable leisure
  • educational methodologies
  • leisure and free time activities
  • time management
  • climate change
  • social responsibility
  • entrepreneurship
  • digital technologies
  • values
  • social relations

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Leisure Spaces Shared by Grandparents and Grandchildren in Northern Spain
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9191; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169191 - 16 Aug 2021
Viewed by 287
Abstract
Spaces are the backbone of intergenerational leisure interests and experiences. The objective of this research was to examine the spaces used in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren and their link with the geographical area of residence. A cross-sectional telematic [...] Read more.
Spaces are the backbone of intergenerational leisure interests and experiences. The objective of this research was to examine the spaces used in the practice of leisure shared by grandparents and grandchildren and their link with the geographical area of residence. A cross-sectional telematic survey was carried out in which 357 grandparents with grandchildren between 6 and 12 years of age living in the northern part of Spain participated, and a descriptive study and inferential analysis of the data were carried out. The results revealed that a descriptive and inferential analysis was performed. The preferred space for intergenerational leisure was the home, especially for cultural activities such as board games, watching television, and reading. Associations, municipal spaces (sports centers, cultural centers, playrooms), and educational centers are more frequently used in the inland populations. Residing in urban towns and coastal municipalities implies a greater preference for the use of private leisure spaces. Living in provinces with a wetter, rainy climate is related to more shared leisure practice at home. The possible exceptionality of the current situation, within the framework of COVID-19, which may have led to significant alterations in the grandparent–grandchildren relationship, is discussed, with the consequent need to continue this line of inquiry. Full article
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Article
Main Cross-Cutting Training Contents of LEISURE and Free Time Schools: Acceptance of Groups Involved in the Leisure Time Instructor Courses
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8959; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168959 - 10 Aug 2021
Viewed by 400
Abstract
Time atomisation trends, leisure economy, and social and technological changes are causing a reframe of the leisure and free-time industry. This study aims to analyse the assessment of nine cross-cutting contents by the main agents involved in leisure-time instructor courses, and a group [...] Read more.
Time atomisation trends, leisure economy, and social and technological changes are causing a reframe of the leisure and free-time industry. This study aims to analyse the assessment of nine cross-cutting contents by the main agents involved in leisure-time instructor courses, and a group of young subjects in Spain. The study sample consisted of 1049 individuals, including management and technical teams, leisure and free-time schoolteachers, leisure and free-time school students (receiving the leisure-time instructor course), and finally a group of external young subjects. An ad hoc questionnaire was used, and the results were analysed through a correlational study using contingency tables and chi-square and Somers’ D statistics, Spearman’s correlation to determine within-population correlations, and the Kruskal–Wallis test to establish that these relationships were not randomly established. The results show that all the analysed agents valued the training proposal of cross-cutting contents as a consolidated item. This indicates that the nine cross-cutting contents should be maintained in these courses. Social Skills content was crowned as the defining content of this training, and there was dissonance in the ICT-Use content, which was not highly valued by main agents but was highly valued by young people, leading to the need to review this content to adjust it to the real needs of the young population. Full article
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Article
Inclusive Leisure as a Resource for Socio-Educational Intervention during the COVID-19 Pandemic with Care Leavers
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8851; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168851 - 07 Aug 2021
Viewed by 496
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction in leisure activities involving human contact. Social isolation has increased, particularly amongst vulnerable individuals with a fragile support network, as is the case with young people who have left care. The aim of the present [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction in leisure activities involving human contact. Social isolation has increased, particularly amongst vulnerable individuals with a fragile support network, as is the case with young people who have left care. The aim of the present research was to identify socio-educational proposals and interventions implemented during the pandemic pertaining to leisure as a form of promoting social inclusion of these young people. To this end, a qualitative study was carried out in which twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people who had left care system, in addition to fifteen interviews with professionals working with this group when delivering socio-educational interventions. Discourse analysis revealed that isolation due to the health crisis had greater repercussions in normalised settings in which leisure activity was reduced with this increasing risk of social inclusion amongst these young people. Proposals and experiences emerging from this setting provide evidence that socio-educational interventions targeting leisure facilitate social inclusion. In this sense, future lines of research are suggested to optimise the outcomes of socio-educational interventions within this group. Full article
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