An assessment on Recreation Studies at Higher Education Level in Turkey

Having its founding roots in the sports field in Turkey, recreation studies have started to be observed since 2009 in higher education institutions providing education on tourism. Compared to the universities in abroad, recreation studies are quite new but also becoming more wide-spread especially in tourism field in Turkey. In the present study, it was focused on the development process of recreation studies at higher education level, and the structure of those studies in Turkey was examined, accordingly. Within the scope of the study, the current situation and development process of recreation studies in higher education institutions in Turkey were attempted to be explained via numeric indicators. In this regard, recreation departments both in tourism and physical education and sports fields were investigated, and post-graduate theses aiming at revealing the relationship of recreation studies with other disciplines were analyzed on the department basis. In line with the findings, an increase is observed in the number of departments providing education on recreation, the number of students studying in the field and the number of post-graduate theses. It is also understood from the findings that recreation is an interdisciplinary term considering the departments where post-graduate theses were prepared. The present study is expected to serve as a beneficial and compiling source for future studies on recreation