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Outdoor education and sport sociology researchers have associated participation in outdoor recreation with physical and mental health wellbeing, reduced anxiety, increased social participation, and increased cultural exchange. The outdoor environment can benefit both the recruitment and wellbeing of students, yet international student expectations and experiences of Canadian outdoor recreation remain largely unexplored in research. An understanding of international student expectations and experiences is important, as unmet expectations and negative initial experiences can lead to poor student integration and attrition. This paper draws on interdisciplinary fields to investigate the unique benefits of outdoor recreation in facilitating international student transitions to new study environments. Drawing on their findings, the researchers offer recommendations to universities to promote, adapt, and enhance the use of outdoor recreation to support international students on their campuses.

Outdoor adventure education programs often feature common elements, such as backcountry settings, small group sizes, and different levels of challenges. A mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP), offered at a Canadian university for nearly 50 years, involved a three- to four-day wilderness canoe excursion. Research related to outdoor orientation programs offered at universities has identified a number of positive outcomes related to personal growth, sense of belonging, and improved academic performance. However, little is known about longer-term impacts, and how alumni perceive the experience years later. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by providing insight into alumnis' perspectives of the importance of their participation in a MOEP. This mixed methods study comprised data collection using an online self-report questionnaire with a combination of closed- and open-ended questions to explore the importance of the MOEP as a student, and in life after graduation. Data analysis involved: (1) two thematic analyses of the reasons for importance of the MOEP; and (2) two regression analyses using visual analogue scales of MOEP importance. There were 167 respondents, and the majority provided positive reflections of the importance of their experiences that occurred from 1969 to 2016. Group bonding, learning, lifestyle, nature, challenge, memories, enjoyment, leadership, growth, confidence, and career were identified as themes in participant responses. Logistic regression analysis revealed group bonding (p = 0.003) to be significantly important during life as a student, while being francophone (p = 0.033) and lifestyle (p = 0.000) were significantly important in life after graduation.

International students choosing, Canadian universities must negotiate their own cultural values as they adapt, or acculturate, to the new cultural environment. Physical activity has many benefits for newcomers; however, its role in acculturation had not been examined. Through a culturally-sensitive protocol, framed in interpretive phenomenology, the researchers examined how physical activity was used as an expression of acculturation by Chinese students to relate to their home culture and to the new Canadian host culture. Fourteen Chinese students from a mid-size university in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, participated in the study Four themes emerged: (a) communicating, (b) Canadian environment, (c) belonging, and (d) keeping, fit and having fun. The researchers found that participation in physical activity often promoted integration in the new community. Three main recommendations can address belonging on Canadian campuses; (a) increase accessibility to information and activities, (b) address on-campus housing, issues, and (c) ease pre-determined grouping, for the purpose of engaging, in sport., Amidst the globalization of Canadian universities is an ever-expanding population of international students. Internationalization and international recruitment has opened Canadian university campuses to diverse student populations. According to the Association [...]

With the current global "inactivity crisis" and scarcity of resources, public organizations in the sport and physical activity context require guidance for successful and responsible partnering with private organizations. There is often a high level of support for building partnerships; however, clarification is needed regarding partnership needs, roles, and management. The term "partnership" has been applied to various relationships between organizations, varying in type, goals, and strengths, including the nature of the financial contributions involved via sponsorship and donation type linkages. The current paper adopts the view that it is more appropriate to visualize partnerships on a continuum, varying in strength of partnership (i.e., commitment and longevity of the partnership) and level of influence on the other partner's goals, objectives, and actions. In the sport and physical activity contexts, public-private partnerships (P3s) across multiple sectors have pooled financial, product, and human resources to create sporting facilities, events, products, and programs. Examples of public partners in P3s include: ParticipACTION, Right to Play, and Agita Mundo, while private partners include Nike, Coca-Cola, Scotiabank, Barclays, and many more. The permutations and combinations of P3s that exist are vast. For example, individual athletes are also active in partnerships as part of branding efforts or driving partnerships through their own foundations. The authors analyzed related literature and examples of P3s in practice and thickened the analysis with expert interviews leading to the creation of a partnership protocol. The protocol details eight specific principles required related to the creation, implementation, management, and evaluation of P3s. These are: (i) partner needs, ii) community stakeholders, (iii) communication strategies, (iv) advantages/disadvantages, (v) management, (vi) monitoring and evaluating, (vii) learning from the past, and finally, (viii) building for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]