Exploring Work-Life Balance for Recreation and Leisure Professionals Enrolled in an Undergraduate Degree Pathway Program

Many recreation and leisure professionals are looking for opportunities to upgrade their skills and knowledge in the context of their work. For some professionals that involves returning to post-secondary education. Yet, most undergraduate degree programs are designed in formats for students who are assumed to have little prior professional experience, knowledge, and skills and who do not work full-time. As such, in 2016, Brock University in partnership with Centennial College, launched a university degree pathway program for recreation and leisure professionals. In this paper we explore experiences of recreation and leisure professionals enrolled in the degree pathway program. The findings highlight how students navigated (and attempted to balance) full-time studies while managing competing priorities and responsibilities in their personal and professional lives. In the discussion, we share implications of this research for curriculum developers interested in designing post-secondary programs for diverse students.