Selected International Definitions about Young Students’ Leisure Time: Theoretical and Practical Background in Poland

Abstract

AbstractTerms such as recreation, leisure, functions of spare time, physical hygiene, mental hygiene or forms of spare time are among the issues discussed in the branch of educational science. The majority of educationalists are convinced that the issue of active leisure should form part of the core curriculum and should be an objective of education in kindergarten, in early schooling and in subsequent tiers of education. Some teaching aids (textbooks, workbooks and worksheets) for young children do reflect this process. It is worthwhile making this issue the subject of educational research in order to assess the achievements in this regard in a sub-discipline referred to as ‘early school pedagogy’. This article constitutes a preliminary theoretical and practical study to this end. It has been indicated that the students of classes I–III (depending on the attitude of parents) spends his free time in the following way: learning a foreign language, usually English sports; the other for boys and another for girls, reading books, watching television, playing on the computer, recreation with their parents, the practice of tourism, family shopping in supermarkets. It has been stated that physical activity is a popular form of recreation, which has been proven during a small-sample research project; this type of recreation meets numerous psycho-social needs; it facilitates adaptation to rapidly changing conditions of life by helping with stress management, illness prevention and fitness improvement; it shapes interpersonal relations by strengthening social integration and family ties; it also aids development of physical and artistic skills.