Leandra A. Bedini

Dr. Bedini is a Professor and Director of Graduate Study in the Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management. Her work focuses on therapeutic and special recreation services. She is NCTRC certified and has worked as a recreation therapist with children and youth with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities in hospital, school, and community recreation settings. She is the author of several book chapters and her research has been published in the Therapeutic Recreation Journal, Annual in Therapeutic Recreation, Leisure Sciences, Leisure Studies, SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education, Tourism Management, Parks and Recreation, and Journal of Parks and Recreation Administration. She was recognized in North Carolina as Outstanding Educator in Therapeutic Recreation. She has also been the recipient of the Professional Research Award from the National Therapeutic Recreation Society and the Scholarly Achievement Award from the American Therapeutic Recreation Association. Dr. Bedini' research interests include the leisure caregivers of older adults, attitudes toward people with disabilities, and women with disabilities.

There are 34 included publications by Leandra A. Bedini :

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
Addressing leisure barriers for caregivers of older adults: A model leisure wellness program 1999 3430 Approximately 18 million Americans care for ill or disabled family members. Until recently, these caregivers have been ignored as a group who might also need attention for their own health care. In addition to potential physical and psychological hea...
Adolescent Girls' Involvement in Disability Sport: A Comparison of Social Support Mechanisms 2008 3587 Women and girls with disabilities are historically disenfranchised from physical recreation due to the "double whammy" of being female and having a disability. The literature suggests that challenges to participation likely include lack of social sup...
The Americans with Disabilities Act: Implications for Camp Programming 1992 1229 People with disabilities represent all ages, classes, and races in our society. In fact, they form the only minority to which anyone can belong. Each of us is temporarily able-bodied and may become disabled at any moment.
Barriers to the Inclusion of Volunteers with Developmental Disabilities 2003 2973 Being a volunteer is an important way for individual community members to be active and vital contributors within the community, to feel connected, and to he viewed as an asset to one's community. With over 56% of Americans volunteering (Independent ...
Barriers to Leisure Travel of Family Caregivers: A Preliminary Examination 2006 2219 Research demonstrates the health consequences of caregiving as well as the health benefits of leisure pursuits. The purpose of this preliminary study was to explore the barriers to leisure travel for family caregivers. Participants comprised 105 fami...
The Benefits of Formal Mentoring for Practitioners in Therapeutic Recreation 2003 2770 Mentoring has potential for empowering professionals in areas of job satisfaction as well as career advancement. Specifically, mentoring has been shown to have a positive effect on motivation, performance, retention, commitment, reducing stereotypes,...
Campers with disabilities: Encouraging positive interactions 1995 2120 For many campers and their families, camp is a safe environment in which children can learn about themselves and experience the world around them. It is also a place where they are exposed to the differences in our society and learn how to respond to...
The Effects of Leisure Education on Factors Contributing to the Successful Transition of Students with Mental Retardation from School to Adult Life 1993 5942 Although legally available through PL 101-476, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, leisure education as a part of special education curricula in public schools is minimal. To examine the worth of leisure education for adolescents with me...
Encouraging Change in Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities Through Undergraduate Leisure Studies and Recreation Courses 1992 7667 Educators in leisure studies and recreation have an obligation to enlighten students and discourage negative attitudes toward groups that traditionally experience \discrimination. 'Research clearly demonstrates societal prejudice against people with,...
Family caregivers and leisure: An oxymoron? 2002 3621 As we enter the 21st century, we are the beneficiaries of a myriad of medical and technological advances. As a result, we are living longer, and often healthier, lives. In many cases, however, we live longer but with compromising medical conditions. ...
Feminism and the Client-Therapist Relationship: Implications for Therapeutic Recreation 1993 6877 Feminism has provided a philosophical and methodological context for examining a number of aspects of society. As feminism is applied to leisure research and practice, implications for the provision of therapeutic recreation services and programs tha...
From schools to community: achieving independence and community integration through leisure education 1991 4509 According to the Office of Special Education (1987), approximately 190,000 students with disabilities graduate from public schools each year. Although these students are prepared for transition into adult life through special education, vocational tr...
"If I Could Just Be Selfish … ": Caregivers' Perceptions of Their Entitlement to Leisure 1996 2371 Entitlement to leisure suggests that leisure is a right rather than a privilege. Unfortunately, many feminist researchers agree that women in general do not feel entitled to leisure. This concept is of particular concern for the growing population of...
In search of lost leisure: the impact of caregiving on leisure travel 2004 4062 One of the fastest growing market segments of the tourism industry over the last two decades is made up of consumers 55 years of age and older. As we enter the new millennium, over 50 million of these ?mature adults? will find themselves on the edge ...
Inclusive Leisure Services: Responding to the Rights of People with Disabilities 1996 3976 Common themes in current leisure research include topics regarding opportunities and availability of recreation programs, stigma, negotiating barriers and constraints, and physical and psychological accessibility of recreation for women, people of co...
Increasing Diversity among Students in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies Curricula: A Case Study 2000 3863 Much has been written about increasing the cultural competence of students in recreation, parks, and leisure studies curricula. Little has been written, however: about how these programs can increase the actual number of individuals from underreprese...
Just sit down so we can talk: Perceived stigma and the pursuit of community recreation for people with disabilities 2000 11859 Research shows that leisure can provide mental and physical benefits to individuals with disabilities. Unfortunately, many individuals with disabilities are denied these benefits through attitudinal as well as architectural barriers. Research by West...
The Leisure of Caregivers of Older ,Adults: Implications for CTRS's in j Non-traditional Settings 1996 2098 Little research exists that explores perceptions and experiences of caregivers of older adults with specific regard to their leisure. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of leisure and leisure experiences of women who were inform...
A Methodological Review of Research in <i>Therapeutic Recreation Journal</i> from 1986 to 1990 1994 8601 The quality of research in therapeutic recreation is an important issue for today's therapeutic recreation professionals. Pressures for efficacy studies to prove the worth of therapeutic . recreation as an intervention are prominent. The purpose of t...
"Not just a wheelchair, not just a woman": Self-identity and leisure 1994 2534 This study was conducted to address the lack of information available about leisure and the self-identity of women with physical and sensory disabilities. It explored how self-identity and leisure are related. Symbolic interactionism was the theoreti...
Notes on Linking Qualitative and Quantitative Data 1995 6455 Qualitative data are becoming more commonly described and used in therapeutic recreation research. The debate of the past concerning whether quantitative or qualitative data are superior has given way to a discussion of how they both contribute to th...
Perceptions of Leisure by Family Caregivers: A Profile 2004 2335 Despite the increase in research about the leisure of family caregivers, few studies provide a "profile" of family caregivers' characteristics and how they relate to various perceptions of their leisure. The purpose of this study was to identify such...
Perceptions of Workplace Equity of Therapeutic Recreation Professionals 2002 3162 Previous research in the area of leisure services has found that gender inequity is a significant problem. The purpose of this study was to examine equity issues within therapeutic recreation, specifically perceptions of workplace equity and workplac...
Professional Preparation and Development 2006 1317 With our understanding of the delivery system of leisure services and an awareness of the issues and programs in the specialty services, our focus turns to the growth of recreation and parks as a profession. In addition, this chapter will look at the...
Professional Preparation and Development 2006 1083 With our understanding of the delivery system of leisure services and an awareness of the issues and programs in the specialty services, our focus turns to the growth of recreation and parks as a profession. In addition, this chapter will look at the...
Recreation Programs for Caregivers of Older Adults: A Review and Analysis of Literature from 1990 to 1998 1999 3595 Due to social, economic, and medical factors, more adults are choosing to care for ill or disabled relatives at home. Although leisure and recreation have particular benefits for informal family caregivers of older adults, caregivers often have limit...
The Relationship between Burnout and Role Stress in Therapeutic Recreation Specialists. 1995 3326 Professionals in health care must face pressures of accountability, justification of worth, and cost containment in addition to everyday responsibilities of working with people in human services and of providing quality health care. As a result, the ...
Review of: Issues in Therapeutic Recreation: Toward the New Millennium. 1997 5175 In the forward of this text, Peg Connolly noted that there is "an increased momentum of change surrounding us in our professional practice areas. . ." (p. ix). She cautioned the reader to be "diligent" in our review of our profession and described th...
The Status of Leisure Education: Implications for Instruction, and Practice 1990 1935 Responsible preparation of therapeutic recreation professionals must include knowledge. and opportunities for students to acquire identified competencies of professional practice. Of the many competencies identified as important in the therapeutic ...
Teaching for Empowerment 1994 2999 As educators in leisure and recreation studies, we should and can empower students through our teaching. The purpose of this article is to explore ideas and methods that we, as educators, might use to facilitate empowerment of students within the cla...
Tearing down the Shameful Wall of Exciusion 1992 778 You use a wheelchair. You want to get some exercise but you can't get in the community center. Or you are blind and can't read the program brochures. Or you are mentally retarded and the staff won't let you swim because they think you might get ...
Technology and people with disabilities: ethical considerations. 1993 4301 Thrusts of the political and social movements for equality for people with disabilities in the work place and in the community are slowly being realized. Issues of equity, independence, and normalization have been brought to the forefront of social c...
Transition and Integration in Leisure for People with Disabilities 1993 3644 With new technological advances and disability legislation, people with disabilities are more interested in participating in community recreation programs than ever before. Many individuals, however, are unable to participate because of inadequate sk...
Women with physical disabilities and the negotiation of leisure constraints 1995 5412 The purpose of this study was to enhance the conceptual understanding of the importance and meaning of constraints to leisure for women with physical disabilities. In-depth qualitative interviews with women with disabilities were used to obtain infor...