The Park and Recreation Professional's Handbook offers a thorough grounding in all areas of programming, leadership, operations, administration, and professionalism. It integrates foundational concepts, the latest research, and real-world examples to present readers with a complete picture of all of the skills needed for success in the field.

Working outdoors, getting exercise, playing games, and serving your community, all while earning a salary, what could be better? This comprehensive guide to the field of parks and recreation prepares readers for three individual career paths: recreation worker, park maintenance worker, and park ranger. It offers several "day-in-the-life" stories from these careers, stressing the great variation of jobs available in this career and the range of education, from high school diploma to graduate degrees, required for different jobs. Readers can also learn about education, job-hunting, and advancement, and a few part-time jobs that can help them break into the field.

Leadership in Recreation and Leisure Services presents cutting-edge guidance and helps students apply their newfound knowledge as they prepare to enter the rapidly changing leisure services field. This text presents fresh insights on leadership from the most prominent voices in the field today. The contributors present a comprehensive look at modern leadership, identify the challenges future leaders will face, and reveal how future leaders can best prepare to meet those challenges. Leadership in Recreation and Leisure Services provides • a detailed look at the collaborative approach to leadership in leisure services that represents a new direction in the field; • insight into classical leadership as well as innovative and modern leadership theory and best practices; and • an understanding of the roles and functions students will fulfill as they enter the profession. The material, designed for undergraduate recreation and leisure services leadership courses, is presented in three parts. Part I explores personal leadership issues, including communication skills, negotiation strategies, and leadership styles. Part II delves into professional leadership, examining topics such as group dynamics, supervision practices, and team leadership. Part III explores organizational leadership, including internal and external leadership and professional development. The authors present new theories of leadership from research in the field of recreation and leisure. Several learning aids—including chapter-opening scenarios, key terms, glossary, references, and chapter-ending questions for reflection and discussion—appear throughout the text. In addition, each chapter features a Leisure Leaders sidebar that profiles a leader in the field who addresses preparation for the job, a peek at day-to-day work, and advice for aspiring leaders. And a Best Practices sidebar showcases an organization whose innovative leadership has led to positive organizational outcomes. Leadership in Recreation and Leisure Services helps students understand the range of leadership skills they need to develop for successful careers.

Certified Park and Recreation Professional Exam Secrets helps you ace the National Recreation and Park Association's Certified Park and Recreation Professional Exam, without weeks and months of endless studying. Our comprehensive Certified Park and Recreation Professional Exam Secrets study guide is written by our exam experts, who painstakingly researched every topic and concept that you need to know to ace your test. Our original research reveals specific weaknesses that you can exploit to increase your exam score more than you've ever imagined. Certified Park and Recreation Professional Exam Secrets includes: The 5 Secret Keys to CPRP Success: Time is Your Greatest Enemy, Guessing is Not Guesswork, Practice Smarter, Not Harder, Prepare, Don't Procrastinate, Test Yourself; A comprehensive General Strategy review including: Make Predictions, Answer the Question, Benchmark, Valid Information, Avoid Fact Traps, Milk the Question, The Trap of Familiarity, Eliminate Answers, Tough Questions, Brainstorm, Read Carefully, Face Value, Prefixes, Hedge Phrases, Switchback Words, New Information, Time Management, Contextual Clues, Don't Panic, Pace Yourself, Answer Selection, Check Your Work, Beware of Directly Quoted Answers, Slang, Extreme Statements, Answer Choice Families; Comprehensive sections including: Why Certify?, Score, Outdoor Recreation, General Observations about Outdoor Participation, Benefits of Outdoor Recreational/Leisure, Adventure Recreation, Tournaments, Workforce Planning, Getting Started by Building Support, Recreation by the Numbers, Visitors to Federal Recreation Sites, Organizational Structure, SMART Goals, Individual Differences in Organizations, Attitudes & Behaviors, The Perceptual Process, Volunteerism in the Outdoors, Training & Development, Managing Work Motivation, Business and Its Environment, Professional Education, Accounting, Budgets, Types of Contracts, Marketing, Communication in Organizations, and much more...

Introduction to Recreation and Leisure, Third Edition, presents perspectives from 52 leading experts from around the world. It delves into foundational concepts, delivery systems, and programming services; offers an array of ancillaries; and helps students make informed career choices.