On using concept-maps to study school-children's understanding of leisure-time

In striving to organise learning experiences it is important to understand how children perceive and relate to the learning environments they are presented and confronted with. It is important therefore to study how children perceive the notion of 'leisure' as an abstract concept. An example of how concept-mapping can be used to study children's conception of 'leisure-time' is presented. Forty-three Swedish 5th (n = 18) and 9th (n = 25) class children (average ages: 12 and 16) were presented with otherwise blank A4 pages with the root concept 'leisure-time' encircled and were asked to draw a spontaneous concept-map. For a sub-sample (quasi-experimental design) some additional concept-nodes, based on research findings (levels of location practice), were indicated in their maps. How maps may be analysed using numerical and content analysis, and ranges of hierarchical organisation of descriptive terms is described. About 1000 concepts (with repetitions) were inscribed. On the basis of one map per subject, numerical analysis was used to search for differences in width, depth and hierarchical structure (no age-group (school class) or gender differences were found). Content analysis was used to show how deep gender differences in conceptualisations could lie hidden behind statistical similarities. It is concluded that concept-maps may be used successfully to study abstract concepts such as of children's notions of leisure.