There have been a number of social, political and economic shifts that have played a major role in constraining, enriching, mediating and altering everyday family interactions and family practices. These include globalization, economic instability, neoliberal government paradigms, a culture of consumerism, technological advancements, shifting demographics and changing parenting ideologies. This book considers what advancements have been made in family leisure research over the past two decades within the context of a rapidly shifting society and examines potential new directions for scholarship. The book begins with an emphasis on the need for scholarship that explores diverse constructions of family and provides a call to action for family-centered scholars to engage with broader social issues. A collection of authors argue the importance of expanding the understanding of family to include older adults, highlight the missing perspectives of recreation and leisure agencies in family scholarship, and examine the ways in which information communication technology may alter family leisure. Authors also consider the dominance of particular theoretical perspectives, and the limitations and consequences of such perspectives, to understand the complexity, diversity and richness of the lived family experience. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of Leisure Sciences and an invited commentary in the Annals of Leisure Research.

There have been a number of social, political and economic shifts that have played a major role in constraining, enriching, mediating and altering everyday family interactions and family practices. These include globalization, economic instability, neoliberal government paradigms, a culture of consumerism, technological advancements, shifting demographics and changing parenting ideologies. This book considers what advancements have been made in family leisure research over the past two decades within the context of a rapidly shifting society and examines potential new directions for scholarship. The book begins with an emphasis on the need for scholarship that explores diverse constructions of family and provides a call to action for family-centered scholars to engage with broader social issues. A collection of authors argue the importance of expanding the understanding of family to include older adults, highlight the missing perspectives of recreation and leisure agencies in family scholarship, and examine the ways in which information communication technology may alter family leisure. Authors also consider the dominance of particular theoretical perspectives, and the limitations and consequences of such perspectives, to understand the complexity, diversity and richness of the lived family experience. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of Leisure Sciences and an invited commentary in the Annals of Leisure Research.

How has it come to be that paid work is seen as the primary avenue for attaining sustenance, self-esteem, and human dignity? This book encourages scholars and practitioners to rethink the relationships between leisure, social policy, and human development. Drawing on the expertise of some of the most innovative minds in the field of leisure studies from across Canada, Decentring Work questions how and why we have come to value paid employment as the marker of social success and individual self-worth and, more provocatively, investigates the role that leisure might play in its stead. The contributors probe the dimensions of marginalization and oppression experienced by groups such as women living in poverty, aboriginal youth, new immigrants, and older adults and show how leisure can be a vital element in confronting issues in the social construction of homelessness, incarceration, dementia care, disability, and ethnicity. Using a mix of approaches from in-depth empirical studies to more conceptually driven discussions, the chapters in Decentring Work weave together effectively into a treatise on notions of work, leisure, power, and social change. This collection is essential reading for anyone in the field of leisure studies, recreation, or social work who is interested in the role that leisure can and should play in reshaping human and community development.