Psychometric evaluation of the leisure meanings inventory in a sample of pedagogy students

The aim of this research was to test the factor structure and reliability of the Leisure Meanings Inventory in a sample of pedagogy students. Besides the psychometric evaluation of the instrument, the paper also includes a description of respondents' answers, as well as the analysis of differences in the perception of the leisure meanings depending on the year of study. Theoretical framework of the research was based on Watkins' model of leisure meanings whose validity was tested in a specific academic context. The sample comprised 249 pedagogy students from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad. Principal component analysis with Promax rotation was used for factor extraction, while the number of factors was determined by Horn's parallel analysis. The reliability was assessed by using Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω coefficients. The results confirmed the four-factor structure of the original instrument (escaping pressure, achieving fulfillment, passing time and exercising choice) which explains 45.7% of the overall variance. Most of the subscales achieved satisfactory reliability, with observed psychometric challenges in the dimension of exercising choice. Descriptive findings indicated that the students of pedagogy predominantly perceive their leisure as a space of their personal choice and autonomy, while spending time in passive activities is less pronounced. On the other hand, it was determined that the firstand second-year students more often highlight the dimension of passing time compared to their senior colleagues, which indicates developmental shifts in the perception of the meaning of leisure while being a student. The obtained results provide empirical support to the measuring adequacy of the instrument, underlying its potential for future research of the leisure phenomenon as well as for improvement of the upbringing and educational practice in the academic context.