recreation department students views on psychosocial experiences of orienteering sport: a phenomenological research

Since orienteering is a nature sport based on orientation and target seeking, and because it involves risk and adventure, individuals who do this sport experience different emotional experiences. the aim of this study is to examine the views of recreation department students on the psychosocial experiences they have gained in orienteering course. in this context, phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. maximum variation sampling method was used as the sampling method. as the data collection tool, semi-structured interview questions were directed to the participants. after the interviews were completed, the researchers first decided together which coding method they would use. then, a codebook was prepared through thematic analysis. the findings obtained from qualitative data were divided into three categories: mental experiences, psychological experiences and social experiences. psychological experiences were also divided into two categories and codes were created under all these themes and categories. as a result, it can be stated that recreation department students who experienced orienteering sport for 12 weeks had a positive effect on psychological and social well-being and contributed to their mental skills. in future studies, the experiences of younger and expert orienteering groups can be investigated