An Educational Approach to Elementary School Students’ Free Time

The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between sociodemographiccharacteristics and elementary school students’ (grades 5 – 8) estimates of theimportance of particular secondary needs. The sample comprised 196 participants.The starting premise was the concept of “Four wishes” for defining the situation byW. I. Thomas (1863 – 1947). The research instrument used in this research was aspecifically designed questionnaire founded on the four wishes by Thomas: the wishfor security, wish for response, wish for recognition and wish for new experience.The Mann-Whitney U test, factor analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, linearregression analysis, Kruskal Wallis test and correlation analysis were applied.The research results show statistically significant differences in the estimate ofimportance of particular needs with respect to gender, i.e. participants’ age. Acorrelation was established between expressing the importance of the need forsecurity with respect to age, and a positive correlation between recognition andparticipants’ age. Furthermore, a correlation was found between age and expressingthe need for new experience among participants. The research established thatfemale participants have a significantly greater need for recognition.Key words: education for free time: educational approach to free time; students’ needs