Educational action research on Facebook®: combining leisure and learning

Action research based on the theoretical-methodological framework of Paulo Freire, conducted with 11 nursing students of a public university in the state of Paraná, Brazil, during seven days of June 2015, in a closed group on Facebook®. The dialogues were called, ‘Virtual Culture Circles’ and preceded by self-administered questionnaires that addressed the relationship between leisure and mental health. The data were analysed in an interpretive way, using the encoding and decoding proposed by Freire.

Results

The students related leisure to pleasurable activities and quality of life; however, it is not widely or critically practiced in their personal lives or education.

Conclusions

The Virtual Culture Circles provided emancipatory dialogues and a critical analysis of the subject matter, with possible repercussions on the personal and professional lives of the subjects.

Nursing; Education, Nursing; Leisure activities; Mental health; Community-based participatory research

Limit situations	Statements that describe them
Leisure was perceived as a pleasurable activity that differs from the routine	Leisure is when I’m not doing the everyday things, it is when I can devote myself to things that make me lighter, carefree. (p3)
	Leisure is something I do to distract myself, that is, something I do outside my daily routine, and that gives me pleasure. (p4)
	Leisure is what we do without worrying about commitments and problems; it is doing something we like without an appointment... It is everything we do out of the workplace or the university. That’s what we like to do. These things, most of the time, are done with friends and family. (p7)
	Leisure is the moment when I’m doing things that are unrelated to my everyday life, and feel free to play sports, read, paint. (p2)
Leisure was regarded as influential in the quality of life and the promotion of mental health	Leisure is very important for people’s health because it reflects physiologically. (p1)
	Leisure helps people find themselves and feel good about themselves. If people feel good about themselves, that reflects on their mood and body, that is, it reflects on their health, as a happy person is a healthier person. (p5)
	Leisure is very good and should be practiced all the time, because it makes people more relaxed, happier, and with better health. Research indicates that stress can cause serious health problems, such as cancer. (p9)
	Leisure should be part of everyone’s lives. People need a moment just for themselves. (p10)
The training of nursing students in leisure was considered fragile during graduation studies	When I started to answer this questionnaire I found it difficult to address the subject of leisure because I realised that it is not so explored. (p2)
	It is very important and underexplored, because we students have to think about promoting health, we have to stress the importance of leisure in the life of the population, but how can we guide them if we do not even know the meaning of leisure and its importance? (p9)
	Undergraduate students should know the importance of leisure and its benefits for themselves, and for the people they take care of. (p11)
	I know very little about leisure. Maybe in the next few years we will study this subject. (p8)

Limit Situation	Generator theme	Description of the educational action	Encoding/Decoding	Critical Unveiling
Leisure was perceived as a pleasurable activity that differs from the routine.	Concept and practice of leisure.	Each participant was encouraged to write about their leisure activities.	The participants stressed that the concept of leisure was broader than initially believed, and encoding was possible through the photos they posted.	Understanding of the various forms of leisure in the daily lives of people and the individualities and particularities regarding leisure.
Leisure was regarded as influential in the quality of life and the promotion of mental health.	Mental health and leisure in the personal practice.	Dialogues on the benefits of leisure in the lives of the participants.	The participants were encouraged to discuss obligations, leisure, and mental health.	Understanding leisure related to mental health and quality of life.
The training of nursing students in leisure was indicated as fragile in the graduate studies.	The university as a space for training in leisure and its relationship with healthcare, especially mental health.	Practical situation to discuss knowledge and nursing practices.	Clear concept for the participants; however, the manner in which it was approached with others needed to be explored (in this case, the person in care).	Appreciation of the leisure dimension in care.

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Escola de Enfermagem Rua São Manoel, 963 -Campus da Saúde , 90.620-110 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil, Fone: (55 51) 3308-5242 / Fax: (55 51) 3308-5436 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: revista@enf.ufrgs.br

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[1] Corresponding author: Célia Maria Gomes Labegalini. E-mail: celia-labegalini-@hotmail.com