Article ID: 41087
How do learning environments support adults’ hobby pursuits? Although recent research has focused on interest development and persistence in hobbies, this study proposes a new concept, “interest deepening,” and seeks to reveal how interests in adult hobbies deepen through interaction with learning environments. In order to demonstrate this, an amateur orchestra was selected as a case study of hobbies, and 15 amateur orchestra musicians were interviewed retrospectively. The results show that interest deepening can be of three types: (1) awakening from musical unconsciousness, (2) turning to ensembles from expertise and accomplishment, and (3) recognizing the value of participation itself. The results also indicate that interest deepening is realized through three types of relationships to learning environments: (a) transference to another community with a different form of activity, (b) transference to another community with a different sense of values, (c) through a goal-focusing role assignment.
