In this study, it is aimed to examine the effect of curiosity and exploration tendencies of physical education teacher candidates on leisure literacy. 249 undergraduate students studying in physical education teaching departments of state universities in Ankara in the fall term of 2020 participated in the study. The data were collected with the Curiosity and Exploration Scale II and the Leisure Literacy Scale. Data were evaluated by descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance ANOVA and post hoc tests, correlation analysis and regression analysis. In the study, the internal consistency coefficient of the Curiosity and Exploration Scale was determined as .79 for the total scores and .95 for the Leisure Literacy Scale. The findings show that there are significant differences between the gender, perceived income, place of residence and efficent leisure time and curiosity and exploration and leisure literacy of physical education teacher candidates, while class and daily leisure sufficiency do not significantly change the measurement tools. Besides, it was determined that there is a positive and significant relationship between curiosity and exploration and leisure literacy, and that curiosity and exploring have a significant effect on explaining leisure literacy. Research results show that curiosity and exploration factors have a predictive effect on improving leisure literacy.

Curiosity, exploration, leisure, literacy