Niveles de actividad física y sedentarismo de los adolescentes en recreos naturales vs. tradicionales: un estudio piloto (Adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary levels in natural vs. traditional playgrounds: a pilot study)

The aim of this work was to compare students’ physical activity and sedentary levels between two high schools, one with a natural playground and the other with a traditional one, according to the recess periods (mid-morning and lunchtime) and the sex of students. The sample consisted of all the students attending their school playground at the time of the measurement. The System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth (SOPLAY) was used to determine students’ activity levels. A total of 36 scans were conducted and three categories of activity emerged: very active, walker and sedentary. To perform intra- and inter-recess comparisons, Chi-square independence tests were carried out. Results revealed that students were more active and less sedentary in a natural playground than in a traditional one. In addition, the natural playground encouraged the same levels of PA regardless of the recess period. Moreover, boys were more active than girls during both periods in the traditional playground and during lunchtime in the natural playground. In view of the results, further research is needed to understand whether natural playgrounds can contribute to increasing physical activity levels, especially in adolescence, when building active identities becomes more important.

The Long Island play revolution

This excerpt from Let the Children Play by Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle (Oxford University Press, 2019) describes how a Long Island school district began giving children more time for unstructured play during the school day by doubling the recess period, extending lunch, launching optional play clubs, and creating spaces for unstructured activity. At the same time, the district superintendent de-emphasized test scores and discouraged homework. Students began coming to class better prepared for learning, disciplinary problems went down, and student attendance went up.

Dinamización del recreo como resolución de conflictos y participación en actividades físico-deportivas

This research paper aims to see to what extent a project of revitalization of playgrounds contributes to improving coexistence, conflict resolution, and the participation of boys and girls in sport and physical activities. The paper also aims to know the level of motivation and interest the project could have for the students. For this, after initial assessment, a project of revitalization of recreations was designed, and after a few days of training, it was implemented for a month in a primary school in Spain, with 179 students (98 boys and 81 girls) from 1 to 6 grades; it was carried out in the school playground during a 30-minute recess period. The project consisted of two phases of training; the first one explained different games through training days; the second phase featured free recreation and independent work. The project opted for a mixed methodology of collecting information; this methodology included an information questionnaire and participant observation. The study concludes by highlighting the students’ high interest and motivation, the increasing participation, both boys and girls in physical and sports activities, and the reduction of conflicts between students of the center.

Public Consultation: Collaboration of Government and Citizens in The Local Requirements-Based Policy Processing

Public consultation is an appropriate means for engaging the public in policy-making and opening up opportunities for every citizen to have their option in following various governance processes. The collaboration of government and citizens as a form of public consultation is a process of strengthening the capacity to build sustainable cooperation among various interest groups. The benefits of collaboration are reducing conflicts of interest and improving the quality of policies. Deliberative democracy is a democratic concept which is based on a mechanism of discussion and prioritizing dialogic ways as a foundation of public consultation. Deliberative democracy allows citizens to discuss public issues and provide lessons to government to act democratically and get legitimation to important issues. DPRD as a legislative body that has the obligation to accommodate the aspirations of the community as the embodiment of public consultation implemented in the recess time. The qualitative research method used in the Bungo district case study showed that the recess period had not been fully utilized. DPRD had not been able to respond to the needs of the community so it was found that the development done in Bungo Regency is not as needed.

Exploring Strategies That Influence Children’s Physical Activity Self-Efficacy

Insufficient physical activity during the elementary school years has been associated with a number of health problems (Strong et al., 2006). During the school day, the recess period provides the greatest opportunity for children to engage in physical activity (Robert Wood Johnson, 2007). Nonetheless, most children spend the majority of their recess time in active. One strategy for increased physical activity during recess is to develop related interventions that reinforce physical activity from the school itself. While some research studies have identified modifiable factors, research suggests that a greater level of physical activity self-efficacy is the strongest predictor of increased physical activity among elementary-aged children (Coakley, & White, 1992; Mulvihill, Rivers, & Aggleton, 2000; Trost, Pate, Saunders, Ward, Dowda, & Felton, 1997; Trost, 1999; Zakarian et al., 1994). Research suggests that strong influences on this age group include a teacher’s encouragement and competent adult modeling (Chase 1995, Lirgg & Feltz, 1991; Trost et al. 2003). The purpose of this study is to compare whether a teacher’s encouragement alone and modeling by a competent adult alone influence children’s recess time physical activity self-efficacy. In our study, this construct is measured through barrier self-efficacy (adult encouragement and other) and task self-efficacy (light, moderate, and vigorous). One hundred sixty-one students were assigned randomly to one of three groups: 1) modeling 2) encouragement, and 3) comparison. We collected pretreatment and posttreatment self-efficacy data as well. There was no significant interaction between the treatment and gender on self-efficacy. However, there was a significant main effect detected for treatment on adult encouragement barrier self-efficacy. Findings suggest that when teachers encourage children to be active, they may internalize the encouragement and become less dependent on external sources of encouragement to motivate them to be active during recess.

Composition of Trace Metals in Dust Samples Collected from Selected High Schools in Pretoria, South Africa

Potential health risks associated with trace metal pollution have necessitated the importance of monitoring their levels in the environment. The present study investigated the concentrations and compositions of trace metals in dust samples collected from classrooms and playing ground from the selected high schools In Pretoria. Schools were selected from Pretoria based on factors such as proximity to high traffic ways, industrial areas, and residential areas. Thirty-two dust samples were collected from inside and outside the classrooms, where learners often stay during recess period. The dust samples were analysed for trace metal concentrations using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The composition of the elements showed that the concentrations of Zn were more than all other elements except from one of the schools. There were significant differences in the concentrations of trace metals from the schools (p<0.05). Regular cleaning, proximity to busy road, and well maintained gardens seem to have positive effects on the concentrations of trace metals recorded from the classrooms dust. The result further revealed a positive correlation for elements such as Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Sb, indicating that the dust might have a common source.

Physical Activity During High School Recess in Spanish Adolescents: The AFINOS Study

Background:The morning recess period during school days represents a regular opportunity to accumulate physical activity (PA). However, little is known about the contribution of recess to PA guidelines (60 min/day in moderate-to-vigorous PA [MVPA]) in adolescents.Methods:This study comprised 1065 Spanish adolescents (52% girls), aged 13 to 16 years. Adolescents completed a validated Recess PA Recall in 2007–2008. Differences in levels of PA during the recess period were analyzed by gender, age group, type of school, school location, immigrant status, weight status, fitness levels and snack eating during recess.Results:Adolescent boys spent more time in MVPA (7.7 vs. 6.4 min in MVPA, P = .009) and were more active (29.6% vs. 24.5% in MVPA, P = .007) than girls during the recess period. Adolescent boys in the youngest age group and with the school located in cities were more active than their peers (all P < .05). There were no differences in levels of PA during recess by all the descriptive characteristics in adolescent girls (all P > .05).Conclusions:These findings suggest that recess in Spanish high schools may contribute to the daily recommended MVPA for adolescents, but greater efforts must be implemented to increase PA levels among adolescent girls during this school period.

Recess and Reading Achievement of Early Childhood Students in Public Schools

In recent years, schools have tended to eliminate recess period and to devote more time to instruction in order to increase academic achievement. Using a nationally representative sample, this study examined reading scores of students who experienced different numbers of recess days in a week, and different number of times and length of recess in a day. Students’ gender, race, family socioeconomic status, initial reading scores, and age were controlled. Findings showed no significant main effects of recess; however, students who were exposed to a 16-30 minutes recess period tended to perform better. An interaction effect of race and the length of recess was found. It was concluded that recess does not have a significant effect on reading achievement. In other words, it does not improve or hurt academic achievement, but provides an opportunity for children to be physically active, play and socialize -- just to be a child.