Abstract
Background: Previous research has shown that school recess can provide children with physical, social and cognitive benefits; yet, recess opportunities and experiences may be different between children with and without disabilities. Parent perceptions of recess are important to consider as they serve as advocates for their children’s access and opportunities at school.Objective: To examine parent perceptions of recess by children’s disability status, family household income, and race/ethnicity.Method: Participants included 473 parents from the US stratified across six household income levels. Confirmatory factor analyses were run for all 3 scales assessing parents’ perception of belonging and victimization at recess, recess policies, and recess procedures. Regression analyses were run to examine if parents’ perception of recess were predicted by race, income, or child disability status. Results: Results revealed that parents’ perceptions of recess were predicted by child disability status but not income or race. Specifically, parents’ perceptions were significantly predicted by child disability status regarding victimization (b = .13, SE = .06, p = .05), recess policies about withholding recess (b = .171, SE = .07, p = .01), and finally, student engagement at recess (b = .165, SE = .07, p = .02).Conclusion: Results show that according to their parents, children with disabilities may have a different experience at recess than children without disabilities and that there are ways to improve the recess environment to better meet the needs of all children.