Examining School Grounds as a Place for Children’s Physical Activity Performance in Tehran

Abstract

Children need to play outdoors to develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. Outdoor play opportunities have the potential to promote physical and mental health throughout the life of children. Outdoor play has been acknowledged as a primary right for children; therefore there is a need to create spaces, where children can go and play spontaneously every day. Regarding to where the outdoor play of children takes place is significant; school grounds, as a place for children to learn and promote their health, could be assumed as a key setting that enhances and contributes to outdoor play guidelines. It requires making awareness and evaluation of current school grounds referring to outdoor play requirements. Four school grounds were selected as case studies in Tehran to be evaluated by School Environmental Audit Tool (SEAT). The survey shows a lack of proper consideration in the design and maintenance in the current situation of these important sites for children. At the end, some recommendations were proposed in order to outdoor play provision in accordance to current school grounds of Tehran.

Assessing the Adequacy of Aesthetic Nature and Maintenance of School Grounds of the Lagos State Public Schools: A Step Toward Sustainable Development

“…Ivanova (2017) is of opinion that harmonization of aesthetic value with learning and human development is very essential to education. The child's environment can limit or help in his/her overall development because the influence of the environment lasts a lifetime, where outdoor play of children takes place is significant (Marouf et al, 2015).…”