Increasing school playground physical activity: A mixed methods study combining environmental measures and children's perspectives

Willenberg, Lisa; Ashbolt, R; Holland, Dionne; Gibbs, Lisa; MacDougall, Colin; Garrard, Jan; Green, Julie; Waters, Elizabeth

doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2009.02.011

Cited by 135 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Football was the most played activity for boys and required a larger space, which means that football players would take over the main areas of the schoolyard (Blatchford et al, 2003; Boyle, Marshall, & Robeson, 2003). In both our study and other research, teachers mediated in the conflicts caused by the lack of space (Pawlowski et al, 2014; Sallis et al, 2001; Willenberg et al, 2010) and organized it around football providing equipment only for boys who played it (Sallis et al, 2001; Willenberg et al, 2010). However, this solution caused the children who did not play football—usually girls and less skilful boys—to be relegated to peripheral areas and become forced viewers of others (Blatchford et al, 2003; Boyle et al, 2003; Ridgers et al, 2012; Thomson, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…The use of two techniques allowed us to gather more complete and reliable information as well as to provide different levels of depth when answering the research questions (Denzin, 1989; Giacomini & Cook, 2000). Previous studies using drawings have described this technique as a useful strategy to focus children’s thoughts on the issues that would be addressed later on in the focus group (Willenberg et al, 2010). Furthermore, the perspectives considered in this study are only from the children’s point of view and may differ from the teachers’ and parents’ perspectives.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Football is a boys’ game”: children’s perceptions about barriers for physical activity during recess time

Martínez-Andrés

Gutiérrez

Martín

et al. 2017

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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The aim of the study was to know the factors that influence boys and girls’ perceptions for performing physical activity during playground recess from their own perspective. Ninety-eight schoolchildren aged 8–11 years from five schools from Cuenca (Spain) participated in 22 focus groups and carried out 98 drawings following the socioecological model as a theoretical framework. A content analysis of the transcripts from the focus groups and drawings was carried out by three researchers. Results showed that, in spite of boys and girls identified same barriers, there were gender differences in their perceptions. Gender socialization was the key as central category and helped to understand these differences. Boys preferred play football and this sport had a monopoly on the recess space. Weather was a barrier for boys. Girls and boys, who did not play football, were relegated to peripheral areas and lack of materials was a barrier for them. Teachers were a barrier for all children who did not play football. Thus, in order to promote recess physical activity, researchers, teachers and educational policy makers should take into account gender socialization and promote inclusive non-curricular physical activity in schools.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Football is a boys’ game”: children’s perceptions about barriers for physical activity during recess time

Martínez-Andrés

Gutiérrez

Martín

et al. 2017

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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“…The PE teacher/student ratio was the only school-related variable found to be associated with overall and leisure-time PA. An increased PE teacher/student ratio was associated with a decrease in the odds of total and leisure-time inactivity. This is in accordance with findings from previous studies, which have suggested that the presence of supervisors can stimulate the practice of PA during the school day and it could have a positive effect in the learning process of children [16][17][18] . In opposite to previous reports, our study suggests an effect of PE teacher/student ratio on non-school related PA.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 93%

School and individual-level correlates of physical activity in children: a multilevel approach

Correa¹,

Cordeira²,

Marques³

et al. 2013

Rev Bras Ativ Fis Saude

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This study aimed to assess the association between individual and school environment variables and physical activity levels in Brazilian schoolchildren with 8-12 years of age. A sample of children from 20 private and public schools (n=1,210) was selected. Total and leisure-time physical activities and active transportation to school (AT) were measured using a self-report instrument. Total and leisure-time physical inactivity (PI) were defined as <300min/week of Physical activity. Physical and social school environment features were assessed through a questionnaire. The prevalence of PI, leisure-time PI, and AT to school were 69.2%, 75.8% and 70.5%, respectively. Multilevel models showed that PI was more frequent among girls, and was negatively associated with older age and higher maternal schooling. Girls were more inactive during leisure-time. For contextual variables, greater Physical Education teacher/student ratio was associated with lower levels of both total and leisure-time PI. AT was negatively associated with higher income and positively associated with older age. Students from public schools use more AT. Based on the prevalence of PI found, strategies focused at increasing physical activity levels should be implemented immediately. Also, our findings suggest that both individual and school contextual variables were associated with levels of PI, varying between domains. KeywordsSocial Environments, Epidemiology, Physical Education, Physical Activity. Resumo Este estudo objetivou avaliar a associação entre variáveis individuais e do contexto escolar com os níveis de atividade física em escolares de 8 a 12 anos de idade. Uma amostra de crianças de 20 escolas públicas e privadas (n=1210) foi selecionada. Os níveis de atividade física total e no lazer e o transporte ativo para a escola foram mensurados por meio de um instrumento validado. Crianças foram con-

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“…A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies 16 was used to evaluate playgrounds in a low socioeconomic region in Melbourne, Australia. Physical activity was measured using the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth (SOPLAY) in 23 schools, and in 12 of them, focal groups were used to understand the perceptions of children about the playgrounds.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intervention studies are therefore a priority for the near future. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is also warranted, as done in the study by Willenberg et al 16 Qualitative data may help understand why some attributes of the school environment are more important than others at determining children and adolescents' behaviors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School environment and physical activity in children and adolescents: systematic review

Knuth

Hallal²

2012

RBAFS

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The aim of this study was to identify, discuss and summarize findings from articles on the association between characteristics of the school environment and physical activity in children and adolescents. We followed the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Articles were identified in PubMed. The main inclusion criteria were: (a) studies with children and adolescents -studies with preschool children only were excluded because they were covered in a recent review; (b) physical activity as the outcome; (c) school environment characteristics as the exposure variable. Outcome variables were heterogeneous across the 13 studies, including recess physical activity practice, extracurricular sports practice, Physical Education classes and total physical activity. Half of the studies used objective physical activity measures. The evaluation of school environments was again heterogeneous, ranging from checklists of spaces, satellite photos and interviews with school teachers and principals comprising sociocultural dimensions of the environment, policies and PE classes, but mainly measures of the built environment. No definitive conclusion about the influence of school environment on physical activity can be drawn due to the heterogeneity across studies, settings dimension assessed and the lack of prospective data. However, several features such as improvements in playgrounds, health promotion policies at school, and positive perceptions of the school environment seem to be associated with increased physical activity among children and adolescents. KeywordsSchool, physical activity, youth, environment Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar, discutir e sumarizar os achados sobre a associação entre características do ambiente escolar e atividade física em crianças e adolescentes. Foi utilizado o guia PRIS-MA para revisões sistemáticas. Artigos foram buscados na PubMed. Os principais critérios de inclusão foram: (a) estudos com crianças e adolescentes -estudos apenas com pré-escolares foram excluídos em função de uma recente revisão com este grupo; (b) atividade física como desfecho; (c) características

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Increasing school playground physical activity: A mixed methods study combining environmental measures and children's perspectives

Cited by 135 publications

References 21 publications

“Football is a boys’ game”: children’s perceptions about barriers for physical activity during recess time

“Football is a boys’ game”: children’s perceptions about barriers for physical activity during recess time

School and individual-level correlates of physical activity in children: a multilevel approach

School environment and physical activity in children and adolescents: systematic review

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