The Contribution of Schoolyard in Physical Activity of Pupils of 6th Grade Primary School during Recess

Abstract

An encouraging school environment can promote deeper involvement of children in physical activities at the recess. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical activity of 6th grade primary school students during breaks in-between classes and to determine whether a big sized and a well-equipped schoolyard can have an impact on the degree of physical activity exhibited by these students. In total, 799 students [426 boys (53.3%) and 373 girls (46.7%)] of the 6th grade from 35 primary schools in the Evros prefecture were asked to complete a self-reference questionnaire with recall of yesterday’s degree of physical activity. The reliability of the questionnaire in the Greek sample was a = 0.69. A list of outdoor features was constructed according to the specifications of O.S.K.A.E., in order to record the environment of school yards. Statistical analysis using one-way Anova revealed statistically significant association between the physical activity of students and the size of schoolyards and the available equipment of them as well, dominated by those who attended schools with big, fully-equipped schoolyards. These data support the hypothesis that big schoolyards rich in outdoor and sports equipment can elicit more physically active behaviors of students during the recess.