The Effect of Additional Recess on Student Academic Achievement and Discipline Referrals

• In Event: The role of varying physical activity types and contexts for educational and behavioral outcomes

Abstract

Background: Recess improves students’ attention, behavior, and working memory. Extensive spans of inactivity are related to increased rates of student inattention and students who are less active have higher rates of disciplinary referrals. Therefore, it was hypothesized that additional recess time would improve student achievement and externalizing behavior. Two studies are reviewed to determine the effects of an additional recess period on students’ academic achievement and disciplinary referrals, including the time elapsed between recess breaks and disciplinary infractions.
Participants and Procedure: In study 1, participants included 728 K-6th grade students from a school in southern Kentucky. During the first-year of the study, participants engaged in one 15-minute recess break, and then two 15-minute recess breaks the second year. Academic achievement was measured through math and reading scores on the Measure of Academic Progress, the Reading Inventory, and the Math Inventory. In study 2, participants included 607 K-6 grade students from a school in a rural, southeastern part of the United States. Participants engaged in two 15-minute recess breaks for one year. In both studies discipline referral records were collected and recorded by type of referral, such as verbal aggression, physical aggression, truancy, and inappropriate use of technology. Additionally, Study 2 documented the time of the discipline referral in relation to the time of recess and how many minutes elapsed between the discipline referral and most recent recess.
Results: Study 1 findings indicate that discipline referrals and math performance increase in conjunction with additional recess time. Furthermore, Study 1 revealed a significant difference of discipline referral rates between African American and white students in year 1 and year 2. Study 2 found no significant difference in discipline referral based on students’ gender, ethnicity, or grade level. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between time after recess and student discipline referral for truancy and verbal harassment and a statistically significant negative relationship between time after recess and physical aggression.
Conclusions: Findings demonstrate additional recess periods improve reading and math achievement although the relationship with disciplinary referrals is not as clear. It is suggested that administrators integrate and enforce multiple recess breaks throughout the school day, although the environment in which recess is provided likely has a critical role on student behavior.

Authors

• Alicia Fedewa, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Clair Tischner, University of Kentucky
  Non-Presenting Author