The Relationship Between Recess Quality and Emotional and Behavioral Well-being in Elementary School Children

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Background
Over the past decade, much attention has been paid to school-based recess and its implications for child development. A majority of research findings have focused on recess as instrumental to achieving minutes of physical activity (e.g., Erwin et al., 2012) rather than focusing on the psycho-social benefits associated with a high-quality recess environment. Because the quality of recess (e.g., physical and emotional safety, student engagement, adult engagement) is likely a major determinant in facilitating the social and emotional benefits recess can afford (London et al., 2015), the purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between recess quality and teacher reported social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes in children.

Methods
Prior to data collection, all procedures were approved by the Human Research Protection Program at the authors’ institution. Data were collected from 41 recess groupings at 26 schools in the Midwest, Southwest, Northwest, and Mountain West regions of the United States. Schools ranged from 31.6 percent to 98.2 percent economically disadvantaged (M= 78.53; SD= 17.95). Within schools, participants were recruited from third and fifth grade classrooms. Teachers (n= 113) were asked to complete behavioral assessments for up to five randomly selected children in their classrooms (n= 352).

Primary Measures. Recess quality was measured using the Great Recess Framework – Observational Tool (GRF-OT). The GRF-OT contains 17 items that each describe critical aspects of a quality recess environment. Previous research has established measurement validity and inter-rater reliability for the GRF-OT (Massey et al., 2018). Recess observations were conducted by trained university students, and a minimum of two observations per recess cluster were completed. The Behavioral Assessment System for Children – 3 (BASC-3) teacher report was used to assess student outcomes. The BASC-3 is a standardized, valid, and reliable tool that examines a range of student behavior during the school day. Content scales used in the current study include emotional self-control, executive function problems, resiliency, and bullying.

Data Analysis. A series of two-level regression models were fit in Mplus (v. 8.2; Muthén & Muthén, 2018) to assess how recess quality was associated with indicators of children’s developmental outcomes. The two-level model structure accommodated child-level observations as being nested within recess groupings, such that recess quality and time were modelled only at the between-recess level. All models additionally corrected the standard errors for nesting within schools and controlled for key covariates (age, gender, classroom quality, recess time).

Results
Recess quality as measured by the GRF-OT was considered low-to-moderate (MGRF= 47.47; SD= 4.17; Range= 30-54). Scores for the BASC-3 were congruent with national norms, with standardized T-scores ranging from 48.13 – 50.69 across BASC-3 constructs. Recess quality significantly predicted executive function problems (b= -.360, p= .021), resilience (b= .369, p= .016), and emotional self-control problems (b= -0.367, p= .016), but was not related to teacher reported bullying in the classroom (see Tables 1 and 2).

Conclusions
Data in the current study suggest that the quality of recess is an important variable when considering the role of recess in child development outcomes.

Authors

• William Vincent Massey, Oregon State University - Corvallis
  Presenting Author

• G. John Geldhof, Oregon State University - Corvallis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura Neilson, Oregon State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alex Szarabajko, Oregon State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Janelle Thalken, Oregon State University
  Non-Presenting Author