Schools are widely acknowledged as a vital setting to develop a child’s physical activity participation [1], with a comprehensive review from over 25 years discovering the positive links between a child attending school and participating in greater levels of physical activity [2]. Not only is the school context where children spend the majority of their time each week (+ 30 hours in many cases), but the school is also a resource full of outdoor recreational options for children to develop physical activity, cognitive and social habits. Such outdoor recreational pursuits could include non-curricular (e.g., after school, active transportation), co-curricular recreational opportunities (via recess, school sporting carnivals) and curricular programs (via outdoor learning/recreational programs). The importance of these outdoor recreational settings in school become underscored by the continual reductions in the ability of children to experience opportunities to play around the home and neighbourhoods (e.g., concerns of neighbourhood safety, pollution, restrictions and non-play values at home) [3, 4]. Moreover, it is vital that a child experiences a multitude of opportunities to be physically active during school recreation to meet national activity guidelines. International guidelines recommend children participate in 1 hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity (e.g., activity which makes you sweat and puff) to develop positive physical activity habits to protect against chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis [5].
In addition to the physical benefits that can be derived from outdoor recreational strategies within schools, research over the past two decades continues to unveil the interconnections between both the body and the mind [6]. For example, Santrock [7] makes the statement “biological processes can influence cognitive processes and vice versa … we are talking about the development of an integrated individual with a mind and body that are interdependent” (p. 16). The brain is one of the busiest organs in the human body by processing around one fifth of the body’s metabolism during cognitive processes. Therefore, it should be no surprise that cognitive processes require a steady stream of oxygen and energy from physical activities to meet such mental demands [8] and why sedentary pursuits of sitting/standing should be avoided to ensure that mental demands are optimally catered for [9]. So if a child is undertaking vigorous outdoor recreational pursuits at school, it is expected that a child’s capacity to be able to remember, perceive, concentrate and attend to academic tasks should be improved [6].
This chapter will begin by discussing how children can be physiologically effected from outdoor recreation in schools. The discussion will commence with an exploration of both structured (e.g., a set purpose, location) and unstructured (e.g., less pre-determined purpose) playground strategies during school recess. The discussion continues with exploration into before- and after-school outdoor recreational strategies that have been introduced to influence school children’s physical activity participation and development. The next section considers the psychological context of recess, before detailing the specific and intersecting dimensions of children’s cognitive and social development during outdoor recreation in schools. Finally, an overview is provided with key insights that have emerged from the literature in relation to the physiological and psychological effects that have been measured within outdoor recreational school contexts.
Answers & Comments
Answer:
Schools are widely acknowledged as a vital setting to develop a child’s physical activity participation [1], with a comprehensive review from over 25 years discovering the positive links between a child attending school and participating in greater levels of physical activity [2]. Not only is the school context where children spend the majority of their time each week (+ 30 hours in many cases), but the school is also a resource full of outdoor recreational options for children to develop physical activity, cognitive and social habits. Such outdoor recreational pursuits could include non-curricular (e.g., after school, active transportation), co-curricular recreational opportunities (via recess, school sporting carnivals) and curricular programs (via outdoor learning/recreational programs). The importance of these outdoor recreational settings in school become underscored by the continual reductions in the ability of children to experience opportunities to play around the home and neighbourhoods (e.g., concerns of neighbourhood safety, pollution, restrictions and non-play values at home) [3, 4]. Moreover, it is vital that a child experiences a multitude of opportunities to be physically active during school recreation to meet national activity guidelines. International guidelines recommend children participate in 1 hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity (e.g., activity which makes you sweat and puff) to develop positive physical activity habits to protect against chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis [5].
In addition to the physical benefits that can be derived from outdoor recreational strategies within schools, research over the past two decades continues to unveil the interconnections between both the body and the mind [6]. For example, Santrock [7] makes the statement “biological processes can influence cognitive processes and vice versa … we are talking about the development of an integrated individual with a mind and body that are interdependent” (p. 16). The brain is one of the busiest organs in the human body by processing around one fifth of the body’s metabolism during cognitive processes. Therefore, it should be no surprise that cognitive processes require a steady stream of oxygen and energy from physical activities to meet such mental demands [8] and why sedentary pursuits of sitting/standing should be avoided to ensure that mental demands are optimally catered for [9]. So if a child is undertaking vigorous outdoor recreational pursuits at school, it is expected that a child’s capacity to be able to remember, perceive, concentrate and attend to academic tasks should be improved [6].
This chapter will begin by discussing how children can be physiologically effected from outdoor recreation in schools. The discussion will commence with an exploration of both structured (e.g., a set purpose, location) and unstructured (e.g., less pre-determined purpose) playground strategies during school recess. The discussion continues with exploration into before- and after-school outdoor recreational strategies that have been introduced to influence school children’s physical activity participation and development. The next section considers the psychological context of recess, before detailing the specific and intersecting dimensions of children’s cognitive and social development during outdoor recreation in schools. Finally, an overview is provided with key insights that have emerged from the literature in relation to the physiological and psychological effects that have been measured within outdoor recreational school contexts.
Explanation: