Barbara Chancellor

Primary school playgrounds: features and management in Victoria, Australia

This paper reports the results of an online survey of government primary schools conducted in June 2011 at Victoria, Australia. This study aimed to investigate how practical ways of individual school policy is impacting on playgrounds in the areas of playspace design, play equipment, rules and supervision of children during recess breaks. Data analysed in light of international and local research findings about childrens play indicate that many schools are providing playgrounds with a wide range of play possibilities through provision of high quality, diverse playspaces incorporating natural features. It also shows that playground rules reflect teacher attitudes and understandings about childrens play in the playground, demonstrating their belief in the need for surveillance and safety as paramount. This base line document is a foundation for future research and the large sample provides a ‘big picture’ against which individual schools can compare themselves.

Exploring the seasonal influences on elementary school children's enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the seasonal influences on elementary school childrens enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks. Methods: The Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) questionnaire and Physical Activity Childrens Enjoyment Scale (PACES) were used to measure childrens (N = 80) enjoyment of physical activity longitudinally during school breaks over 4 time points. Separate mixed regression models determined whether childrens enjoyment differed by sex and over time. Results: Childrens enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks was significantly higher in March (autumn in the southern hemisphere) in comparison with time points later in the school year. Conclusions: The findings suggest strategies could be implemented by schools to maintain and enhance childrens enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks later in the year.

Engaging children in activities beyond the classroom walls: A social-ecological exploration of Australian primary school children's enjoyment of school play activities

As children spend a significant amount of time in schools each week, it is vital that playwork practitioners develop an improved awareness relating to the influences on children’s enjoyment of school play activities. The purpose of the present study was to assess children’s enjoyment of school play activities beyond the classroom walls, including the type of play activities children enjoy and age and gender-specific enjoyment levels. Within the study, the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) questionnaire was administered to 281 children aged 8-12-years-old attending three primary schools in regional Victoria, Australia. The LEAP questionnaire was used to measure Australian primary school children’s enjoyment of school play activities. In order for age and gender-specific comparisons to be made for the LEAP questionnaire categories, a chi-square statistical test was conducted. The findings revealed that females had a significantly higher enjoyment compared to males for a range of school play activities including walking, using imagination, creating and making things, climbing, hiding, sliding, sitting, resting/relaxing, being active, tag games, changing play activity and playing with more natural features. Males had a significantly higher enjoyment compared to females for playing when it’s hot and using sports equipment. Younger children had significantly higher enjoyment for using imagination, creating and making things, hiding, playing inside and changing play location. With understandings of the types of school play activities that are most enjoyable to children during school play, educators, playwork practitioners and school decision makers can employ the social-ecological model insight gained within the current study to guide future school-based planning and design.

The rush to judgement: Mapping moral geographies of the primary school playground

This article is informed by two studies in Australian primary school playgrounds and provides a critique of the interaction between adults and children during recess breaks in the school day. The study investigates the contours/lines of force that shape the moral geographies of playgrounds through management and supervision strategies. This scholarly discussion is underpinned by categories, including play that is risky, unhygienic, worthwhile, an obsession, violent/aggressive and good. It is argued that supervising teachers in the primary school playground can often rush to judge the play that they observe. Although mostly well intentioned, such types of play can often negatively impact adult agendas and biases. At an individual school level, critical engagement with the points raised in this article provides an opportunity for schools to reflect on primary school playground strategies and practices that they implement. Improving understanding of the moral geographies within primary school playgrounds can raise awareness in schools of the implications of supervisory interactions and judgement on the health and wellbeing of pupils.

Playing with play(ing): play-fully writing about play

Disrupting the linear by sit(t)ing their writing alongside, the authors site/cite play on/as a Deleuzoguattarian open plane – of immanence – through a play-full exploration of Play. They explore the notion of the back and forth motion between the known and the unknown, between safety and risk; thinking about play as circular hermeneutical movement, where one re-encounters an ever-changing ocean with new understanding, created and enriched by past experiences. Resonating with these ideas, the authors present their own – play-fully, singularly and together – as a double-column juxtaposition, which in itself emerges from and merges with a Deleuzoguattarian plane of immanence, an open space whereby ideas about play and playing are played with. They work to think differently through encounters with/in an ever-changing ocean of outside forces, through flows of ideas within their thinking as they connect with each other and the literature, the ongoing question being: how might we think differently about play?

Are secondary school environments conducive for active play opportunities?: An objective assessment across Australian secondary school playgrounds

ABSTRACT The presence of school playground facilities has been reported to encourage active play, yet there is a paucity of research identifying the presence and quality of features within Australian secondary school playgrounds. The aim of this research study was to examine if secondary school playground environments are conducive for active play opportunities within the context of Australian secondary schools. A 44-item reliable and valid audit tool was employed to objectively assess the quality, quantity, presence of facilities and design of secondary school playground environments. It was revealed that fixed playground facilities, obstacle courses and coloured surface markings were largely absent. Findings revealed that secondary school playgrounds were more conducive for sporting opportunities than opportunities for active play and informal games. Understanding the secondary school playground environment options for active play opportunities is important for informing future, effective school interventions to facilitate positive health outcomes for Australian adolescents.

Adult Decisions on Students’ Play Within Primary School Playgrounds

Building upon a recently published study that investigated the contours/lines of force that shape the moral geographies of playgrounds through management and supervision process, this chapter raises questions for supervising teachers to consider about how and why they make the decisions they do about children’s play and the consequences of their decisions. It also questions choices to control students’ play by establishing rigid boundaries and instead discusses positioning students in decision-making roles where teachers have opportunities to mentor these processes rather than dominate them. By reporting on supervising teachers’ play ‘biases and agendas’, teachers may be encouraged to reconsider the play they observe in a new light, thus increasing play opportunities for students and increasing their health and wellbeing.