Giving and Taking Away: The Role of Recess Staff in Youth Physical Activity
Objective: School recess is a key setting for children's daily physical activity (PA). To maximize recess potential, it is important to have school recess staff members who understand the value of PA during playtime. We examined school recess staff members' perceptions of their
role, especially in facilitating or discouraging children's participation in PA. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with recess staff from 4 elementary schools in central Missouri. Results: Three overall themes emerged related to the staff's role in PA of children
– school culture, recess environment, and PA as a bargaining chip. Conclusions: The findings illustrate possible ways to address the recess staff members' challenges through training and support that can improve the potential of recess as a tool for PA.
Keywords: SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT; SCHOOL PLAYGROUND; SCHOOL RECESS; SCHOOL RECESS POLICY; YOUTH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
Publication date: 01 November 2016
- Health Behavior and Policy Review is a rigorously peer-reviewed scholarly bi-monthly publication that seeks manuscripts on health behavior or policy topics that represent original research, including papers that examine the development, advocacy, implementation, or evaluation of policies around specific health issues. The Review especially welcomes papers that tie together health behavior and policy recommendations. Articles are available through subscription or can be ordered individually from the Health Behavior and Policy Review site.
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Submit a Paper
- Subscribe to this Title
- Terms & Conditions
- Associate Editors
- Institutional Subscription
- PDF Policy
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content