From green to greener: Exploring associations between green schoolyard design and primary school children’s recess behaviors

IF 6 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening Pub Date : 2025-04-09 DOI:10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128809

Nicole van den Bogerd , Marit Struiksma , Dieuwke Hovinga , Jolanda Maas

{"title":"From green to greener: Exploring associations between green schoolyard design and primary school children’s recess behaviors","authors":"Nicole van den Bogerd , Marit Struiksma , Dieuwke Hovinga , Jolanda Maas","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128809","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Green schoolyards vary in design, which may affect children’s play. This study investigated the association between the design of green schoolyards and primary school students recess behaviors. The design of 18 schoolyards was assessed with the Green Schoolyard Evaluation Tool (GSET). Recess behaviors were assessed with behavioral observations, in young (∼4–6 years old; n = 1093) and older (∼6–12 years old; n = 1846) primary school children, and with teaching staff surveys (n = 76). Recess behaviors included play, play materials, social interaction, and physical activity. The results showed that higher GSET scores were associated with more building and manipulating, exploring and investigating, dramatic play, and play with natural material and less non-engagement in play. Higher GSET scores were also associated with more play on equipment and less rough and tumble in older children, and more positive student-student interaction according to teaching staff. These results suggest that the design of green schoolyards play a vital role in children’s recess behaviors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128809"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866725001438","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Green schoolyards vary in design, which may affect children’s play. This study investigated the association between the design of green schoolyards and primary school students recess behaviors. The design of 18 schoolyards was assessed with the Green Schoolyard Evaluation Tool (GSET). Recess behaviors were assessed with behavioral observations, in young (∼4–6 years old; n = 1093) and older (∼6–12 years old; n = 1846) primary school children, and with teaching staff surveys (n = 76). Recess behaviors included play, play materials, social interaction, and physical activity. The results showed that higher GSET scores were associated with more building and manipulating, exploring and investigating, dramatic play, and play with natural material and less non-engagement in play. Higher GSET scores were also associated with more play on equipment and less rough and tumble in older children, and more positive student-student interaction according to teaching staff. These results suggest that the design of green schoolyards play a vital role in children’s recess behaviors.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening FORESTRY-

CiteScore

11.70

自引率

12.50%

发文量

289

审稿时长

70 days

期刊介绍： Urban Forestry and Urban Greening is a refereed, international journal aimed at presenting high-quality research with urban and peri-urban woody and non-woody vegetation and its use, planning, design, establishment and management as its main topics. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening concentrates on all tree-dominated (as joint together in the urban forest) as well as other green resources in and around urban areas, such as woodlands, public and private urban parks and gardens, urban nature areas, street tree and square plantations, botanical gardens and cemeteries. The journal welcomes basic and applied research papers, as well as review papers and short communications. Contributions should focus on one or more of the following aspects: -Form and functions of urban forests and other vegetation, including aspects of urban ecology. -Policy-making, planning and design related to urban forests and other vegetation. -Selection and establishment of tree resources and other vegetation for urban environments. -Management of urban forests and other vegetation. Original contributions of a high academic standard are invited from a wide range of disciplines and fields, including forestry, biology, horticulture, arboriculture, landscape ecology, pathology, soil science, hydrology, landscape architecture, landscape planning, urban planning and design, economics, sociology, environmental psychology, public health, and education.