RECESS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
by Olga S. Jarrett
Recess may be the only opportunity for some children to engage in social interactions with other children. Many classrooms allow very little interaction. Furthermore, latchkey children, who lock themselves in at home after school with TV and computer games as companions, often have no peer interactions once they leave school.
Much of what children do during recess, including the sharing of folk culture (Bishop & Curtis, 2001), making choices, and developing rules for play, involves the development of social skills. According to observations during elementary school recess (Jarrett et al., 2001), children organize their own games, deciding on the rules and determining which team goes first or who is "it." Game playing can occur in the classroom as well as on the playground; however, according to Hartup and Laursen (1993), game playing in the classroom is typically in a "closed setting" where the children cannot withdraw from the game. Recess provides a more "open setting" where children are free to leave the play situation. In open settings, children must learn to resolve conflicts to keep the game going, resulting in low levels of aggression on the playground.
Because recess is one of the few times in the school day when children can interact freely with peers, it is a valuable time in which adults can observe children's social behaviors, their tendency to bully and fight, as well as their leadership and prosocial behaviors (Hartle et al., 1994). Seeing how their students interact socially can help teachers and other playground supervisors intervene in situations involving aggression or social isolation. Successful intervention programs have been developed for teaching inclusion and sportsmanship (Gallegos, 1998). Other intervention programs have used children as playground leaders (Calo & Ingram, 1994), conflict managers (Evans & Eversole, 1992), or as play partners to help individual students manage their own behaviors (Nelson, Smith, & Colvin, 1995). There is some evidence that playground interventions generalize to better behavior in other settings (Nelson, Smith, & Colvin, 1995). http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/recess.html
RECESS AND LEARNING
by Olga S. Jarrett
The most obvious characteristic of recess is that it constitutes a break from the day's routine. For people of all ages and in all fields, breaks are considered essential for satisfaction and alertness. Experimental research on memory and attention (e.g., Toppino, Kasserman, & Mracek, 1991) found that recall is improved when learning is spaced rather than presented all at once. Their findings are compatible with what is known about brain functioning: that attention requires periodic novelty, that the brain needs downtime to recycle chemicals crucial for long-term memory formation, and that attention involves 90- to 110-minute cyclical patterns throughout the day (Jensen, 1998).
In experimental studies, Pellegrini and Davis (1993) and Pellegrini, Huberty, and Jones (1995) found that elementary school children became progressively inattentive when recess was delayed, resulting in more active play when recess occurred. Another experimental study (Jarrett et al., 1998) found that fourth-graders were more on-task and less fidgety in the classroom on days when they had had recess, with hyperactive children among those who benefited the most. Clearly, breaks are helpful, both for attention and for classroom management, whether or not the breaks are in the form of recess.
Does time spent playing or learning actively detract from academic achievement? Research conducted in French and Canadian schools over a period of four years shows positive effects of time spent in physical activity (Martens, 1982). The results of spending one-third of the school day in formal and less formal physical education, in art, and in music were increased fitness, improved attitudes, and slight improvements in test scores. These results are consistent with the findings of a meta-analysis of nearly 200 studies on the effect of exercise on cognitive functioning that suggest that physical activity supports learning (Etnier et al., 1997). http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/recess.html
Here is a powerpoint with background about recess as well as information about social development and mental health.
From: staffweb.esc12.net/~mbooth/SHAC/Recess.ppt
Johnston Elementary School in Appleton, WI has joined over 8000 schools nationwide to teach students over 100 games, there rules, and how to solve problems among each other.
Want to find out more? Here are more resources!
RECESS AND CHILD HEALTH
by Olga S. Jarrett
Physical inactivity poses health threats for children as well as for adults. Inactivity, according to research cited in Waite-Stupiansky and Findlay (2001), is associated with the tripling of childhood obesity since 1970, accompanied by increases in health problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. How active are children during recess? Kraft (1989) found that elementary school children engaged in physical activity 59% of the time during recess, with vigorous physical activity occurring 21% of the time--slightly more time in vigorous activity than occurred during physical education (PE) classes (15%). More recent research cited in Pellegrini and Smith (1998) shows similar patterns. Although not all children are active during recess, children's tendency to choose physical activity on the playground when they need it the most is expressed in higher levels of activity on the playground after recess was delayed (Pellegrini & Davis, 1993; Pellegrini, Huberty, & Jones, 1995); higher activity levels by children who tend to be inattentive in the classroom (Pellegrini & Smith, 1993); and high initial activity levels, decreasing after the first 6-7 minutes on the playground (Pellegrini & Davis, 1993). If children do not have the opportunity to be active during the school day, they do not tend to compensate after school. Experimental research found that children were less active after school on days when they had no recess and PE classes in school (Dale, Corbin, & Dale, 2000).
Can PE be substituted for recess? The National Association for Sport and Physical Education says "No." In their position statement, they recommend both PE and recess, with PE providing a "sequential instructional program" related to physical activity and performance and recess providing unstructured play time where children "have choices, develop rules for play...and practice or use skills developed in physical education" (Council for Physical Education and Children, 2001). http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/recess.html
