NASP Children's Fund Community Recovery Project

Play and Recess

View an advance chapter on play from Best Practices V, coming in February 2008

 

Research Findings

• Play is essential to the development of children and youth because it contributes to their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being. 

Ginsburg, K. R., Committee on Communications, & Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. (2007).  The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds.  Pediatrics, 119, 182-191.  Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/
pediatrics;119/1/182?eaf

• A study of four-year-old girls and boys revealed that attention to classroom tasks was greater following sustained outdoor play periods.

Holmes, R. M., Pellegrini, A. D., & Schmidt, S. L. (2006).  The effects of different recess timing regimens on preschoolers’ classroom attention.  Early Child Development and Care, 176, 735-743. 

• The results of one two-year study found that providing a safe play space (with attendants to ensure safety) for inner-city schoolchildren resulted in 84% more physically active children compared to children in a comparable neighborhood. 

Parley, T. A., Meriwether, R. A., Baker, E. T., Watkins, L. T., Johnson, C. C., & Webber, L. S. (2007).  Safe play spaces to promote physical activity in inner-city children: Results from a pilot study of an environmental intervention.  American Journal of Public Health, 97, 1625-1631. 

• A play program for 10- and 11-year old students consisting of a weekly two-hour, adult-guided session yielded significant increases in the students’ verbal creativity and graphic–figural creativity.

Garaigordobil, M. (2006).  Intervention in creativity with children aged 10 and 11 years: Impact of a play program on verbal and graphic–figural creativity.  Creativity Research Journal, 18, 329-345. 

Reports

Recess: Is It Needed in the 21st Century?

Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting, University of Illinois
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/poptopics/recess.html

The End of Recess

District Administration: The Magazine for K-12 Education Leaders
http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=336

The Importance of Play

Curriculum Leadership
http://cmslive.curriculum.edu.au/leader/default.asp?id=15436&issueID=10395 

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

American Academy of Pediatrics
http://www.aap.org/pressroom/playFINAL.pdf and
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;119/1/182?eaf

The Role of Recess in Children's Cognitive Performance and School Adjustment

Educational Researcher
http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/Publications/Journals/
Educational_Researcher/3401/2672-03_Pellegrini.pdf

Position Statements

Recess and the Importance of Play: A Position Statement on Young Children and Recess

National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education
http://naecs.crc.uiuc.edu/position/recessplay.html

Recess in Elementary Schools: A Position Paper from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education  

Council on Physical Education for Children
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/current_res.pdf

Websites

American Association for the Child’s Right to Play
http://www.ipausa.org/recesshandbook.htm

Playing for Keeps
http://www.playingforkeeps.org

Additional References

Barbour, A. C. (1999).  The impact of playground design on the play behaviors of children with differing levels of physical competence.  Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 14, 75–98.

Broadhead, P. (2006).  Developing an understanding of young children's learning through play: the place of observation, interaction and reflection.  British Educational Research Journal, 32, 191-207. 

Brotman, L. M., Gouley, K. K., & Chesir-Teran, D. (2005).  Assessing peer entry and play in preschoolers at risk for maladjustment.  Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 671-680.   

Butler, C., & Weatherall, A. (2006).  “No, we're not playing families": Membership categorization in children's play.  Research on Language and Social Interaction, 39, 441-470. 

Cote, L. R., & Bornstein, M. H. (2005).  Child and mother play in cultures of origin, acculturating cultures, and cultures of destination.  International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 479-488.   

Dyer, S., & Moneta, G. B. (2006).  Frequency of parallel, associative, and cooperative play in British children of different socioeconomic status.  Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 34, 587-592.   

Howard, J., Jenvey, V., & Hill, C. (2006).  Children’s categorisation of play and learning based on social context.  Early Child Development and Care, 176, 379-393.

Howe, N., Petrakos, H., Rinaldi, C. M., & LeFebvre, R. (2005).  “This is a bad dog, you know...”: Constructing shared meanings during sibling pretend play.  Child Development, 76, 783-794. 

Jarrett, O. S. (2002).  Recess in elementary school: What does the research say?  ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education.  (ERIC Digest Document No. EDO-PS-02-5).  Retrieved December 6, 2007, from http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/2002/jarrett02.html

Jarrett, O. S., Maxwell, D. M., Dickerson, C., Hoge, P., Davies, G., & Yetley, A. (1998). The impact of recess on classroom ''>  Journal of Educational Research, 92, 121-126.

Lagacé-Séguin, D. G., & d’Entremont, M.-R. L. (2006).  The role of child negative affect in the relations between parenting styles and play.  Early Child Development and Care, 176, 461-477.   

Luckey, A. J., & Fabes, R. A. (2005).  Understanding nonsocial play in early childhood.  Early Childhood Education Journal, 33, 67-72. 

Malone, K., & Tranter, P. J. (2003).  School grounds as sites for learning: making the most of environmental opportunities.  Environmental Education Research, 9, 283-303. 

Pellegrini, A. D., & Bjorklund, D. F. (1996).  The role of recess in children's cognitive performance.  Educational Psychologist, 31, 181-187.

Pellegrini, A. D., & Blatchford, P. (2002).  The developmental and educational significance of recess in schools.  Early Report, 29, 1-7.  Retrieved December 6, 2007, from http://cehd.umn.edu/ceed/publications/earlyreport/spring02.htm

Prezza, M., & Pacilli, M. G. (2007).  Current fear of crime, sense of community, and loneliness in Italian adolescents: The role of autonomous mobility and play during childhood.  Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 151-170. 

Rakoczy, H. (2007).  Play, games, and the development of collective intentionality.  New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2007, 53-67.   

Rakoczy, H., Tomasello, M., & Striano, T. (2006).  The role of experience and discourse in children's developing understanding of pretend play actions.  British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24, 305-335.   

Samuelsson, I. P., & Johansson, E. (2006).  Play and learning—inseparable dimensions in preschool practice.  Early Child Development and Care, 176, 47-65.   

Saracho, O. N., & Spodek, B. (2006).  Young children's literacy-related play.  Early Child Development and Care, 176, 707-721.  

Smith, P., & Hagan, T. (1980).  Effects of deprivation of exercise play in nursery school children.  Animal Behaviour, 28, 922-928.

Susa, A. M., & Benedict, J. O. (1994).  The effects of playground design on pretend play and divergent thinking.  Environment and Behavior, 26, 560–579.

Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Shannon, J. D., Cabrera, N. J., & Lamb, M. E. (2004).  Fathers and mothers at play with their 2- and 3-year-olds: contributions to language and cognitive development.  Child Development, 75, 1806-1820. 

Vickerius, M., & Sandberg, A. (2006).  The significance of play and the environment around play.  Early Child Development and Care, 176, 207-217. 

Waite-Stupiansky, S., & Findlay, M. (2001). The fourth R: Recess and its link to learning. Educational Forum, 66, 16-24. 

Walsh, G., Sproule, L., McGuinness, C., Trew, K., Rafferty, H., & Sheehy, N. (2006).  An appropriate curriculum for 4–5-year-old children in Northern Ireland : comparing play-based and formal approaches.  Early Years: Journal of International Research and Development, 26, 201-221.