The main goal of this study is the development of comprehensive strategies aimed at improving break time practices in Israeli schools. The issue of school break time as an integral part of the school day has not yet been addressed in educational research in Israel. This qualitative case study involved more than 200 participants from 2 Israeli primary schools, representing 3 groups - principals, break time supervising teachers, and pupils. The study examines the perspectives of the research stakeholders on the purpose and implementation of break time. The recruitment of participants was carried out using purposive and convenience sampling methods. Five data collection tools were employed: documentary analysis, individual semistructured interviews with the three groups of stakeholders, focus group with teachers, observation of school yards and lobbies, and a questionnaire for pupils. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis, in which inductive coding was used. Study findings reveal that break time is perceived by teachers and principals as an energy-consuming, ill-planned part of the school day. Their main concerns are safety and disciplinary matters. A sense of frustration caused by break time duty problems, deteriorating discipline in schools, and lack of hope for improvement in teacher authority, was dominant in teacher responses. Little consensus was found on whether or not break time should be structured. Both principals and teachers underestimate the role of pupil-initiated free play. Most teachers underestimate the meaningful educational opportunities present during break time. Pupils perceive break time as a time for rest, game playing, and freedom from teacher control. Findings suggest that the preferred way of spending break time and the role of a duty teacher are perceived differently by pupils of different ages and gender groups. This study identifies a number of break time issues that have not yet received attention, such as enjoying a meal as a part of peer socialization, and ethical problems related to free play or involving playthings brought from home. Compared to previous research, this study suggests that feelings of loneliness experienced by pupils during break time increase as they grow older, reinforcing the idea of using break time as a platform for practice and improvement of social skills. The study concludes with recommendations for making social education a significant and planned part of the school curriculum, using the break time environment as a natural setting, integrated with the classroom. In addition, break time should be dealt with as part of the teacher-training process.

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/29/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-87).

Thesis (M.S.), Human Environmental Sciences--University of Central Oklahoma, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-34).

Syftet med studien är att uppmärksamma, förstå samt öka kunskapen om funktionen och meningen med skolans rast. På så vis bidrar studien till ökad kunskap kring såväl barns perspektiv och vilket handlingsutrymme de såväl skapar som nämner som meningsskapande. Genom att använda etnografi som vetenskaplig teknik avser studien belysa rasten utifrån aktiviteter och handlingar som sker.   Utifrån 50 timmars deltagande observation under en skolas förmiddags- och lunchraster består empirin av fältanteckningar, inspelade intervjuer och samtalspromenader . Data har från studiens början producerats under bearbetning, tolkning och analys av materialet. Utifrån denna har tre områden synliggjorts i såväl observationer, intervjuer och samtalspromenader. I studien redogörs detta för under följande rubriker: Skillnader i handlingsutrymme mellan flickor och pojkar,  Utemiljöns betydelse  för barns aktörskap och Vuxnas normer versus barns normer.   Studiens resultat lyfter fram viktiga aspekter av hur barnen själva uppfattar sitt aktörskap och handlingsutrymme utifrån rastens kontext genom sina berättelser och de observationer som genomförts. Resultatet visar skillnader i agerande och handlingsutrymme utifrån kön, där flickor uttrycker ett tydligt behov i att få förhandla kring vad som ska göras under rasten. Naturliga inslag i utemiljön som träd och buskar får en större betydelse och påverkan för barns meningsskapande än rastaktiviteter. Vuxnas normer versus barnens normer skapar hinder för det handlingsutrymme som barnen har behov av, framförallt när det gäller vissa former av lek och regelsättande men resultatet visar även skillnader i hur vuxna förhåller sig till skolans rast kontra hur barnen vill att de vuxna ska agera. / The purpose of the study is to pay attention to, understand and increase the knowledge of the school's recess. In this way, the study contributes to increased knowledge about both children´s perspective and what room of action they feel they have and need in order to create meaning. By being inspired and by using ethnography as a method, the study aims to highlight the recess based on activities and actions that take place  Based on 50 hours of participant observation during one school's morning and lunch breaks, the empiricism consists of field notes, interviews and walk-and-talk sessions. Data has since the beginning of the study been produced during processing, interpretation and analysis of the material. The process has made three areas visible in both observations, interviews and conversation walks. The study describes this under the following headings:  Differences in space of action between girls and boys, Environmental importance for the children’s agency and Adult norms versus children's standards.  The findings of the study highlight important aspects of how the children themselves perceive their agency and room of action, based on the context of the recess through their own stories and the observations made. The result shows differences in behavior and space of action based on gender, where girls express a clear need to negotiate what to do during the recess. Natural elements in the outdoor environment such as trees and shrubs have a greater significance and impact on children's meaning creation than adult controlled recess activities. Adult norms versus children's standards create barriers to the room for maneuver that the children need, especially when it comes to certain forms of play and regulation, but findings also show differences in how adults relate to the school's recess versus how the children want the adults to act.

This study investigated the heart rates of children in the first, third, and fifth grades of two schools during physical education class and recess time. One hundred and nine children (56 females, 53 males) participated in the eight-week study. Each participant wore a Polar Vantage XL receptor strap and watch receiver during physical education class and recess time on the same day. The average heart rates and percentage of time in and above the target heart zone of 150 to 200 beats per minute were recorded. A MANOVA analysis revealed no significant difference between heart rates during physical education and recess over the eight-week period. Gender differences, however, were significant as boys average heart rates were higher than girls and boys were in or above the target heart zone a higher percentage of the time than girls. This difference was especially evident at recess. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

The benefits of physical activity (PA) for children are well-researched and extend into the realms of physical health, mental health and executive function (EF). Nonetheless, most U.S. children fail to meet the recommended target of daily PA. Although elementary schools can provide an ideal setting for PA, school-based PA time has been reduced in favor of increased sedentary instructional time. This contradicts research that supports the role of PA in enhancing students’ EF and academic achievement. Moreover, low-income and minority populations have inequitable access to school-based PA opportunities. For these reasons, researchers and public health officials have proposed integrating additional opportunities for PA during the school day, including classroom-based active breaks. This dissertation aims to study existing U.S. classroom-based active break programs, examine the feasibility of implementing a classroom-based active break program and analyze the impact of an integrated program on both PA and EF, all among underserved, minority populations. This dissertation includes four chapters in total. The second chapter is a systematic review that evaluated the impact of school-based PA interventions on children’s PA, with a focus on diverse populations. The third chapter describes a pilot study that assessed the feasibility of implementing a classroom PA program (HYPE) in a diverse urban setting. Teacher and student acceptability of HYPE were evaluated, as well as HYPE’s impact on student PA. HYPE was feasible and well-received, although time and space were challenges. Children’s median step count/day increased. The waitlist-control study presented in Chapter IV examined whether a multifaceted program (“POWER”) that incorporates both PA and EF would impact fifth graders positively. We also investigated whether POWER could assist teachers with classroom behavioral management. Overall, the positive changes in the intervention group and their favorable reception of POWER demonstrate the ability of POWER to improve children’s socioemotional, mental and physical health. Altogether, these studies highlight the potential for school-based PA interventions to improve the holistic wellbeing of children, particularly low-income, minority youth. Interventions that incorporate a teacher-led, multimodal approach to improving children’s PA and EF synergistically may be well-received by administrators, teachers and students and help children adopt healthy, lifelong habits.

Lee Kit-ha. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-64). / Text in English; abstracts in English and Chinese. / Lee Kit-ha. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.viii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Role of Recess --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.1.1 --- Pro-recess Arguments --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.1.2 --- Anti-recess Arguments --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Under Utilization of the Recess --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- The Recess in Hong Kong and Other Settings --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2 --- Purpose of the Study --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3 --- Theoretical Framework --- p.8 / Chapter 1.4 --- Operational Definition --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Significance of the Study --- p.10 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Review of Literatures --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Values of Participating in Physical Activity --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Health Benefits --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Psychological Aspects --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Social-Intellectual Development --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2 --- School Environmental Variables that may Influence Children's Physical Activity --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Physical Environmental Influences --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Social Environmental Influences --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Observed Behaviors during Recess --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3 --- Time and Place for Physical Activity in School --- p.17 / Chapter 2.4 --- Physical Activity of Children in School --- p.18 / Chapter 2.5 --- Summary --- p.21 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Methodology --- p.22 / Chapter 3.1 --- Participants --- p.22 / Chapter 3.2 --- Instrumentation --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- "Measures of Physical Activity, Eating Behavior, and Related Environmental Events" --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.1.1 --- Behaviors of Eating and Activity for Children's Health Evaluation System (BEACHES) --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.1.2 --- Reliability and Validity of BEACHES --- p.27 / Chapter 3.2.1.3 --- "Observer Reliability (observer training , interobserver and intraobserver agreement scores)" --- p.27 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Measures of Physical Environmental Variables --- p.28 / Chapter 3.2.2.1 --- Environmental Inventory --- p.28 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Measures of Social Environmental Variables --- p.29 / Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- Situational Interview --- p.29 / Chapter 3.3 --- Observation Procedure --- p.29 / Chapter 3.4 --- Analysis of Data --- p.30 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- Results --- p.31 / Chapter 4.1 --- Results of BEACHES Variables --- p.32 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Physical Activity Levels --- p.32 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- School Types Comparison --- p.34 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Gender Comparison --- p.35 / Chapter 4.2 --- Relationship Between Physical Activity and Other Variables --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Physical Location and Physical Activity --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Prompts and Physical Activity --- p.37 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Recess Duration and Physical Activity --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3 --- Relationship Between Ingestion Behavior and Social Interactors --- p.38 / Chapter 4.4 --- Situational Interviews with Teachers --- p.39 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- Discussion --- p.41 / Chapter 5.1 --- Physical Activity and Ingestion Behaviors of Children --- p.42 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Physical Activity Behaviors --- p.42 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Physical Activity Levels and Recess duration --- p.43 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Ingestion Behaviors - --- p.43 / Chapter 5.2 --- Variables that Influence Physical Activity of Children --- p.44 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Social Environmental Variables --- p.44 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Gender Differences in Physical Activity --- p.46 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Physical Environmental Variables --- p.47 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- Conclusion and Recommendations --- p.52 / Chapter 6.1 --- Conclusion --- p.52 / Chapter 6.2 --- Recommendation --- p.53 / References --- p.56 / Appendices --- p.65

O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender o conflito nas relações de gênero entre crianças das 1as às 4as séries. Em um recreio escolar procurei captar de que modo as culturas infantis eram ali produzidas e como se relacionavam com a cultura adulta. A escassez de pesquisas brasileiras levou-me a privilegiar a literatura internacional. O problema de pesquisa configurou-se da indagação sobre os mecanismos de interação e de organização grupal no recreio, que pareceu-me ocorrer numa forma conflituosa de relacionamento entre meninos e meninas. A etnografia serviu como mediação metodológica e ética na pesquisa construída a partir de diferentes enfoques disciplinares: a psicologia, a sociologia e a antropologia. A observação e as entrevistas resultaram no material de trabalho a ser analisado. No ano de 2001, realizei 28 registros de campo, sobre o recreio em que circulavam 240 crianças. No final desse ano assisti a 40 aulas de 50 minutos, distribuídas pelas quatro turmas de 3as e 4as séries, e priorizei as aulas de educação artística e educação física, por realizarem mais atividades grupais. Entrevistei 55 das 120 crianças das 3as e 4as séries. Estabeleci a diferença entre os conflitos como estratégias de aproximação e os que significavam rupturas e oposições. Para isso, foi preciso observá-los em seus contextos, os resultados produzidos, a disposição das crianças (palavras, gestos, olhares) e, através dessa complexidade, compreender suas significações. Foi necessário definir os conceitos de conflito, de agressividade, de violência e de lúdico, e incluir o conceito de jogos de gênero, para viabilizar a análise das cenas lúdico-conflituosas. Sobre essa forma de interação construí a hipótese de sociabilidade do conflito, caracterizada por distanciamento entre os sexos nos momentos amistosos e aproximação proposital nos momentos conflituosos. Trabalhei sobre três eixos de ações: atividades turbulentas; episódios de invasões; provocações verbais e físicas, aqui incluídos os xingamentos produzidos pelos garotos, e os tapas, pelas garotas. Numa forma diferenciada, que designei como regulamentação das relações de gênero, estavam as experiências dos clubinhos, que organizavam amistosamente o distanciamento ou a aproximação entre os sexos. O clubinho era um tipo de organização grupal baseado em regras construídas pelas crianças, visando à aproximação ou separação entre os sexos, em parte similar a experiências de rua presentes na cidade de São Paulo em outras épocas, analisadas por outros autores. Vários aspectos permearam as relações de gênero ali encontradas: a importância da linguagem, a interligação entre cultura lúdica, infância e escola, a gestão dos espaços, as políticas de sexualidade e de vivência corporal. Os resultados apresentam as particularidades de uma cultura infantil e sua produção/reprodução das relações de gênero, e a escola como um espaço contraditório capaz de, se o desejar, compreender as necessidades infantis encontradas e desenvolver ações direcionadas a elas, contribuindo para que a vivência cotidiana inclua a crítica às desigualdades sociais e aos preconceitos em relação às questões de gênero e às demais diferenças. / The goal in this study was to understand the conflict in the gender relations among children from 1st to 4th grades. During school recess time I tried to capture how childrens cultures were generated there and how they related to adult culture. The lack of Brazilian research on the issue led me to privilege the international literature. The problem in this research sprang from my questioning about the mechanisms of interaction and of group organization during school recess time, which seemed to occur under a conflicting relation between boys and girls. Ethnography was employed as an ethical and methodological mediation in a research that was built based on three different approaches: that of psychology, of sociology and of anthropology. The material to be analyzed resulted from field observations and interviews. In the year 2001 I made 28 field records about the school recess time, in which 240 children circulated. At the end of that year I followed 40 classes of 50 minutes each, given to four classes of 3rd and 4th grades; priority was given to gym and art classes due to its privileging of group activities. Fiftyfive of a total of 120 children in the 3rd and 4th grades were interviewed. I established a difference between those conflicts created as a strategy to get closer to another child from those that meant ruptures and oppositions. In order to do so it was necessary to follow them in their contexts, to watch the result of the interaction, to observe the childrens disposition (words, gestures, looks) and try to understand the meaning in all that through its complexity. It was necessary to define the concepts of conflict, aggressiveness, violence and playfulness. In addition, I had to include the concept for gender games in order to make possible an analysis of the playful-conflicting scenes. About such a mode of interaction, I proposed the hypothesis of sociability of the conflict, which is characterized by the distancing between the sexes during those moments of friendliness, and intentional proximity during the situations of conflict. The study followed three lines of action: turbulent activities; invasion episodes; and physical and verbal provocations, including name calling by the boys, and slapping by the girls. A different mode, which I defined as regulation of gender relations, could be observed in the experiences of small clubs, which organized the distancing or the approximation moves between the sexes in a friendly way. The small club was a kind of group organization based on rules made by the children themselves, aiming at the approximation or separation between the sexes, partially similar to episodes that occurred in the streets of the city of São Paulo in other historical periods, as analyzed by other authors. A number of aspects pervaded those gender relations: the importance of language, the interconnection between a culture of playfulness, childhood and school, the management of different spaces, the politics of sexuality and corporal experience. The results show those particularities of an infantile culture and its production/reproduction of gender relations, and the school as a contradictory space in which it is possible to offer understanding towards infantile needs and to develop actions focused on them, thus contributing to make day-to-day life include criticism to social inequalities and to prejudice based on gender issues and other differences.

O objetivo deste estudo foi compreender o conflito nas relações de gênero entre crianças das 1as às 4as séries. Em um recreio escolar procurei captar de que modo as culturas infantis eram ali produzidas e como se relacionavam com a cultura adulta. A escassez de pesquisas brasileiras levou-me a privilegiar a literatura internacional. O problema de pesquisa configurou-se da indagação sobre os mecanismos de interação e de organização grupal no recreio, que pareceu-me ocorrer numa forma conflituosa de relacionamento entre meninos e meninas. A etnografia serviu como mediação metodológica e ética na pesquisa construída a partir de diferentes enfoques disciplinares: a psicologia, a sociologia e a antropologia. A observação e as entrevistas resultaram no material de trabalho a ser analisado. No ano de 2001, realizei 28 registros de campo, sobre o recreio em que circulavam 240 crianças. No final desse ano assisti a 40 aulas de 50 minutos, distribuídas pelas quatro turmas de 3as e 4as séries, e priorizei as aulas de educação artística e educação física, por realizarem mais atividades grupais. Entrevistei 55 das 120 crianças das 3as e 4as séries. Estabeleci a diferença entre os conflitos como estratégias de aproximação e os que significavam rupturas e oposições. Para isso, foi preciso observá-los em seus contextos, os resultados produzidos, a disposição das crianças (palavras, gestos, olhares) e, através dessa complexidade, compreender suas significações. Foi necessário definir os conceitos de conflito, de agressividade, de violência e de lúdico, e incluir o conceito de jogos de gênero, para viabilizar a análise das cenas lúdico-conflituosas. Sobre essa forma de interação construí a hipótese de sociabilidade do conflito, caracterizada por distanciamento entre os sexos nos momentos amistosos e aproximação proposital nos momentos conflituosos. Trabalhei sobre três eixos de ações: atividades turbulentas; episódios de invasões; provocações verbais e físicas, aqui incluídos os xingamentos produzidos pelos garotos, e os tapas, pelas garotas. Numa forma diferenciada, que designei como regulamentação das relações de gênero, estavam as experiências dos clubinhos, que organizavam amistosamente o distanciamento ou a aproximação entre os sexos. O clubinho era um tipo de organização grupal baseado em regras construídas pelas crianças, visando à aproximação ou separação entre os sexos, em parte similar a experiências de rua presentes na cidade de São Paulo em outras épocas, analisadas por outros autores. Vários aspectos permearam as relações de gênero ali encontradas: a importância da linguagem, a interligação entre cultura lúdica, infância e escola, a gestão dos espaços, as políticas de sexualidade e de vivência corporal. Os resultados apresentam as particularidades de uma cultura infantil e sua produção/reprodução das relações de gênero, e a escola como um espaço contraditório capaz de, se o desejar, compreender as necessidades infantis encontradas e desenvolver ações direcionadas a elas, contribuindo para que a vivência cotidiana inclua a crítica às desigualdades sociais e aos preconceitos em relação às questões de gênero e às demais diferenças. / The goal in this study was to understand the conflict in the gender relations among children from 1st to 4th grades. During school recess time I tried to capture how childrens cultures were generated there and how they related to adult culture. The lack of Brazilian research on the issue led me to privilege the international literature. The problem in this research sprang from my questioning about the mechanisms of interaction and of group organization during school recess time, which seemed to occur under a conflicting relation between boys and girls. Ethnography was employed as an ethical and methodological mediation in a research that was built based on three different approaches: that of psychology, of sociology and of anthropology. The material to be analyzed resulted from field observations and interviews. In the year 2001 I made 28 field records about the school recess time, in which 240 children circulated. At the end of that year I followed 40 classes of 50 minutes each, given to four classes of 3rd and 4th grades; priority was given to gym and art classes due to its privileging of group activities. Fiftyfive of a total of 120 children in the 3rd and 4th grades were interviewed. I established a difference between those conflicts created as a strategy to get closer to another child from those that meant ruptures and oppositions. In order to do so it was necessary to follow them in their contexts, to watch the result of the interaction, to observe the childrens disposition (words, gestures, looks) and try to understand the meaning in all that through its complexity. It was necessary to define the concepts of conflict, aggressiveness, violence and playfulness. In addition, I had to include the concept for gender games in order to make possible an analysis of the playful-conflicting scenes. About such a mode of interaction, I proposed the hypothesis of sociability of the conflict, which is characterized by the distancing between the sexes during those moments of friendliness, and intentional proximity during the situations of conflict. The study followed three lines of action: turbulent activities; invasion episodes; and physical and verbal provocations, including name calling by the boys, and slapping by the girls. A different mode, which I defined as regulation of gender relations, could be observed in the experiences of small clubs, which organized the distancing or the approximation moves between the sexes in a friendly way. The small club was a kind of group organization based on rules made by the children themselves, aiming at the approximation or separation between the sexes, partially similar to episodes that occurred in the streets of the city of São Paulo in other historical periods, as analyzed by other authors. A number of aspects pervaded those gender relations: the importance of language, the interconnection between a culture of playfulness, childhood and school, the management of different spaces, the politics of sexuality and corporal experience. The results show those particularities of an infantile culture and its production/reproduction of gender relations, and the school as a contradictory space in which it is possible to offer understanding towards infantile needs and to develop actions focused on them, thus contributing to make day-to-day life include criticism to social inequalities and to prejudice based on gender issues and other differences.