Observational studyBMC public health2018
Development of the great recess framework - observational tool to measure contextual and behavioral components of elementary school recess.
Observational study in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Educational outcomes of recess in elementary school children: A mixed-methods systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review of existing observational tools to measure the food and physical activity environment in schools.Health & place · 2020Pooled it
- Examining relationships between U.S. children's physical activity levels during recess, school days, and weekend days.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- Schoolyard Level Inventory for Describing the Environment: Linking High-Resolution Spatiotemporal Data to the Physical Environment to Understand Children's Physical Activity Behaviors.The Journal of school health · 2025Article
- Introducing the Multidimensional Toolkit for the Assessment of Play in Schools (M-TAPS): a reliability study.F1000Research · 2025Article
- "And I still remember it to this day": A qualitative exploration of retrospective memories of school-based recess.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Parents' perceptions of school recess policies and practices.BMC public health · 2022Article
- The Management of Safety Situations and Assumable Risk during Transitions and Recesses in Different Types of Schools.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Does play-based experience provide for inclusiveness? A case study of multi-dimensional indicators.Child indicators research · 2022Article
- From policy to practice: Examining the role of recess in elementary school.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2021Article
- An observational study of recess quality and physical activity in urban primary schools.BMC public health · 2020Observational
- Examination of the Responsiveness of the Great Recess Framework-Observational Tool.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Observations of playground play during elementary school recess.BMC research notes · 2018Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhysical activity (PA) remains the primary behavioral outcome associated with school recess, while many other potentially relevant indicators of recess remain unexamined. Few studies have assessed observations of teacher/student interactions, peer conflict, social interactions, or safety within the recess environment. Furthermore, a psychometrically-sound instrument does not exist to examine safety, resources, student engagement, adult engagement, pro-social/anti-social behavior, and student empowerment on the playground. The purpose of the current study was to develop a valid, and reliable, assessment tool intended for use in measurement of the contextual factors associated with recess.
methodsAn iterative and multi-step process was used to develop a tool that measures safety and structure, adult engagement and supervision, student behaviors, and transitions at recess. Exploratory structural equation modeling (Mplus v. 7.4) was used to examine the underlying measurement model with observational data of the recess environment collected at 649 school-based recess periods that spanned across 22 urban/metropolitan areas in the USA. Data were also collected by two researchers at 162 recess sessions across 9 schools to examine reliability.
resultsA 17-item observation instrument, the Great Recess Framework - Observational Tool (GRF-OT), was created. Findings of exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) analyses supported factorial validity for a 4-factor solution and linear regressions established convergent validity where 'structure and safety', 'adult engagement and supervision', and 'student behaviors' were all significantly related to observed activity levels. Each sub-scale of the GRF-OT showed adequate levels of inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability analysis indicated a higher level of stability for the GRF-OT when using a three-day average across two time points as compared to a two-day average.
conclusionsInitial evidence for a valid, and reliable, assessment tool to observationally measure the recess environment with a specific focus on safety, resources, student engagement, adult engagement, pro-social/anti-social behavior, and student empowerment was established in this study. Use of the GRF-OT can inspire evaluation, and subsequent intervention, to strategically create consistent, appropriate, and engaging school recess that impact children's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.