Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries
Environmental settings influence children’s and adolescents’ physical activity (PA) in neighborhoods and schoolyards. This study aimed to explore the main characteristics of schoolyards in six Nordic–Baltic countries, to document how those facilities provide affordances for PA in 7–18 year–old schoo...
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2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111640 https://doaj.org/article/1ef626560aba434492f37a974cb6815c |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1ef626560aba434492f37a974cb6815c 2023-05-15T16:51:01+02:00 Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries Renata Rutkauskaite Thordis Gisladottir Maret Pihu Lise Kjonniksen Irinja Lounassalo Terhi Huovinen Rita Gruodyte-Raciene Kristina Visagurskiene Orn Olafson Merike Kull Ieva Rudzinska Ingun Fjørtoft 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111640 https://doaj.org/article/1ef626560aba434492f37a974cb6815c EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11640 https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050 doi:10.3390/su132111640 2071-1050 https://doaj.org/article/1ef626560aba434492f37a974cb6815c Sustainability, Vol 13, Iss 11640, p 11640 (2021) schoolyard design affordances physical activity pupils Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111640 2022-12-31T04:11:51Z Environmental settings influence children’s and adolescents’ physical activity (PA) in neighborhoods and schoolyards. This study aimed to explore the main characteristics of schoolyards in six Nordic–Baltic countries, to document how those facilities provide affordances for PA in 7–18 year–old schoolchildren, and how the schoolyard meets children’s preferences. One schoolyard was studied in each included country: Iceland, Norway, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The affordances, facilities, and equipment for PA in schoolyards were identified through orthophoto maps and standard registration forms. Children’s preferences were collected through group interviews at each participating school. A common design of schoolyards across countries indicated mostly flat topography with sparse vegetation and green areas dominated by large traditional sport arenas such as a football field, areas suitable for ball games, and track and field activities. Green spaces and varied topography were more prominent in Nordic countries. Across nationalities, the responses from pupils regarding the schoolyard were similar: they liked it though they wished for more variety of activities to do during recess. National regulations/recommendations for schoolyard design differed across the countries, being more restricted to sport fields and sport-related activities in Latvia and Lithuania, while in Nordic countries, the recommendations focused more on versatile schoolyard design. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway Recess ENVELOPE(-61.516,-61.516,-64.500,-64.500) Sustainability 13 21 11640 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
schoolyard design affordances physical activity pupils Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
schoolyard design affordances physical activity pupils Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Renata Rutkauskaite Thordis Gisladottir Maret Pihu Lise Kjonniksen Irinja Lounassalo Terhi Huovinen Rita Gruodyte-Raciene Kristina Visagurskiene Orn Olafson Merike Kull Ieva Rudzinska Ingun Fjørtoft Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries |
topic_facet |
schoolyard design affordances physical activity pupils Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Environmental settings influence children’s and adolescents’ physical activity (PA) in neighborhoods and schoolyards. This study aimed to explore the main characteristics of schoolyards in six Nordic–Baltic countries, to document how those facilities provide affordances for PA in 7–18 year–old schoolchildren, and how the schoolyard meets children’s preferences. One schoolyard was studied in each included country: Iceland, Norway, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The affordances, facilities, and equipment for PA in schoolyards were identified through orthophoto maps and standard registration forms. Children’s preferences were collected through group interviews at each participating school. A common design of schoolyards across countries indicated mostly flat topography with sparse vegetation and green areas dominated by large traditional sport arenas such as a football field, areas suitable for ball games, and track and field activities. Green spaces and varied topography were more prominent in Nordic countries. Across nationalities, the responses from pupils regarding the schoolyard were similar: they liked it though they wished for more variety of activities to do during recess. National regulations/recommendations for schoolyard design differed across the countries, being more restricted to sport fields and sport-related activities in Latvia and Lithuania, while in Nordic countries, the recommendations focused more on versatile schoolyard design. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Renata Rutkauskaite Thordis Gisladottir Maret Pihu Lise Kjonniksen Irinja Lounassalo Terhi Huovinen Rita Gruodyte-Raciene Kristina Visagurskiene Orn Olafson Merike Kull Ieva Rudzinska Ingun Fjørtoft |
author_facet |
Renata Rutkauskaite Thordis Gisladottir Maret Pihu Lise Kjonniksen Irinja Lounassalo Terhi Huovinen Rita Gruodyte-Raciene Kristina Visagurskiene Orn Olafson Merike Kull Ieva Rudzinska Ingun Fjørtoft |
author_sort |
Renata Rutkauskaite |
title |
Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries |
title_short |
Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries |
title_full |
Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries |
title_fullStr |
Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries |
title_full_unstemmed |
Schoolyard Affordances for Physical Activity: A Pilot Study in 6 Nordic–Baltic Countries |
title_sort |
schoolyard affordances for physical activity: a pilot study in 6 nordic–baltic countries |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111640 https://doaj.org/article/1ef626560aba434492f37a974cb6815c |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.516,-61.516,-64.500,-64.500) |
geographic |
Norway Recess |
geographic_facet |
Norway Recess |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Sustainability, Vol 13, Iss 11640, p 11640 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11640 https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050 doi:10.3390/su132111640 2071-1050 https://doaj.org/article/1ef626560aba434492f37a974cb6815c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111640 |
container_title |
Sustainability |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
21 |
container_start_page |
11640 |
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1766041126579470336 |