It turns out there is truth to the phrase “quality over quantity,” as new research is showing that quality recess time in school can have an impact on a student’s behavior. School is an important part of a child’s development, and it is about a lot more than learning to read or solve math problems. Children are learning important social skills, and they are getting some great physical exercise at the same time. If you asked a child, they may tell you that their favorite time of the school day is recess, and recess is also important for them.

However, it is not the amount of recess time that students get that matters, it is how beneficial it is. According to Medical Xpress, a new study is showing that the quality of a recess period can influence not only a student’s behavior, but their social-emotional development.

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The study was completed by Oregon State University and it can be read in full here. It found that quality recess time plays a major role in how many benefits children receive from recess. William Massey is one of the study authors and he stated that not all recess is created equal, suggesting that recess is about a lot more than just telling children to go outside.

He is also saying that now is the time for schools to evaluate their recess times and how they can make it more child-friendly. The study was completed by doing in-person evaluations of students in the 3rd and 5th grade at 25 different schools for the 2018-2019 school year. When it came to measuring “quality recess” the researchers looked at physical and environmental safety, if children had space to play and if they had the right equipment to play for. They also looked at whether children had diverse options when it comes to play.

Recess in a space that is just an open driveway with a fence, is not providing quality recess time for children. They then looked at children’s behavior in school, like the occurrence of physical and verbal conflict and how well students could resolve the issue on their own. They also watched the adults on the playground to see how they reacted to conflict and what they were doing while the students were on recess. Schools that had quality recess environments had fewer incidences of negative behavior in the classrooms. While not all schools have funding to add quality equipment, the researchers state that just making sure the area is safe, clean and set up for play is enough to bring these changes.

Sources: Medical Xpress, Wiley Online Library