Participatory school ground design: play behaviour and student and teacher views of a school ground post-construction

ABSTRACT

Participatory school ground design projects have acknowledged benefits for children’s sense of empowerment, ownership and learning, but the play behaviour outcomes of these school ground projects are less understood. The aim was to investigate the use of a renovated school ground in Colorado, USA that had engaged students in the redesign process. Behaviour mapping investigated the spatial distribution of children’s (n = 342) play behaviours, through observations of active, constructive, imaginative, reflective and conversational school ground play. Walk-along and semi-structured interviews with 52 students aged 5–13 years and 9 school staff explored views of the school ground design post-construction. The results indicate that there were aspects of the school ground design that warranted further improvement to facilitate social interaction, girls’ preferred play choices, and older children’s sense of challenge in the school ground. The research presents design recommendations and reflects upon the benefits of continued community engagement in school redesign.

KEYWORDS:

• School ground
• nature play
• participatory design
• behaviour mapping
• gender
• age

Acknowledgments

Angela Kreutz would like to thank Lori Carlussi for her voluntary assistance in conducting observations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Angela Kreutz acknowledges the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) for financial support of the abroad research project. Jenny Veitch is supported by an Australian National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship (ID 101928).

Notes on contributors

Angela Kreutz

Angela Kreutz is a Lecturer in Architecture at Deakin University, Australia. Angela’s interdisciplinary research within the field of Children and the Environment lies between architecture, anthropology and environmental psychology. Her research aims to better understand the relationship between children and the built environment across cultural contexts. Angela has researched, collaborated, and consulted with children from across the globe, including Australia, Europe and the United States. Her book Children and the Environment in an Australian Indigenous Community (Routledge, 2015) is both a historical and contemporary ethnography of children and their families in Cherbourg, Australia. As a DAAD postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado she researched intergenerational values in sustainable park design. Her broad research interests include children’s ethnography, community participatory planning, intergenerational design, and architectural anthropology.

Anna Timperio

Anna Timperio is Professor Timperio is Deputy Director of Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition. She has training in health promotion and behavioural epidemiology and a background in health promotion evaluation. Her work has focused on understanding family and neighbourhood influences on physical activity and sedentary behaviour among children and young people, and finding and evaluating solutions to help children and youth move more and sit less.

Jenny Veitch

Jenny Veitch is an Associate Professor, supported by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Future Leader Fellowship, in the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, at Deakin University. Her research aims to better understand how design of the neighbourhood built and social environment may influence physical activity across the lifespan. A/Prof Veitch has a particular research focus on understanding how parks and public open spaces can be designed to encourage people of all ages to engage in physical activity.