Abstract
The benefits of outdoor play for children’s well-rounded development are maximized when children experience enjoyment and, at the same time, gain physical, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional competence. This study examined the quality of outdoor play in Chinese kindergartens, the dominant form of full-day early childhood education program serving children aged from 3 to 6 years in China. The Outdoor Play Rating Scale was used to study the quality of the provision for children’s outdoor play. A total of 174 classrooms from 91 kindergartens in Zhejiang Province were included in the study. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to select kindergartens and classrooms. Results indicated that there was inadequate opportunity for outdoor play, including free play, as well as low level of physical activity by children. We found significant differences in quality of outdoor play across kindergartens in different locations (urban/non-urban areas). Recommendations were provided to practitioners in the discussion that primarily emphasized addressing the need to increase opportunities for children’s access to a wide range of outdoor activities and to improve teachers’ professional competencies in organizing quality outdoor activities for children. Implications for policymakers include the need to narrow the gap in the quality of outdoor environments in kindergartens so that children’s play is supported in ways that will enhance children’s early development and learning.
Résumé
Les bienfaits du jeu en plein air pour le développement équilibré des enfants sont optimisés lorsque les enfants y prennent du plaisir et, en même temps, y gagnent en compétence physique, motrice, cognitive et socio émotionnelle. Cette étude a examiné la qualité du jeu en plein air dans les écoles maternelles chinoises, la forme dominante de programme à plein temps d’éducation de la petite enfance desservant les enfants de 3 à 6 ans en Chine. L’Outdoor Play Rating Scale (échelle de notation du jeu en plein air) a servi à évaluer la qualité des jeux en plein air offerts aux enfants. L’étude comportait un total de 174 classes de 91 écoles maternelles de la province du Zhejiang, sélectionnées selon une procédure d’échantillonnage aléatoire stratifié. Les résultats indiquent qu’il n’y a pas suffisamment d’occasions de jeu en plein air, y compris de jeu libre, et que le niveau d’activité physique des enfants est faible. Nous avons trouvé des différences significatives dans la qualité du jeu extérieur parmi les écoles maternelles des différents lieux (zones urbaines/non urbaines). Des recommandations ont été adressées aux praticiens au travers d’une discussion qui mettait d’abord l’accent sur le besoin d’augmenter les occasions pour les enfants d’accéder à une large gamme d’activités de plein air, ainsi que d’améliorer les compétences professionnelles des enseignants à organiser des activités de plein air de qualité. Cela implique pour les professionnels et les législateurs qu’il faut rétrécir l’écart de qualité entre les environnements extérieurs des écoles maternelles afin que le jeu soit soutenu de façon à améliorer le développement et l’apprentissage des jeunes enfants.
Resumen
Las ventajas del juego al aire libre para el desarrollo integral de los niños se maximizan cuando los niños se divierten al mismo tiempo que adquieren competencias físicas, motrices, cognitivas y socioemocionales. Este estudio analiza la calidad de los juegos al aire libre en las guarderías chinas, el método predominante del programa de educación para la primera infancia (ECE, por sus siglas en inglés) a jornada completa que atiende a niños entre los 3 y 6 años de edad en China. Se ha utilizado la escala de valoración de juegos al aire libre (OPRS, por sus siglas en inglés) para evaluar la calidad del que es impartido a los niños. El estudio abarca un total de 174 clases de 91 guarderías de la provincia de Zhejiang. Se utilizó un procedimiento de muestreo aleatorio estratificado para seleccionar las guarderías y las clases. Los resultados muestran que no existen suficientes posibilidades de jugar al aire libre, incluyendo actividades libres, y que el nivel de actividad física de los niños es bajo. Hemos encontrado diferencias significativas en la calidad de los juegos en función de cada guardería. Se ha ofrecido recomendaciones a las guarderías mediante debates que hacen hincapié, principalmente, en solventar la necesidad de aumentar las oportunidades para que los niños puedan acceder a una amplia gama de actividades al aire libre, y en mejorar las competencias profesionales de los profesores y profesoras a la hora de organizar actividades al aire libre de calidad para los niños. Las implicaciones para los profesionales y los legisladores incluyen la necesidad de reducir las diferencias en la calidad de los entornos al aire libre que ofrecen las guarderías para reforzar el juego de los niños de manera que se mejoren el desarrollo y el aprendizaje temprano de los niños.
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Notes
Note Here the term ‘location’ is not used geographically, but rather refers to type of places at different levels within Chinese the administrative division system: Generally, a province in China, equivalent to a state in the US, may have several municipalities (e.g., Zhejiang Province has ten municipalities); a municipality administers a city and several counties and the city is the capital of the municipality usually with higher population density and better infrastructure and social resources; a county has many towns with the capital town referred as ‘county seat’ in this paper; and a town is the lowest level of government that administers many villages. In the social and economic contexts of China, ‘urban area’ usually refers to cities and ‘non-urban area’ refers to counties including county seats, towns, and villages.
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Acknowledgments
The research and preparation of this manuscript is supported by the following grants: (a) A Multidimensional and Integrated View Approach to Chinese Preschool Evaluation from the National Social Science Foundation for Young Scholars of China (Grant No. CHA110131); (b) A National Mechanism and Policy Study to Ensure Every Age-qualifying Child a Basic and Quality Early Education (Grant No. AHA110004); (c) Establishing a Quality Evaluation and Monitoring System for Preschool Education in Zhejiang Province from Zhejiang Provincial Social Science Foundation (Grant No. 11JCJY12YB).
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Hu, B.Y., Li, K., De Marco, A. et al. Examining the Quality of Outdoor Play in Chinese Kindergartens. IJEC 47, 53–77 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-014-0114-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-014-0114-9