An Evaluation of Preschool Children’s Physical Activity within Indoor Preschool Play Environments
Bibliographic record
Abstract
This observational study provides a multiple case comparison of the physical activity of preschool children during designated ‘free play’ within indoor play spaces at their preschool. The study assessed three recreational preschool program sites within the Municipality of Strathcona County, Alberta including the Ardrossan Recreation Complex, the Kinsmen Leisure Centre, and the Strathcona Olympiette Centre. The study sample was comprised of preschool children, aged three to five years, (n=125) enrolled in these programs from September 2014 to June 2015. Video observations were recorded each month over this nine month period; these video observations were in lieu of direct observation. Brown et al.’s (2006) Observation System for Recording Physical Activity in Children – Preschool (OSRAC-P) was used to collect information about the type and intensity of physical activity, the physical environment, and the social context in which play occurs. Three research questions guided this work: 1. How physically active are preschool children during designated free play time in indoor play spaces at their preschool? 2. What types of play activities promote the highest and lowest levels of physical activity among preschool children during designated free play time in indoor play spaces at their preschool? 3. What types of physical activity do preschool children engage in during designated free play time in indoor play spaces at their preschool? A descriptive analysis of the level and types of physical activity and types of play activity, including frequency and Pearson Chi-square testing, was completed. Findings indicated that participating preschool children were largely sedentary during designated free play time within indoor play settings. One site, however, provided evidence that indoor play spaces can promote higher levels of physical activity. Statistically significant differences were found in levels and types of physical activity and play activities when comparing the sites, suggesting that the specific preschool site significantly influences physical activity and play of preschool children. OSRAC-P variables related to social context were analyzed and revealed that a focus on active play opportunities, teacher facilitation during play, and higher social interaction may stimulate increased physical activity. These associations require further testing to ensure generalizability. Given these findings, further investigation is also needed to identify the specific correlates that influence young children’s physical activity during free play within indoor play spaces. Future research needs to consider both the immediate play setting and the role of the broader levels of influence including public policy.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".