The effects of unstructured outdoor play on motor coordination, self-esteem, and perceived physical ability in elementary-aged children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the LiiNK® modified recess intervention on physiological and psychological differences in 9-11-year-olds from two school districts. District 1, the modified recess intervention group (N =120), had 30 minutes of daily recess and a daily 15-minute Positive Action® Curriculum, while District 2, the control group (N = 98), had 30 minutes or less of daily recess. The physiological assessment included the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder® (KTK) to assess motor coordination. The psychological components included the KID-KINDL self-esteem subscale and the Perceived Physical Ability Scale (PPASC). Parent consent and child assent were obtained before the children participated in the physical education class. A repeated measures MANCOVA was conducted for research question 1 to examine group and sex differences in physiological and psychological assessments from Time 1 to Time 2, controlling for grade. The control group outperformed the intervention on the PPASC (p < 0.001). Additionally, males exhibited higher scores than females on the single leg hop (p = 0.030), lateral jump (p = 0.018), and PPASC (p = 0.013). Research question 2 explored the relationships between motor coordination, body fat percentage, self-esteem, and perceived physical ability scores in children at Time 1 and Time 2. Moderate to strong positive correlations were found between total MQ scores for the following KTK subtests: walking backward (Time 1 r = 0.651, p < 0.001; Time 2 r = 0.669, p < 0.001), lateral jump (r = 0.759, p < 0.001), sideways stepping (Time 1 r = 0.742, p < 0.001; Time 2 r = 0.698, p < 0.001), and single leg hop (Time 1 r = 0.744, p < 0.001; Time 2 r = 0.669, p < 0.001), whereas lateral jumping (r = 0.766, p < 0.001) was only found to be correlated with MQ at Time 2. These findings suggest that 60-minutes of recess better supports children's holistic development than 30 minutes, with males benefiting more, likely due to higher physical activity participation at their developmental age