Sampling Social Experiences in School: Feasibility of Experience Sampling Methodology on an iPlatform

This paper reports on a pilot study testing the feasibility of an app as a survey tool for exploring the social experiences of high school students who are vision impaired. The Participation in Everyday Life Survey app was designed for use with the Experience Sampling Method. This method uses in-the-moment surveys to understand individuals’ experiences of everyday activities and situations. Pilot testing shows the app to be usable and accessible for people with vision impairments and high school students who are sighted but who have other disabilities. This pilot study has also shown that the Experience Sampling Method has the potential to provide useful insights into the social experiences of high school students who are vision impaired

P.I.E.L. Survey Application Manual

This is the manual that accompanies the P.I.E.L. Survey App. This App is a simple survey tool that can be used offline in research by people with and without disabilities. It utilises the accessibility features of iDevices, in particular the text to speech voiceover options. It was designed for use with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). This is an in-the-moment survey method in which participants, when alerted, fill in a short survey about their current activities and experiences

Being noticed for the way you are: social inclusion and high school students with vision impairment

This study explored the social inclusion in high school of Australian students with vision impairment (VI). We sought to understand how students described school social inclusion, whether they felt included and what influenced these perceptions. As part of a larger mixed methods study, 12 students with VI, who had previously answered the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire, were interviewed about the social aspects of school. These interviews were analysed thematically. Participants described social inclusion as about being noticed and not overlooked by others. While two-thirds of participants reported satisfactory social relationships in high school, one-third, including all those with additional disabilities, reported being teased or rejected by their school peers. Five themes encompassed the varying influences on school social inclusion. These were: (a) putting myself forward; (b) knowing me; (c) having control; (d) having a place to shine; and finally a negative influence (e) peer exclusion and rejection. These themes largely parallel those of competence, autonomy, and relatedness found in self-determination theory. This suggests that staff can enhance the social inclusion of students with VI by facilitating these students’ self-determination. In practice, this would require school staff to focus on enabling students with VI to explore and build on strengths, fully access the curriculum alongside their peers, and have time and opportunity to develop friendships with these peers

Sydney Playground Project: A cluster-randomized trial to increase physical activity, play, and social skills

Background: We assessed the effectiveness of a simple intervention for increasing children's physical activity, play, perceived competence/social acceptance, and social skills. Methods: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which schools were the clusters. Twelve Sydney (Australia) primary schools were randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions, with 226 children (5‐7 years old) selected randomly to participate. Data were collected at baseline and after 13 weeks. The intervention consisted of introducing recycled materials without an obvious play purpose into school playgrounds and a risk‐reframing workshop for parents and teachers. Results: Children from the intervention schools increased physical activity and reduced sedentary time while control schools decreased physical activity and increased sedentary time. The intervention yielded increases in total accelerometer counts (β = 9350 counts, 95% CI 3490‐1522, p = .002), minutes of moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (β = 1.8 min, 95% CI 0.52‐3.12, p = .006), and reductions in sedentary time (β = −2.1 min, 95% CI −3.77‐(−0.51), p = .01). Although the changes in time spent in play and nonplay were not statistically different (p = .08) the effect size (d = .27) indicates clinical significance. Conclusions: This intervention was effective for increasing MVPA during recess and demonstrated capacity to improve play opportunities in school playgrounds

Increasing physical activity in young primary school children - it's child's play : a cluster randomised controlled trial

Objective: To explore the effects of an innovative school-based intervention for increasing physical activity. Methods: 226 children (5-7. years old) randomly selected from 12 Australian primary schools were recruited to a cluster randomised trial with schools randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions. The 13-week intervention comprised: (1) altering the school playground by introducing loose materials and (2) a teacher-parent intervention exploring perceptions of risk associated with children's free play. The primary outcomes were total accelerometer counts and moderate-vigorous physical activity during break times. Testing took place in Sydney, 2009-2010. Results: 221 participants were tested at baseline. Mixed-effect multilevel regression revealed a small but significant increase from the intervention on total counts (9400 counts, 95% CI 3.5. -. 15.2, p. =. 0.002) and minutes of MVPA (1.8. min, 95% CI 0.5-3.1, p. =. 0.006); and a decrease in sedentary activity (2.1. min, 95% CI 0.5-3.8, p. =. 0.01) during break times. We retested children in one intervention school after 2. years; they maintained the gains. Conclusions: Capturing children's intrinsic motivations to play while simultaneously helping adults reconsider views of free play as risky provided increases in physical activity during break times. Using accelerometry as the sole measure of physical activity may underestimate the effect. Trial registration: ACTRN12611000089932.7 page(s

Increasing physical activity in young primary school children - it's child's play: A cluster randomised controlled trial

Conclusions: Capturing children's intrinsic motivations to play while simultaneously helping adults reconsider views of free play as risky provided increases in physical activity during break times. Using accelerometry as the sole measure of physical activity may underestimate the effect.