Abstract

Participation in physical activity play throughout the school day has been shown to foster improved classroom attention and behaviour among children (e.g., Jarrett et al., 1998; Pellegrini, & Davis, 1993); however, there is limited research examining the influence of intact, unstructured physical activity periods, such as recess, on children's subsequent classroom behaviours. Moreover, few studies have made behavioural comparisons of children within structured (i.e., Phys-Ed) and unstructured (i.e., recess) school physical activity contexts. As such, 21 elementary children ( M =10.14 years) were observed before, during, and after school recess as well as during a Physical Education class. Self- and teacher-reported behavioural measures (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) and a short open-ended interview with children were also completed. Paired samples t-tests revealed no differences between children's frequency of problem and adaptive behaviour pre-recess and post-recess in the classroom. As well, no differences between children's observed behaviour patterns during structured versus unstructured physical activity periods were found. However, the results indicated that children displayed enhanced behaviour patterns, on average, during recess and Phys-Ed compared to classroom periods. In addition, children described positive and negative themes in relation to recess and Phys-Ed as well as behavioural similarities and differences across contexts. These findings provide school personnel with practical information regarding the influence of school physical activity periods on children's adaptive and problem behaviour within the elementary school setting.