Abstract
Greening schoolyards is an initiative to reconnect children with nature and afford meaningful experiences that foster children's well-being. To strengthen the empirical basis for greening schoolyards, we conducted a longitudinal prospective intervention study with a two-year follow-up, to investigate the impact of greening schoolyards on schoolchildren's (age 7–11) appreciation of the schoolyard, and their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional well-being. Data were collected amongst nine elementary schools in moderate-to-high-urbanized areas in The Netherlands with approximately 700 children at each measurement. At baseline, all nine schoolyards were paved. Five schools greened their schoolyard between baseline and first-follow-up. Objective measurements included accelero-based measurements of physical activity during recess, attentional tests (Digit Letter Substitution Test, Natu & Argwal, 1995; Sky Search Task, Manly et al., 2001) and a social orientation test (Social Orientation Choice Card, Knight, 1981). Self-report questionnaires included children's appreciation of the schoolyard (naturalness, likability, attractiveness and perceived restoration), and their social- and emotional well-being (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, van Widenfelt, Goedhart, Treffers & Goodman, 2003; Social Support, RIVM, 2005; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Varni, Seid & Kurtin, 2001). Multilevel data analyses support our expectation that greening has a positive impact on children's appreciation of the schoolyard, their attentional restoration after recess and social well-being. Furthermore, our results indicate that greening stimulates physical activity of girls. We found no impact on emotional well-being. These findings provide some support for the relevance of greening schoolyards and may guide further development of schoolyards that facilitate the well-being of schoolchildren.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 15-26 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Landscape and Urban Planning |
| Volume | 180 |
| Early online date | 13 Aug 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2018 |
Funding
The authors first of all thank the elementary schools that participated in the project. They also thank students from the University of Applied Science Leiden, and Thomas More Pabo Rotterdam and VU University for their assistance in collecting and entering the data. Authors also thank Fonds1818, IVN, Sophia Stichting for supporting the project. This work is part of the research programme ‘De ‘leer’kracht van groene schoolpleinen. Het gebruik van de groene buitenruimte in het onderwijsleerproces’ with project number PRO 4-18. The project is financed by SIA, part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NOW). The authors first of all thank the elementary schools that participated in the project. They also thank students from the University of Applied Science Leiden, and Thomas More Pabo Rotterdam and VU University for their assistance in collecting and entering the data. Authors also thank Fonds1818, IVN, Sophia Stichting for supporting the project. This work is part of the research programme ‘De ‘leer’kracht van groene schoolpleinen. Het gebruik van de groene buitenruimte in het onderwijsleerproces’. The project is financed by SIA , part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NOW), with grant number PRO-4-18 .
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research | |
| Meningitis Now | |
| Shenyang Institute of Automation | PRO-4-18 |
Keywords
- Child development
- Green design
- Green schoolyards
- Nature and health
- Restoration