Examining The Value of Active Recess Blocks: Its Effect on Student Academic Achievement and Behavior
Date of Award
6-2-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Timberly Baker
Second Advisor
Karen Buchanan
Committee Members
Joanna Grymes
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2023 T39
Abstract
In this dissertation, the active recess blocks students received during the 2020- 2021 and 2021-2022 school years at Valley Grove Middle School are evaluated to determine increased physical activity effects on students' behavior and academics. The problem of reduced recess blocks and their relationship to lower academic outcomes, precisely three recess blocks or more per school day, is examined. This dissertation posits that increases in recess blocks may increase academic outcomes and produce fewer behavior infractions for not following instructions. This quantitative study aims to explain the association between students' academic and behavioral performance when given more time to engage in recess during the school day by analyzing the data collected from Valley Grove Middle School when controlling the following variables: number of recess blocks and duration of recess blocks. This study is critical because it examines how increased recess blocks affect students' academic performance and behavior infractions labeled as not following instructions. The findings indicate implementing three 30-minute recess blocks significantly increased student academic performance and significantly decreased behavior infractions. Educational leaders would benefit from knowing the effect of increased recess blocks on student performance academically and behaviorally. For future research, scholars should strictly monitor physical activity during recess. A shorter testing window to determine if the results are consistent across studies is also beneficial. Keywords: recess, physical activity, behavior, academic performance, play breaks, recess block, activity break
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Morgan Paige, "Examining The Value of Active Recess Blocks: Its Effect on Student Academic Achievement and Behavior" (2023). Student Theses and Dissertations. 179.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/179
