@article{ref1,
title="The hidden value of in-between spaces for children's self-directed play within outdoor school environments",
journal="Landscape and urban planning",
year="2020",
author="Corkery, Linda and Bishop, Kate and Aminpour, Fatemeh",
volume="194",
number="",
pages="e103683-e103683",
abstract="Despite the important role of outdoor school environments in children's recess, school ground design does not often manage to support children's self-directed play. This paper argues for the value of so called 'in-between spaces' for children in outdoor school environments that has not been studied sufficiently from their perspectives. Employing a socio-ecological framework, this participatory qualitative study used three methods to identify the multiple environmental characteristics of in-between spaces that support children's self-directed play. Sixty behaviour mapping sessions, 78 walking tours, and 18 focus groups were completed with children aged 8-10 during school recess. The context-sensitive data were collected in three public primary school grounds in Sydney, Australia. Using inductive thematic analysis, the physical, social and organisational characteristics of children's chosen in-between spaces were identified. The results revealed that children's preferred in-between spaces included small enclosures, edges and natural settings with affordances supporting their self-directed play. These spaces offered children an opportunity to redress gender imbalance and mitigate the impact of overcrowding, problems that often inhibited children's self-directed play in the formal spaces of school grounds. Despite children's interest in in-between spaces, they were not valued in school grounds and were often characterised as out-of-bounds where children were not allowed during the recess time. The discussion argues for the value of in-between spaces where children can find the support of all the environmental characteristics to operate their self-directed play. School design and school policy should recognise these spaces for their spatial value for children's play in schools.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0169-2046",
doi="10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103683",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103683"
}