Parallel session 3.4: Connecting health and play

Wednesday, 5th October 16.00 – 17.30, Courtyard Room in Printworks Conference Centre at Dublin Castle

Preschoolers evaluate their city playgrounds
Jacinta Gomes, Florinhas do Vouga, Portugal

20 children, aged 3 to 5 years old, decided to analyze the health status of their ecosystem: at a micro level, their individual health / human body; at a meso level, the health of their houses and at a macro level, the health of the city of Aveiro. To this end, they visited and evaluated the “health status” of 6 of the city’s playgrounds. The children, then, presented their results to some of Aveiro’s decision makers, namely the Institution’s directorate, the City Hall, the University of Aveiro, Local Media and the management of Forum Shopping Centre. This project aims to present the methodology and results to inspire other adults and children to better look after their health and that of their cities.

Environmental supportiveness for outdoor play in preschool: making connections between the physical, human and organisational environments
Elida Dimitra Kalpogianni, PLAYING Non-Profit, Greece (www. paizontas.gr) and University of Reading, United Kingdom

Outdoor play is vital for children’s health, development, social interactions and overall well-being. The quality of children’s outdoor play is largely dependent on the environment within which it occurs, with their opportunities severely limited in unsupportive environments. As children enrol in preschool from a very young age, often spending most of their waking hours there, the early years institutions’ responsibility for outdoor play provision is pressing. A novel conceptual model of the Environmental Supportiveness for Outdoor Play in Preschool (ESOPP) will be presented,  discussing the interrelationship between the physical, human and organisational environments, based on a the findings of a mixed-methods study in Greek preschools. Implications for practice, educator training and policy development will be discussed.

Edges are places
Dana Shai, Ram Eisenberg Environmental Design, Israel