The Influence of the Early Childhood Education and Care Environment on Young Children’s Physical Activity: Development and Reliability of the PLAYCE Study Environmental Audit and Educator Survey
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Ethical Consideration
2.2. Instrument Development
2.3. Study Participants and Protocol
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sample Characteristics
3.2. Intra- and Inter-Rater Reliability of Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity Early Childhood Education and Care (PLAYCE ECEC) Environmental Audit
3.3. Test-Retest reliability of the PLAYCE ECEC Educator Practice Survey
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Environmental Audit Items | Intra-Rater Reliability (n = 38) | Inter-Rater Reliability (n = 20) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time 1 Mean (SD) | Time 2 Mean (SD) | ICC (95% CI) / Kappa Statistic (% Agreement) | Rater 1 Mean (SD) | Rater 2 Mean (SD) | ICC (95% CI) / Kappa Statistic (% Agreement) | |
Outdoor physical activity (PA) equipment | ||||||
Fixed play equipment—total no. h | 18.87 (15.49) | 18.61 (15.15) | 0.94 (0.90–0.97) | 15.65 (8.95) | 15.95 (13.09) | 0.70 (0.38–0.87) |
Fixed play equipment—condition a, i | 0.19 (78.8%) | −0.09 (73.7%) | ||||
Portable play equipment—total no. h | 67.50 (29.48) | 65.80 (31.10) | 0.94 (0.88–0.97) | 60.60 (24.86) | 57.35 (23.28) | 0.74 (0.45–0.89) |
Portable play equipment—condition a, i | 0.15 (68.6%) | 0.57 (85.0%) | ||||
Outdoor play environment | ||||||
Play spaces—types i | 3.05 (1.14) | 3.08 (1.12) | 0.80 (0.66–0.89) | 3.15 (1.04) | 3.00 (1.03) | 0.79 (0.55–0.91) |
Running space b, j | 0.44 (71.1%) | 0.04 (55.0%) | ||||
Path shape for wheeled toys c, k | 0.69 (81.6%) | 0.50 (70.0%) | ||||
Path connection to outdoor play space d, l | 0.40 (56.8%) | 0.20 (42.1%) | ||||
Sides of building accessible e, m | 0.89 (97.3%) | 0.77 (95.0%) | ||||
Natural features—types i | 7.55 (2.10) | 7.39 (1.84) | 0.84 (0.71–0.91) | 6.60 (1.79) | 6.65 (1.95) | 0.79 (0.55–0.91) |
Indoor PA equipment | ||||||
Fixed play equipment—types h | 0.61 (0.72) | 0.47 (0.70) | 0.48 (0.19–0.70) | 0.35 (0.59) | 0.30 (0.57) | 0.78 (0.52-0.90) |
Fixed Play equipment—condition a. i | 0.76 (93.0%) | Ltd data | ||||
Portable play equipment—types h | 1.54 (0.87) | 1.69 (0.90) | 0.59 (0.33–0.77) | 1.00 (0.86) | 0.70 (0.73) | 0.46 (0.05–0.75) |
Portable play equipment—condition a, i | 0.51 (78.8%) | 0.50 (77.8%) | ||||
Indoor media equipment | ||||||
Fixed media equipment—total no. i | 0.45 (1.01) | 0.36 (1.05) | 0.77 (0.59–0.87) | 0.45 (0.76) | 0.35 (0.67) | 0.61 (0.27-0.82) |
Portable media equipment—total no. i | 0.82 (0.80) | 0.78 (0.68) | 0.55 (0.27–0.74) | 0.60 (0.88) | 0.60 (0.75) | 0.47 (0.06–0.75) |
Indoor play environment | ||||||
Play space—availability f, h | 0.60 (0.78.9%) | 0.44 (70.0%) | ||||
Indoor play space spatial connection to outdoor a, n | 1.00 (100%) | 0.35 (63.2%) | ||||
Indoor play space visual connection to outdoor a, n | 0.67 (83.8%) | 0.27 (63.2%) | ||||
Play spaces—types n | 6.18 (1.14) | 5.89 (1.47) | 0.49 (0.21–0.70) | 7.00 (1.17) | 6.30 (1.30) | 0.60 (0.24–0.82) |
Policy environment | ||||||
PA policy—presence g, l | 0.84 (92.1%) | 0.61 (81.3%) | ||||
Screen policy—presence g, l | 0.86 (94.7%) | 0.60 (80.0%) | ||||
Sun policy—presence g, i | NA (100%) | NA (100%) |
Educator Practice Survey Items | Kappa Statistic (κ) | Percentage Agreement (%) |
---|---|---|
Educator influences on physical activity (PA) behaviour | ||
Duration of indoor PA provided to children/day a, g | 0.45 | 40.63 |
Duration of outdoor PA provided to children/day a, g | 0.53 | 75.00 |
Duration of educator led PA provided to children/day a, g | 0.68 | 65.63 |
Frequency of types of indoor PA (4 items) b, g | 0.18–0.58 | 43.75–84.38 |
Frequency of types of outdoor PA (7 items) b, g | 0.18–0.78 | 53.13–81.75 |
Frequency educators take away PA as behaviour management c, g | 0.47 | 59.38 |
Frequency educators supervise during PA time c, g | −0.04 | 84.38 |
Frequency educators verbally encourage during PA time c, g | 0.21 | 78.13 |
Frequency educators join in during PA time c, g | 0.47 | 71.88 |
Frequency educators incorporate PA into classroom routines, transitions, planned activities c, h | 0.65 | 75.00 |
Frequency educators talk with children about importance of PA c, h | 0.50 | 71.88 |
Variety of PA promotional materials (books, posters etc) d, h | 0.52 | 65.63 |
Frequency of professional development received by educators by topic (4 items) e, i | 0.37–0.63 | 62.50–81.25 |
Educator influences on sedentary behaviour | ||
Longest duration children seated at any one-time f, g | 0.69 | 84.38 |
Duration of television (TV) time/week a, g | −0.03 | 87.50 |
Duration of interactive screen time/week a, g | 0.78 | 90.63 |
Frequency alternative options are offered in place of screen time c, h | 0.66 | 71.88 |
Frequency TV time is used as a reward c, g | −0.07 | 84.38 |
Frequency interactive screen time is used as a reward c, g | 0.50 | 90.63 |
PA equipment | ||
Frequency play equipment available during free play time (4 items) c, g | 0.45–0.56 | 50.00–78.13 |
Frequency new PA equipment is purchased to replace old c, i | 0.51 | 56.25 |
Indoor and outdoor spaces | ||
Frequency indoor play areas available for children’s use (9 items) b, j | 0.27–0.69 | 37.50–93.75 |
Frequency indoor play areas used for educator-led activities (9 items) b, j | 0.32–0.63 | 50.00– 84.38 |
Frequency doors between indoor and outdoor spaces are open c, i | 0.52 | 62.50 |
Frequency children are allowed to move freely between indoor and outdoor spaces c, i | 0.69 | 65.63 |
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Share and Cite
Maitland, C.; Lester, L.; Trost, S.G.; Rosenberg, M.; Schipperijn, J.; Trapp, G.; Bai, P.; Christian, H. The Influence of the Early Childhood Education and Care Environment on Young Children’s Physical Activity: Development and Reliability of the PLAYCE Study Environmental Audit and Educator Survey. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2497. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072497
Maitland C, Lester L, Trost SG, Rosenberg M, Schipperijn J, Trapp G, Bai P, Christian H. The Influence of the Early Childhood Education and Care Environment on Young Children’s Physical Activity: Development and Reliability of the PLAYCE Study Environmental Audit and Educator Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(7):2497. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072497
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaitland, Clover, Leanne Lester, Stewart G. Trost, Michael Rosenberg, Jasper Schipperijn, Georgina Trapp, Pulan Bai, and Hayley Christian. 2020. "The Influence of the Early Childhood Education and Care Environment on Young Children’s Physical Activity: Development and Reliability of the PLAYCE Study Environmental Audit and Educator Survey" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 7: 2497. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072497