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

Clover Maitland, Leanne Lester, Stewart G. Trost, Michael Rosenberg, Jasper Schipperijn, Georgina Trapp, Pulan Bai and Hayley Christian
Additional contact information
Clover Maitland: School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Leanne Lester: School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Stewart G. Trost: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at Queensland Centre for Children’s Health Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
Michael Rosenberg: School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Jasper Schipperijn: Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5230, Denmark
Georgina Trapp: School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Pulan Bai: School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Hayley Christian: School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: (1) Background: Participation in physical activity is crucial for the healthy growth and development of young children. More robust measurement of environmental influences on children’s physical activity in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings may help resolve inconsistencies in the literature. This study evaluated the reliability of an environmental audit and educator practice survey for assessing ECEC physical, policy, and social environments related to young children’s physical activity. (2) Methods: A convenience sample of 20 ECEC centres participated in this PLAYCE (Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity) sub-study. Trained auditors conducted audits and educators completed surveys, two weeks apart. Test-retest reliability of the survey ( n = 32), inter-rater ( n = 20 pairs) and intra-rater reliability ( n = 38) of the audit was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs), Kappa statistics and percent agreement. (3) Results: Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability ICCs for outdoor equipment, spaces and features were good to excellent (ICC = 0.70–0.94), while ratings for indoor equipment, media and spaces varied from fair to excellent (ICC = 0.46–0.78). The majority of items were rated by Kappa as moderate or above for intra-rater, inter-rater and survey test-retest reliability. (4) Conclusions: The PLAYCE Study instruments provide reliable measures of ECEC physical activity environments which can help to better understand influences on young children’s physical activity.

Keywords: preschooler; childcare; physical environment; policy environment; educator practices; social-ecological model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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