Sedentary Patterns and Sit-to-Stand Transitions in Open Learning Spaces and Conventional Classrooms among Primary School Students

Jani Hartikainen, Eero A. Haapala, Arja Sääkslahti, Anna-Maija Poikkeus and Taija Finni
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Jani Hartikainen: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Eero A. Haapala: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Arja Sääkslahti: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Anna-Maija Poikkeus: Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Taija Finni: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: Educational reforms worldwide have resulted in schools increasingly incorporating open and flexible classroom designs that may provide possibilities to reduce sedentary behavior among students during lessons. Cross-sectional associations of classroom type on accelerometry assessed sedentary bout durations and sit-to-stand transitions were investigated in 191 third and fifth grade students recruited from one school with open learning spaces and two schools with conventional classrooms. A three-way ANOVA for classroom type, gender and grade level indicated that students in open learning spaces had more 1-to-4-min sedentary bouts (mean difference 1.8 bouts/h, p < 0.001), fewer >10-min sedentary bouts (median 0.20 vs. 0.48 bouts/h, p = 0.004) and more sit-to-stand transitions (mean difference 0.9 STS/h, p = 0.009) than students in conventional learning spaces. Comparisons between schools by grade, which were conducted with a one-way ANCOVA adjusted for gender, indicated that most of the significant differences occurred between schools with different classroom types. There were only small and mostly statistically nonsignificant differences between the two schools with conventional classrooms. In conclusion, open learning spaces may improve children’s sedentary profiles towards shorter sedentary bout durations and facilitate also postural transitions during lessons, which may translate into beneficial health impacts over a longer period.

Keywords: sedentary behavior; physical activity; school; open learning spaces; sit-to-stand transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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