The Examination of Factors Influencing Outdoor Play Activities in Elementary School Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study are to examine the actual condition of outdoor play of elementary school children, and to analize the factors influencing outdoor play, especially the factors of the atti tulle of mothers toward the play of their children. The subjects of this investigation (questionnaire) are 2243 elementary school children from grade 3 to 6 in Shizuoka City. Data obtained from them were analized by Multivariate Analisis (Factor analisis, Multiple regression analisis and so on). The main findings are as follows;1. Children in the residence area and the shopping area more “study-oriented” and more negative to outdoor play activites than these in the farming area, especially in higher grades. On the other hand, female children in the farming area are “T. V. watching-oriented”.2. The attitude of mothers toward the mode and the moral in social life in the farming area is less strict than the other areas. The higher the grade becomes, the clearer such a tendency is.3. The percentage of children attending the private “juku” (particularly that for the entrance examination) are the highest in the shopping area and the lowest in the farming area. The stronger the interest of mothers in the study of their children becomes, the more they become “studyoriented”.4. Children whose mothers have not more interest in the mode and the moral of their children show the tendency not to make distinction between play and study, and not to be able to do their own things by themselves.5. In general, outdoor play, indoor play, helping with domestic chores, and T. V. watching have the same positive correlation in the length of time. The length of studying, however, shows the opposing relationship with outdoor playing time.6. It is the important factor to the length of outdoor playing time that children are satis fying with the playing place, enjoying the active play activities, and having many playmates in the neigh borhood.7. Children who have plenty of chances to talk with their mothers and are not enforced the study by their mothers have tendency to play longer. Such a tendency is clearer in lower grades.8. Children who actively play in the heterogeneous group of ages tend to enjoy longer outdoor play activities.