Journal of Physical Education and Sport

®

(JPES),Vol 21 (Supplement issue 1), Art 57 pp 526 – 529, Feb.2021

online ISSN: 2247 - 806X; p-ISSN: 2247 – 8051; ISSN - L = 2247 - 8051

© JPES

526 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Corresponding Author: MONIKA HAGA, E-mail: Monika.Haga@ntnu.no

Original Article

(Accepted for publication February 22, 2021)

DOI:10.7752/jpes.2021.s1057

Abstract

This essay discusses the importance of offering young children places for play and physical activity for

development, learning and health. Childhood is an essential period for development and opportunities to learn

and develop different motor skills and physical fitness characteristics through movement-based play. There are

clear evidence that a physically active lifestyle and sufficient physical fitness levels from a young age have

significant health benefits. However, it is a common finding that physical activity levels are lower than

recommended in preschoolers. Early Child Education and Care (ECEC) institutions are central to children’s

behavior. The theory of affordances focuses on what children perceive in their environment and suggests an

interconnection between the environment and the child. The different terrain, materials, surfaces, spaces and

areas in the outdoor environment are perceived as affordances and offers, invites and inspires the child to move

and be active. Children’s motor competence and physical fitness should be encouraged, as they may serve as

positive and sustainable trajectories of health behavior and lead to positive long-term health outcomes.

Keywords: Motor competence, physical fitness, outdoor environment, kindergarten, health

Introduction

develop different motor skills and physical fitness characteristics through functional activities and play. Basic

skills. Motor competence is found to significantly impact upon the likelihood of participation in physical activity

and overall performance on different fitness components (Haga, 2008; Catuzzo et al., 2016).

have an improved basis for participation in various physical activity play, sports, and games, and as a

consequence increase their fitness levels. Additionally, physically fit children are more likely to be more

physically active and to continue to develop their motor competence (Sigmundsson and Haga, 2016). Typically,

preschoolers engage in different forms of energetic play which is described as play behavior that is of moderate

to vigorous intensity, such that metabolic activity is well above resting metabolic rate (Pellegrini and Smith

1998). Forms of physical activity play include for example gross locomotor movements (like running, climbing

and chasing) which can be categorized as aerobic activities involving large muscle groups, depending on their

activities enhance physical fitness components such as muscle strength and endurance and cardiorespiratory

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JPES ®

527

fitness. The more time a child spends in such physically active play the more opportunity they have to increase

their fitness and to gain experience and practice that influences the rate and direction of their motor development

compared to the latter group as they age. Indeed, longitudinal studies confirm that these relative differences in

fitness components between children with high and low motor competence tend to persist as children grow older

(Haga, 2009). In general, the association between different physical fitness components and motor competence

can potentially be explained by physical activity patterns and levels; the type, amount, and intensity of physical

activity impact upon aspects of physical fitness and motor development/learning. Different activities promote

different physiological adaptations, that is, changes in the various physical fitness components depend on the

type of activity performed.

outcomes. There is still insufficient evidence about the type and amount of physical activity required for some

health benefit in young children; however, both physical activity and physical fitness have been identified as

contexts has been investigated (Tortella et al., 2016; 2019). Children spend many hours in the kindergarten, and

the staff has a special responsibility to facilitate active physical play and thereby influence the level of physical

activity. However, a common finding is that physical activity levels are lower than recommended in preschool

(Reilly, 2010). A Norwegian study reports that 32 percent of the girls and 67% of the boys reached the

recommended level of 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day during their time in preschool

(Andersen et al., 2017). Italian preeschoolers generally spend little time in physical activity and movement

activities, and the emphasis is mainly on fine motor skills (Tortella et al., 2011).

Outdoor environment and movement-based play

goals for educators in ECEC institutions across countries.

In recent years, Norway have had an increased focus on quality in the ECEC sector. Norwegian governmental

policies are based on the value that ECEC institutions are central to children’s development, learning and health.

Moreover, the physical environment is an integral part of the learning environment in ECEC institutions and is

of importance for children’s well-being, experiences and learning (Ministry of Education and Research, 2017).

Promoting physical activity and play both indoor and outdoor is a core value in the curriculum. Body,

movement, food and health is a one out of 7 knowledge areas in the Framework Plan for the Norwegian ECEC

institutions (Ministry of education and Research, 2017) and highlight the promotion of children's health by

physical activity and a varied and healthy diet. The curriculum states that the physical environment in

kindergartens shall be safe and challenging and give the children opportunities for engaging in varied forms of

staff are responsible for designing the physical environment facilitating all children to actively participate in play

and other activities and ensure that adequate toys and equipment are accessible to the children (Ministry of

education and Research, 2017).

The theory of affordances

context and may influence children’s possibilities for play and exploration. Physical elements of the ECEC

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JPES ®

environment includes the landscape, buildings, furniture, playground equipment, natural elements, toys, and

objects. Gibson's theory of affordances (Gibson, 1977) is an advantageous perspective to get a deeper

crossing over. Typically, affordances that can be found in the physical ECEC environment is objects and places

(Sando, 2019). Objects can be both fixed and portable, and have different qualities like substance, surface, form

and color. Places refers to locations in the environment that offer sets of affordances, like localizations with

different physical structures and objects affording different possibilities.

motor development, including paths, portable and fixed play equipment, open spaces and natural elements

(Sando, 2019). The different characteristics of these attributes facilitate activities and motor skills such as

walking, running, climbing, jumping, cycling, chasing, balancing and jumping. The different terrain, materials,

surfaces, spaces and areas in the outdoor environment are perceived as affordances and offers, invites and

inspires the child to move and be active. Affordances emerge from the interaction between the child and the

Conclusion

opportunities for practicing different outdoor movement-based play will increase the levels of physical activity.

Thus, promoting children’s physical activity in ECEC institutions may benefit children’s health and well-being.

Habits and patterns of behavior are established from an early age and kindergartens shall enable children to

discover the joy of movement. In this context, the social environment is also important for children's active play,

highlighting the staff's ability to motivate, engage, organize and facilitate movement-based play. Based on the

existing evidence, it is important to ensure children’s access to activities and outdoor environments that promote

physically active play and motor development, and that reduce sedentary behavior. Children’s motor competence

and physical fitness should be encouraged, as they may serve as positive and sustainable trajectories of health

• The physical environment should invite and stimulate varied physical activity, both indoors and

• The social environment is also important for physically active play. The staff must have competence

• Give the children experience with risky play and give them challenges that are in line with their skills -

• Some children may have a delayed motor development, that may need facilitation and adaptation for a

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JPES ®

529

Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adults. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Gibson, J. J. (1977). The theory of affordances. Hilldale, USA, 1(2).

health and development, 34(3), 329-334.

Haga, M. (2009). Physical fitness in children with high motor competence is different from that in children with

low motor competence. Physical Therapy, 89, 1089–1097.

Haga, M., Haapala, E., Sigmundsson, H. (2019). Physical fitness in children. In: S. Hupp and J Jewell (eds.).

The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development. Wiley Online Library.

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119171492.wecad032

Janssen, I., and LeBlanc, A. G. (2010). Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness

in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity,

7, 40. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-7-40

Ministry of Education and Research (2017). Framework Plan for the Content and Tasks of Kindergartens.

of Play, 8(1), 39-52.

Sigmundsson, H., and Haga, M. (2016). Motor competence is associated with physical fitness in four-to six-

year-old preschool children. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(3), 477-488.

Tortella, P, Haga, M, Ingebrigtsen, JE, Fumagalli, G, Sigmundsson, H. (2019) Comparing Free Play and Partly

Structured Play in 4-5-Years-Old Children in an Outdoor Playground. Frontiers In Public Health. vol. 7.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00197

Tortella, P., Haga, M., Loras, H., Sigmundsson, H., and Fumagalli, G. (2016). Motor Skill Development in

Italian Pre-School Children Induced by Structured Activities in a Specific Playground. PloS one,

Tortella P., Callegari L., Tessaro F., Fumagalli G. (2011). Survey on motor activity in nurseries in Trentino, The