Recreation in the playground of a school in the Community of Madrid: teacher and student analysis of an intervention with a gender perspective

Abstract

The school playground represents an educational space loaded with significance, where leisure between boys and girls is conditioned by the multiple unequal interactions that are continuously established in the coexistence between the students. The objective of this research was to analyze leisure activities and interactions and student satisfaction with a Primary Education playground from a gender perspective after intervening on this. To explore the study objectives, interviews with teachers and student surveys were conducted after the intervention, and drawings and a graphic-numerical scale were collected from students before and after the intervention. In accordance with this mixed methodology, the data received a qualitative and quantitative treatment depending on their nature in a process of triangulation of techniques and sources. The results found differences in the type of leisure (active and passive) between the students before and after the intervention. The intervention succeeded in promoting active leisure, providing passive leisure areas for all genders, and reducing gender inequalities in the intervention context, contributing to the appearance of homogeneous groups more frequently. Areas and games shared between girls and boys were identified, such as a balance area with tires or a table games area, and others that generated segregation of students, such as most sports modalities or traditional games. A significant increase in satisfaction with the new reality of the playground was found after the intervention without differences based on the gender of the students. There is a debate on the design of spaces with a diverse recreational offer and equal opportunities for gender in the playground.

Key words: primary education, equal opportunities, sport, social interaction, leisure education.