The effect of differently structured school gardens on recess time as a leisure opportunity

With this research, it is aimed to determine the changes to be made in the school garden and the changes in the use of the school garden by the students during breaks and to determine how the most effective school garden arrangement should be directed towards active leisure participation of the students.In the research, a post-test quasi-experimental model with a control group, which is one of the experimental model approaches, was used. The study group of the research consists of 50 students studying at Ankara Akyurt Kozayağı Secondary School in the 2021-2022 academic year.In the study, students were first observed in the unstructured school garden for 2 weeks, then in the school garden structured with sports materials for 2 weeks, and finally in the school garden structured with floor games for 2 weeks. The data obtained were analyzed with the SPSS package program, and as a result of the analysis, it was concluded that the school garden was structured with sports materials, and as a result of structuring the school garden with sports materials, students tended towards sports participation during breaks and physical (active) play as a result of structuring with floor games.In addition, as a result of the structuring of the school garden, a significant increase was determined in the use of the garden during the breaks.When the general results of the study are evaluated, it is recommended to equip the gardens with various sports materials and floor games in the new school planning.