Children at Play: An Evaluation of EW/NSCC’s Socialized Recess Program

This report evaluates socialized recess programs conducted by Education Works/National School and Community Corps (EW/NSCC) school-based teams. It is intended to give EW/NSCC deeper insights into the accomplishments and challenges of the program and to suggest ideas for program improvement. The research consisted of both in-depth qualitative data collection and surveys of corpsmembers and school staff. Qualitative data was collected through observations of multiple socialized recess periods, and in interviews with representatives of both EducationWorks and school staff. The research indicates that the vast majority of school staff interviewed and surveyed thought that NSCC’s socialized recess program provided significant benefit to their school. Both corpsmembers and school staff said that socialized recess was effective and had improved their school’s climate. Key challenges to teams implementing recess include staffing and the need for more adults on the playground, inadequate playground facilities and the task of conducting indoor recess in small, often crowded spaces.