t 222,24 2 2., , 2 222 2,,222, 2,22, 10, )2, DOCUMENT RESUME EN 146 662 95 . BE 009 6841 AUTHOR, Coursen, David TITLE Playgrouhd Facilities and Equipment. ACSA School Management Digest, Series 1, Number 7. IRIC/CEM Research Analysis Series, Number 34. INSTITUTION Associdtion of California School Administrators.;. Oregon Univ., Eugene. ERIC Clearinghouseon Educational Management. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. of Education (OBEW), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 77 cONTRACT OIC-0-8-0803533514 :NOTE 33p. ;AVAILABLE FROMAssociation of California School Administrators,P.O. Box 39186, Rincon Annex, San Francisca, California 94139 (81.75 for ACSA members; $2.75non- members) :EDRS PRICE- MF-40.83 BC-$2.06.Plus Postage. '6$00IPToRs *Annotated Bibliographies; *Design Needs; Elementary Education; *Equipment Standards; Facility Planning; Fadility Requirements; Handicapped Children;Learning nittgAtur_e_Ite Limm;...-P-143/4takt9.toiiMa; Safety -*STRICT . Modern educators and playground designersare lidreatingly, recognizingthat.play is.a part, perhaps the decisive fait,- Of:the entire learningprocess. Theories cf playground 'diOmeitiletign, planning the playgroind,financial considerations, iincleqU4Went suggestionsare featured in this review. Examples of 4141grOindS- include innovative multipdrposepilot projects and isiidifetttire_playgroitndii* A,brief sectionditddsses playgrounds for lindi6aPped'dhildten. Forty-four dOcuientsand journal articles, Citoitd the ERIC system and listed inthe bibliography, were Ciantulted_fdr'this.review. (Author/MLF) ******************************************************.***************** -*, DOCdients.acguired by ERIC'includemany informal unpublished * lateriii0 not available fromother sources. ERIC makes every effort * ig.to.Ob,iiiii_the'bestcopy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * *-reprOdiability are often encountered andthis affectS the quality * of ,the *i6rofiche and hardCopy reproductions,ERIC makes available * Via-the:ERIC DocUment ReprOduction_Service(EDRS). EDRS'is not * rejpOisible'for the quality of theoriginal doduient. Reproductions* EDES are th4 best that can be made_ from the original. )1k, *******4***************iiii****************************i************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION A WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN PEPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM- THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN= =1 ATINO IT POINTS OF.VIEW OR OPISIONS- STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE- SENT OFFICiAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF, EDUCATION'POSITION OR POLICY KO. David Coursen Prepared by Published by ERIC Clearinghouse on Asso iation of California Educational Management Sc ool Administrators 2 ACSA School Management Digest, Number Seven ERIC/CEM Accession Number: EA 009 684 ERIC4CEM-Research Analysis.Series,Numberairty-four Printed in the United States of America, 1977 Association of California School Administrators 1575 Old paysh ore Drive Burlingame, California 94010 Additional copies are available from ACSA for $1.75, members; $2.75, nonmembers. The material in this publication was prepared pursuant toa contract with the National Institute of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Educa- tion, and Welfare. Contractors undertaking such ,projects under govern- ment sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment in professional and technical matters. Prior to publication, the manuscript was submitted to the Association of California,School Administrators for critical review and determination of profesSional competence. This publi- cation has met such standards. Pointi of view or opinions, however, do not necessarily represent the official view or opinions of either the Association of California School Administrators or the National Institute of Education. , . 3 c. CONTENTS Foreword v , Introduction' 1 Theories of Equipment Design 4 --Planning the Playground 9 Cohcern for the Needs of Children, Parents, and :Community . : 9 FinancialConsiderations 11 i Some Equipment Suggestions 1 13 I, ., .. Examples.Of Innovative Playgrounds 15 Physical Playversus Creative Bilild,ng 16 Adventure' Playgrounds 17 Playgrounds for the Handicapped 20 Conclusion 22 Bibliography 1 The Educational Resources Information Center(ERIC) is a national information system operated by the NationalInstitute of Education ERIC serves the educational communityby disseminating educational research results and other resource information that can beused in developing more effective educational programs The ERIC _Clearinghouse on Educational Management, oneof several . clearinghouses in the system, was established at the Universityof Oregon in 1%6. The Clearinghouse andits companion units process research reports and journal articles for announcement inERIC's index and abstract bulletins. Research reports are announced inResources az Education (RID,avail- able in many libraries and by subscription for$42.70 a year from the United States Government Printing Office,Washington, D C 20402. Most of the documents listed inRIEcan be purchased throughthe ERIC Docu- ment Reproduction Service, operatedby Computer Microfilm International Corporation. Journal articles are announced inCurrent Index to Journals in Educa- tion. CIJEis also available in many libraries and can beordered for $62 a year from Macmillan Information,216R Brown Street, Riverside, New Jersey 08075. Semiannual cumulations can be orderedseparately. Besides processing documents and journalarticles, the Clearinghouse has another major functioninformationanalysis and synthesis. The Clearinghouse prepares bibliographies, literature reviews,state-of-the- knowledge papers, and other interpretive researchstudies on topics in its educational area. 5 Both the Association of California School Administrators and the ERIC Clearinghouseon Educational Management are pleased to cooperate in producing the School Manage- ment Digest, a series of reports designed to offer educational leaders essential informationon a wide range of critical concerns in education. At a time when decisions in educationmust be made on the basis of increasingly complex information,the Digest provides school administrators withconcise, readable analyses of the most important trends in schoolstoday, as well as points up the practical implicationsof major research findings. By special cooperative arrangement, the series drawson the extensive research facilities and expertise of theERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management. Thetitles in the series were planned and developed cooperatively by both organizations. Utilizing the resources of the ERIC network, the Clearinghouse is responsible for researchingthe topics and preparing the copy for publication by ACSA. The author of this report, David Coursen,was commis- sioned by the Clearinghouseas a research analyst and writer. Bert C. Corona Philip K. Piele President Director ACSA ERIC/CEM 6 The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluableassistance of Erika D. Passantino, who prepared andevaluated the research material used in this paper. Mrs.Passantino is research coordinator, Richard J.Passantino, .'CIA, Archi- I tects, Bethesda, Maryland. , 1 7 I / i I I INTRODUCTION Several years ago, two 350-pound gorilla:,were turned loose on a new set of swings in Central Park When itwas found that the animals did not destroy theequipment, the playground was pronounced fit for New York City's children Dattner, quoting t rm.!) the New /of k Tunes This story illustrates the traditionalway of judging the quality of playground equipment.It also strongly impliesa belief that children at play:re ape-like creatures who play primarily as a way of "letting offsteam" by releasing their surplus energy. Thus themost important function of play is to provide a socially acceptable outlet fora child's hostile or aggressive impulses. This view, which has ledto the creation of what Dattner calls 'gorilla playgrounds,"suggests that it is far more impor- tant that there be places for childrento play than that such places be carefully planned. If playis both natural and inevit- able, the need for itcan be adequately met by the simple existence of playgrounds. Further;since children at play resemble gorillas, the best equipmentis the most durable and the least expensive. The real time,money and expertise in the school planning process should bedevoted to the class- room, where real "learning takes place. The belief that mental activity issomehow more "educa- tional" than physical activity hasa certain kind of common- sense appeal, and the view itself is widespread enoughthat a gorilla would feel at homeon most existing playgrounds. Fortunately, however, modern educatorsand playground designers are increasingly recognizingthat this traditional approach is inadequate,, that the playof children is neitheras primitive nor as destructiveas that of apes. The modern approach to play isto consider it as a part, 'Unless otherwise stated, referencesto Dattner are fromDesign for Play S 1 perhaps the decisive part,of the entire learning process. Hawkins' definition seems fairly representative. Playis expressive behaviorspontaneousclean% e,tanta ul Play is a tun process, a learning processIt is a means for helping children handle social interactions act out role models, think and behave creato.elv, develop motor skills and coordination, dis- cover the excitement of ail. eiture and challenge Pla is unique to each child he makes his oc. n disc Overies at his oc.n pace at his occ.n choosing l'Iais an essential element in grocc. mg up as a healthy, productive and socially aware person This