Table 2.
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) outdoor physical environment features by intervention or control centers at baseline and follow-up.
| Intervention (n = 159) |
Control (n = 138) |
Between Groups Difference (∆ Score) Follow-Up—Baseline |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Baseline Mean (SD) |
Follow-up Mean (SD) |
Cohen’s d | Baseline Mean (SD) |
Follow-up Mean (SD) |
Cohen’s d | Intervention | Control | Cohen’s d |
| Fixed play equipment 1 | 3.96 (2.44) | 1.69 (2.37) | −0.95 *** | 3.13 (2.0) | 1.67 (2.41) | −0.68 *** | −2.27 (4.36) | −1.47 (3.68) | −0.20 |
| Portable play equipment 1 | 4.87 (3.49) | 2.04 (2.78) | −0.90 *** | 3.77 (2.42) | 2.20 (2.94) | −0.60 *** | −2.83 (5.68) | −1.57 (4.60) | −0.25 * |
| Natural elements 1 | 4.29 (2.62) | 2.03 (2.98) | −0.82 *** | 3.43 (2.30) | 1.69 (2.26) | −0.77 *** | −2.26 (4.99) | −1.74 (3.91) | −0.12 |
| Outdoor play spaces 1 | 4.34 (3.22) | 1.92 (2.94) | −0.79 *** | 2.72 (1.82) | 1.80 (2.70) | −0.43 *** | −2.42 (5.58) | −0.93 (3.88) | −0.32 *** |
| Total outdoor playing area 2 | 6.75 (2.57) | 6.58 (3.05) | −0.06 | 4.67 (1.69) | 4.95 (3.52) | 0.14 | 0.10 (1.97) | 0.75 (3.22) | −0.26 |
Note. 1 Outdoor physical environment subscale score (range from 0 to 10), higher score indicates more activity opportunities; 2 Total outdoor playing area rated on scale of 1–10, 0 (no playing area) and 10 (very large area); * p < 0.05; *** p < 0.001. Ref = control group.