Evaluating children’s outdoor play: developing the Playground Play Value and Usability Audit tool

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dc.check.date2026-09-30
dc.check.infoControlled Access
dc.contributor.advisorLynch, Helen
dc.contributor.advisorexternalSchulze, Christina
dc.contributor.advisorexternalPentland, Duncan
dc.contributor.authorMorgenthale, Thomas
dc.contributor.funderHORIZON EUROPE European Research Councilen
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-15T13:42:18Z
dc.date.available2025-05-15T13:42:18Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.submitted2025
dc.descriptionControlled Access
dc.description.abstractThe overall objective of this thesis is to develop a new playground audit tool that supports an evaluation of playgrounds’ play value for diverse users, particularly children with disabilities. This thesis, guided by theoretical frameworks of a transactional worldview and the theory of affordances, focuses on an examination of how the socio-spatial characteristics of playgrounds to support play as a fundamental starting point. Such a new playground audit tool needs to be evidence-informed, be grounded in a theoretical background supporting its development and interpretation, be guided by insights from children themselves, and its development needs to be documented transparently. To achieve this, three consecutive studies were conducted that advance knowledge about outdoor play occupations within public playgrounds. Study 1 (Paper I) included a scoping review of interdisciplinary published research papers (N = 51; 1975 - 2022), which aimed to summarise the perspectives of children with and without disabilities about environmental qualities that enhance their play experiences in community playgrounds. Findings indicated that play experiences relate to physical and social environmental qualities. Children reported their multi-faceted play experiences, including the desire for fun, challenging, and intense motor and sensory play; the wish to self-direct their play; opportunities to play alone and with relatable social partners; and a desire for welcoming, safe, and aesthetically beautiful playgrounds. This review provided evidence that regardless of abilities, children are knowledgeable about how environments effectively enhance play value in playgrounds. Study 2 (Paper II) was a secondary data analysis of a subset of the research papers (N = 45) identified in the scoping review. It aimed to investigate the transactions between the physical environment and children’s outdoor play. This study used a structured content analysis to examine spaces, objects, and materials, and their functional characteristics in relation to play affordances. Underpinned by the theory of affordances, the Environmental Taxonomy of Outdoor Play Space Features (ETOPF) was formed. The ETOPF supports an evidence-informed identification of spatial features and their characteristics to explain the physical environment’s shaping agency on outdoor play occupations. Study 3 (Paper III) described procedures for developing and exploring the content validity of the Playground Play Value and Usability Audit (PVUA) tool. The PVUA tool's initial draft was populated from the findings from studies 1 and 2 (Papers I and II). A modified Delphi method was used, incorporating semi-structured interviews and surveys to elicit perspectives from 22 international and interprofessional experts on outdoor play in playgrounds. Findings included the preliminary version of the PVUA tool and potential interpretations of its content. This preliminary version consists of 203 items divided across 28 content areas and two play value domains (Supporting Ecological Setting of Play Value and Immediate Environmental Dimension of Play Value). The discussion of this thesis argues for the theory of affordances as an underlying theoretical framework for the PVUA tool and expands on the current understating of the theory. Furthermore, to fully capture play value, the central concept in this thesis seeks to operationalise, both an objective playground audit tool and a subjective method to capture children’s lived experiences is proposed. To conclude, this thesis presents a space-oriented approach to playground evaluation using a transactional perspective and the theory of affordances. It introduces the preliminary version of the PVUA tool, developed with input from children and experts, to evaluate and improve existing playgrounds in expansion and retrofitting procedures. Following these three studies, as explored in these papers, the tool is now ready for field testing to further validate its potential in supporting environmental improvements in public playgrounds for high play value and usability.en
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationMorgenthale, T. 2025. Evaluating children’s outdoor play: developing the Playground Play Value and Usability Audit tool. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.
dc.identifier.endpage504
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/17504
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity College Corken
dc.relation.projectinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020::MSCA-ITN-EJD/861257/EU/People, Place, Policy and Practice for Play/P4PLAYen
dc.rights© 2025, Thomas Morgenthaler.
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
dc.subjectAffordances
dc.subjectAudit tool
dc.subjectHuman rights
dc.subjectOutdoor play
dc.subjectPhysical environment
dc.subjectPlayground
dc.subjectPlay occupation
dc.subjectPlay value
dc.subjectOccupational science
dc.subjectOccupational therapy
dc.subjectUsability
dc.subjectValidity
dc.titleEvaluating children’s outdoor play: developing the Playground Play Value and Usability Audit tool
dc.typeDoctoral thesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhD - Doctor of Philosophyen
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