The role of recess in children's cognitive performance

In this article we present a rationale for the importance of recess in primary school curriculum. We propose that children's immature cognitions are well adapted for their particular phases of development and that children can get the most out of school when educators take advantage of children's immaturity to foster attention to classroom work. For example, Asian schools, although presenting children with what is generally considered to be a rigorous curriculum, provide more recesses for children in the early elementary school grades, which, we argue, relates to children's ability to1 attend and, possibly, to learn in school. Because young children are not able to focus their attention for extended periods of time as well as older children, their cognitive performance will be hindered if they persist at tasks requiring focused attention for prolonged periods. We argue: that by giving them frequent breaks during and between highly focused cognitive and academic tasks, their performance on later tasks should be enhanced relative to children who are not given such breaks. Also, performance on repeated tasks requiring focused attention decreases over time and trials, until rest periods are given. Rest periods in the form of recess enhances subsequent performance, although the nature of the recess activity may affect the extent of the subsequent benefits.