IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i9p4992-d550519.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Children’s Experiences of Their Journey to School: Integrating Behaviour Change Frameworks to Inform the Role of the Built Environment in Active School Travel Promotion

Author

Listed:
  • Nafsika Michail

    (Department of Architecture & Built Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK)

  • Ayse Ozbil

    (Department of Architecture & Built Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK)

  • Rosie Parnell

    (School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK)

  • Stephanie Wilkie

    (School of Psychology, University of Sunderland, Sunderland SR1 3SD, UK)

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a public health problem with multiple effects on children’s life. Promoting Active School Travel (AST) could provide an inclusive opportunity for physical activity and shape healthy behaviours. Data for this cross-sectional study were drawn from questionnaires carried out in five primary schools located in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, in neighbourhoods chosen for their variability in IMD (index of multiple deprivation) and spatial structure of street networks (measured through space syntax measure of integration). A randomly selected and heterogenic sample of 145 pupils (aged 9–10) completed an open-ended questionnaire to state what they like and dislike about their journey to school. Thematic analysis identified four typologies (environmental context, emotions, social influences and trip factors) based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and specific themes and sub-themes underlying children’s affective experiences of their journeys to school. This study is the first known to authors to attempt to adapt the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model into AST and children’s experiences and associated behavioural domains with design aspects. Such an insight into children’s attitudes could inform urban planners and designers about how to apply more effective behaviour change interventions, targeting an AST increase among children.

Suggested Citation

  • Nafsika Michail & Ayse Ozbil & Rosie Parnell & Stephanie Wilkie, 2021. "Children’s Experiences of Their Journey to School: Integrating Behaviour Change Frameworks to Inform the Role of the Built Environment in Active School Travel Promotion," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4992-:d:550519
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4992/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4992/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yinhua Tao & Jie Yang & Yanwei Chai, 2019. "The Anatomy of Health-Supportive Neighborhoods: A Multilevel Analysis of Built Environment, Perceived Disorder, Social Interaction and Mental Health in Beijing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Raktim Mitra, 2013. "Independent Mobility and Mode Choice for School Transportation: A Review and Framework for Future Research," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 21-43, January.
    3. Qingkun Song & David C. Christiani & XiaorongWang & Jun Ren, 2014. "The Global Contribution of Outdoor Air Pollution to the Incidence, Prevalence, Mortality and Hospital Admission for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-11, November.
    4. Jesús García & Rosa Arroyo & Lidón Mars & Tomás Ruiz, 2019. "The Influence of Attitudes towards Cycling and Walking on Travel Intentions and Actual Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Ikeda, Erika & Mavoa, Suzanne & Hinckson, Erica & Witten, Karen & Donnellan, Niamh & Smith, Melody, 2018. "Differences in child-drawn and GIS-modelled routes to school: Impact on space and exposure to the built environment in Auckland, New Zealand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 103-115.
    6. Westman, Jessica & Johansson, Maria & Olsson, Lars E. & Mårtensson, Fredrika & Friman, Margareta, 2013. "Children’s affective experience of every-day travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 95-102.
    7. Curtis, Carey & Babb, Courtney & Olaru, Doina, 2015. "Built environment and children's travel to school," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 21-33.
    8. Waygood, E.O.D. & Friman, Margareta & Olsson, Lars E. & Taniguchi, Ayako, 2017. "Children's incidental social interaction during travel international case studies from Canada, Japan, and Sweden," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 22-29.
    9. Mitra, Raktim & Buliung, Ron N., 2012. "Built environment correlates of active school transportation: neighborhood and the modifiable areal unit problem," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 51-61.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Yang & Min, Shisheng & Shi, Zhuangbin & He, Mingwei, 2024. "Exploring students' choice of active travel to school in different spatial environments: A case study in a mountain city," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Leung, Kevin Y.K. & Astroza, Sebastian & Loo, Becky P.Y. & Bhat, Chandra R., 2019. "An environment-people interactions framework for analysing children's extra-curricular activities and active transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 341-358.
    2. Rong, Peijun & Kwan, Mei-Po & Qin, Yaochen & Zheng, Zhicheng, 2022. "A review of research on low-carbon school trips and their implications for human-environment relationship," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Scheiner, Joachim, 2016. "School trips in Germany: Gendered escorting practices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 76-92.
    4. Raktim Mitra & Guy EJ Faulkner & Ron N Buliung & Michelle R Stone, 2014. "Do parental perceptions of the neighbourhood environment influence children’s independent mobility? Evidence from Toronto, Canada," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(16), pages 3401-3419, December.
    5. Broberg, Anna & Sarjala, Satu, 2015. "School travel mode choice and the characteristics of the urban built environment: The case of Helsinki, Finland," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-10.
    6. Scheiner, Joachim & Huber, Oliver & Lohmüller, Stefan, 2019. "Children's independent travel to and from primary school: Evidence from a suburban town in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 116-131.
    7. Chica-Olmo, Jorge & Rodríguez-López, Carlos & Chillón, Palma, 2018. "Effect of distance from home to school and spatial dependence between homes on mode of commuting to school," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-12.
    8. Waygood, E.O.D. & Friman, Margareta & Olsson, Lars E. & Taniguchi, Ayako, 2017. "Children's incidental social interaction during travel international case studies from Canada, Japan, and Sweden," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 22-29.
    9. Müller, Sven & Mejia-Dorantes, Lucia & Kersten, Elisa, 2020. "Analysis of active school transportation in hilly urban environments: A case study of Dresden," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Mitra, Raktim & Buliung, Ron N., 2014. "The influence of neighborhood environment and household travel interactions on school travel behavior: an exploration using geographically-weighted models," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 69-78.
    11. Buliung, Ronald & Hess, Paul & Flowers, Lori & Moola, Fiona J. & Faulkner, Guy, 2021. "Living the journey to school: Conceptual asymmetry between parents and planners on the journey to school," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    12. Stark, Juliane & Beyer Bartana, Ilil & Fritz, Alexander & Unbehaun, Wiebke & Hössinger, Reinhard, 2018. "The influence of external factors on children's travel mode: A comparison of school trips and non-school trips," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 55-66.
    13. Saad AlQuhtani, 2023. "Factors Affecting Active Commuting to School in Sprawled Cities: The Case of Najran City, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, June.
    14. Ergler, Christina R. & Freeman, Claire & Guiney, Tess, 2020. "Pre-schoolers' transport imaginaries: Moving towards sustainable futures?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. Tengecha, Nyamatari Anselem & Alimo, Philip Kofi & Agyeman, Stephen & Akintunde, Tosin Yinka & Lartey-Young, George & Zhang, Xinyu, 2022. "Schoolchildren's inland water transport adoption barriers in Tanzania: Health belief model application," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    16. E. Owen D. Waygood & Lars E. Olsson & Ayako Taniguchi & Margareta Friman, 2020. "The role of children’s independent mobility and social media use for face-to-face social interaction with friends," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1987-2009, August.
    17. Silvia A. González & Olga L. Sarmiento & Pablo D. Lemoine & Richard Larouche & Jose D. Meisel & Mark S. Tremblay & Melisa Naranjo & Stephanie T. Broyles & Mikael Fogelholm & Gustavo A. Holguin & Estel, 2020. "Active School Transport among Children from Canada, Colombia, Finland, South Africa, and the United States: A Tale of Two Journeys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-22, May.
    18. Ikeda, Erika & Mavoa, Suzanne & Hinckson, Erica & Witten, Karen & Donnellan, Niamh & Smith, Melody, 2018. "Differences in child-drawn and GIS-modelled routes to school: Impact on space and exposure to the built environment in Auckland, New Zealand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 103-115.
    19. Nikitas, Alexandros & Wang, Judith Y.T. & Knamiller, Cathy, 2019. "Exploring parental perceptions about school travel and walking school buses: A thematic analysis approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 468-487.
    20. Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao & Chinnakrit Banyong & Supanida Nanthawong & Thananya Janhuaton & Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha & Thanapong Champahom & Pornsiri Jongkol, 2022. "Perceptions of Parents of the Quality of the Public Transport Services Used by Children to Commute to School," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:9:p:4992-:d:550519. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.