| Abstract: | Teachers and administrators at Christian schools often exercise high levels of control over children as they move to and from the classroom. This may be due to the fear of misbehavior related to higher activity levels and greater expression of emotions believed to result from decreased adult control. In a quasi-experimental study, the degree of control over children was varied as they moved between the classroom and the playground of a Christian school to determine what, if any, changes in activity level and emotional expression resulted, both on the playground and in the classroom. High control was associated with higher activity level on the playground but not in the classroom, while indications of joy increased significantly on the playground-but apparently not in the classroom-subsequent to the high-control conduction. No other significant changes in activity level or emotionality were discovered. |
