Charlotte Skau Pawlowski
Biographic Data
| ID | 1685109 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Charlotte Skau Pawlowski |
| GIVEN NAMES | Charlotte Skau |
| FAMILY NAME | Pawlowski |
| SIGNATURE | PAWLOWSKI C S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Southern Denmark |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1407-613X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 24 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Parenting in a Digital Void
Digital platforms have grown in popularity among children, leading to increased screen time and new challenges for parents. Parents are often left in a void of overwhelming pressure and responsibility, tasked with managing children's screen use while navigating the complexities of balancing digital activities with other aspects of their children's well‐being. This study examines how children's screen use functions as both a daily and persistent s…
A systems perspective on children’s outdoor play in a disadvantaged area in Denmark – a co-creative approach with children as co-researchers
This study explores what shapes children’s outdoor play in a disadvantaged Danish context, emphasizing their own perspectives. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach and systems thinking, 56 fourth-grade children (aged 9–11) acted as co-researchers across 14 sessions. Through methods such as photovoice, go-along interviews, mapping, and storytelling, children shared insights into what enables or limits their outdoor play. A syste…
A RE-AIM evaluation of a co-designed child-friendly outdoor space in ‘the middle of nowhere’
Involving children in the co-design of outdoor spaces has been suggested as a viable approach to engagement and use. However, an in-depth evaluation of such spaces is necessary to establish their full potential. The evaluation framework RE-AIM was used to examine the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a Danish outdoor space that was co-designed with fifth graders from the local school. Fifth to eighth graders parti…
Co-creating a systems map with adolescents
A large number of adolescents, particularly adolescents from underserved neighborhoods, often fail to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines, increasing their risk of developing noncommunicable diseases. Physical inactivity among adolescents is considered a complex problem driven by multiple, interrelated factors, and participatory action research is a valuable approach for exploring and improving the systems that influence adolescents’ PA behavi…
Co-creation in the public sector for developing health-promoting activity spaces in local communities
Co-creation is increasingly being applied in the public sector. Yet, there is limited knowledge of how stakeholders experience participating in public sector-driven co-creation. To gain in-depth insights into this, group interviews were conducted with 56 stakeholders involved in the co-creation of activity spaces across six municipalities. The results illustrate three trade-off situations that emerged during the process: iteration versus solution…
Children's Ambivalent Experiences of Leisure Screen Use
Children today spend a significant part of their leisure time on digital activities. Research highlights the risks and benefits of screen use in relation to children's health and well‐being. In recent years, the topic has gained increasing attention in both research and public debate, with opinions divided between advocating for restrictions or bans on screen use and cautioning that overly restrictive approaches may do more harm than good. To nua…
Understanding co-creation processes with adolescents in YoPA Denmark
This study explored adolescents’ experiences of participating in a co-creation process within the Danish part of the EU-funded YoPA project. Conducted in two leisure clubs in Aalborg, an eight-month co-creation process involved 24 adolescents, of whom 18 adolescents participated in six group interviews being the data for this study. Reflexive thematic analysis identified four key themes that shaped the adolescents ́ experience: prosocial framing …
Gender and intersectionality in sports
Children's play behaviour and engagement with the schoolyard environment
Motivating school playgrounds for tweens
School playgrounds are important for children’s health and development, but tweens (children aged 9–12) have been overlooked in playground research. Using an integrated analysis in an explanatory mixed-methods sequential study design, we analyzed and integrated data from three studies aiming toward a wholistic understanding of tweens’ playground behavior that can guide practitioners. The study included four Danish school playgrounds, and data fro…
Asphalt Ii
To reduce inequalities in children's sport participation, studies are needed to explore ways in which children from low resource neighbourhoods can be engaged and retained in sport. GAME Community is a peer-led community sport programme which aims to promote physical activity through participation in inclusive street sports activities targeting 8-15-year-old children living in low resource neighbourhoods. The GAME Community intervention is implem…
Investigating the use of playgrounds by tweens
Playgrounds provide a developmental framework for social and physical interactions of children. School playgrounds have been extensively investigated but little research has focused specifically on tweens’ (9–12-year-olds) use of school playground equipment. In this study, we investigated play categories, play equipment use, and play activities of tweens. On four Danish school playgrounds, 991 children were observed by trained observers using The…
A Ban on Smartphone Usage during Recess Increased Children’s Physical Activity
School recess provides a unique opportunity for children to be active. However, many children perceive smartphones as a key barrier for engaging in physical activity during recess. The aim was to investigate if a ban on smartphone usage during recess changed children's physical activity. During August-October 2020, children from grades 4-7 (10-14 years) at six Danish schools were banned from using their smartphones during recess for a four-week p…
Exploring implementation of a nationwide requirement to increase physical activity in the curriculum in Danish public schools
This study provides an evaluation on a nationwide physical activity requirement in Danish public schools. When introducing a wide-ranging nation-wide requirement on physical activity within the curriculum, school managers need to prioritize and support the implementation process. Teachers need to be involved in the decision processes in order to ensure motivation and local ownership. The study also highlights the benefits of an internal coordinat…
Physical Activity in Crisis
Objectives: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, societies have been shut down, changing the lives of citizens worldwide, including their physical activity (PA) behavior. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the impact of the shutdown on Danish citizens' leisure PA throughout different stages of life: 15–18, 19–29, 30–59, and 60+ years. Methods: Between April 3 and 15, 2020, while Denmark was shut down, a survey was distributed through on…
I’m nearly as active as the boys who play football’
Polarisation between the least and most active pupils is increasing both in Denmark and worldwide, and the least active pupils often have poorer mental health and low physical self-esteem. However, the least active pupils’ perspectives on physical activity in school are underrepresented in the research. This study explores how the least active pupils describe the purpose of physical activity at school and how active they consider themselves to be…
Designing Activating Schoolyards
Girls are typically less active in the schoolyard during recess than boys. It is therefore necessary to understand influences on girls' recess activity in schoolyards. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate girls' perceptions of physical environmental factors influencing recess physical activity in re-designed schoolyards and to compare the perceptions of girls from different age groups. In 2018, 50 girls from five Danish schools we…
Changing recess geographies
Insights into children’s perceptions of their changing recess geographies are absent. The current paper provides qualitative evidence from 5 renewed schoolyards by investigating children’s perceptions of their new schoolyards. Ten focus groups (2 at each school) including go-along interviews were conducted, in total 57 4 to 8 graders (28 girls). The functional aspects of the altered child–environment relationship were assessed using Gibson’s conc…
Pupils’ experiences of autonomy, competence and relatedness in ‘Move for Well-being in Schools’
Physical activity at school can be beneficial to children’s psychosocial well-being. To realise this potential, a school environment that supports physical activity is crucial. Self-Determination Theory provides the basis for one approach, namely to focus on pupils’ need to feel competent, autonomous and related. The purpose of this study was to investigate how pupils experienced a school physical activity intervention based on Self-Determination…
Move the Neighbourhood
Retrospectively registered with study ID ISRCTN50036837 . Date of registration: 16 December 2016
Giving children a voice
Facilitators and barriers to recess physical activity are not well understood. To date, research on recess physical activity has predominantly focused on quantitative measures typically focusing on a narrow set of predefined factors, often constructed by adults. To really understand the factors affecting recess physical activity it is crucial to observe and listen to children to know how they engage in and perceive recess physical activity. The a…
Space, body, time and relationship experiences of recess physical activity
We found that the four existential lifeworlds provided an in-depth understanding of the least physically active children's "lived experiences" of recess physical activity. Our findings imply that specific intervention strategies might be needed to increase the least physically active children's physical activity level. For example, rethinking the classroom as a space for physical activity, designing schoolyards with smaller secluded spaces and va…
Activating schoolyards
The participatory approach and case selection strategy make the study design novel. The use of a mixed methods design including qualitative as well as quantitative methods can be seen as a strength, as the different types of data complement each other and results of one part of the study informed the following parts. A unique aspect of our study is the use of accelerometers in combination with GPS and GIS in the effect evaluation to objectively d…
Barriers for recess physical activity
Based on the results from this study, we recommend promoting recess physical activity through a combination of actions, addressing barriers within the natural, social, physical and organizational environment
Like a soccer camp for boys’
Boys are more physically active than girls and the greatest gender difference in children’s physical activity is found in institutional settings such as school recess. However, research on gender relations, performances and practices that maintain gendered differences in physical activity during recess is still limited. Drawing on a qualitative dataset and a social constructivist gender view, the aim of this study was to investigate how construct…
Like a soccer camp for boys’
Boys are more physically active than girls and the greatest gender difference in children’s physical activity is found in institutional settings such as school recess. However, research on gender relations, performances and practices that maintain gendered differences in physical activity during recess is still limited. Drawing on a qualitative dataset and a social constructivist gender view, the aim of this study was to investigate how construct…
Giving children a voice
Facilitators and barriers to recess physical activity are not well understood. To date, research on recess physical activity has predominantly focused on quantitative measures typically focusing on a narrow set of predefined factors, often constructed by adults. To really understand the factors affecting recess physical activity it is crucial to observe and listen to children to know how they engage in and perceive recess physical activity. The a…
Pupils’ experiences of autonomy, competence and relatedness in ‘Move for Well-being in Schools’
Physical activity at school can be beneficial to children’s psychosocial well-being. To realise this potential, a school environment that supports physical activity is crucial. Self-Determination Theory provides the basis for one approach, namely to focus on pupils’ need to feel competent, autonomous and related. The purpose of this study was to investigate how pupils experienced a school physical activity intervention based on Self-Determination…
Changing recess geographies
Insights into children’s perceptions of their changing recess geographies are absent. The current paper provides qualitative evidence from 5 renewed schoolyards by investigating children’s perceptions of their new schoolyards. Ten focus groups (2 at each school) including go-along interviews were conducted, in total 57 4 to 8 graders (28 girls). The functional aspects of the altered child–environment relationship were assessed using Gibson’s conc…
Gender and intersectionality in sports
Investigating the use of playgrounds by tweens
Playgrounds provide a developmental framework for social and physical interactions of children. School playgrounds have been extensively investigated but little research has focused specifically on tweens’ (9–12-year-olds) use of school playground equipment. In this study, we investigated play categories, play equipment use, and play activities of tweens. On four Danish school playgrounds, 991 children were observed by trained observers using The…
Physical Activity in Crisis
Objectives: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, societies have been shut down, changing the lives of citizens worldwide, including their physical activity (PA) behavior. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the impact of the shutdown on Danish citizens' leisure PA throughout different stages of life: 15–18, 19–29, 30–59, and 60+ years. Methods: Between April 3 and 15, 2020, while Denmark was shut down, a survey was distributed through on…
I’m nearly as active as the boys who play football’
Polarisation between the least and most active pupils is increasing both in Denmark and worldwide, and the least active pupils often have poorer mental health and low physical self-esteem. However, the least active pupils’ perspectives on physical activity in school are underrepresented in the research. This study explores how the least active pupils describe the purpose of physical activity at school and how active they consider themselves to be…
Barriers for recess physical activity
Based on the results from this study, we recommend promoting recess physical activity through a combination of actions, addressing barriers within the natural, social, physical and organizational environment
Like a soccer camp for boys’
Boys are more physically active than girls and the greatest gender difference in children’s physical activity is found in institutional settings such as school recess. However, research on gender relations, performances and practices that maintain gendered differences in physical activity during recess is still limited. Drawing on a qualitative dataset and a social constructivist gender view, the aim of this study was to investigate how construct…
Space, body, time and relationship experiences of recess physical activity
We found that the four existential lifeworlds provided an in-depth understanding of the least physically active children's "lived experiences" of recess physical activity. Our findings imply that specific intervention strategies might be needed to increase the least physically active children's physical activity level. For example, rethinking the classroom as a space for physical activity, designing schoolyards with smaller secluded spaces and va…
Activating schoolyards
The participatory approach and case selection strategy make the study design novel. The use of a mixed methods design including qualitative as well as quantitative methods can be seen as a strength, as the different types of data complement each other and results of one part of the study informed the following parts. A unique aspect of our study is the use of accelerometers in combination with GPS and GIS in the effect evaluation to objectively d…
Giving children a voice
Facilitators and barriers to recess physical activity are not well understood. To date, research on recess physical activity has predominantly focused on quantitative measures typically focusing on a narrow set of predefined factors, often constructed by adults. To really understand the factors affecting recess physical activity it is crucial to observe and listen to children to know how they engage in and perceive recess physical activity. The a…
Move the Neighbourhood
Retrospectively registered with study ID ISRCTN50036837 . Date of registration: 16 December 2016
Pupils’ experiences of autonomy, competence and relatedness in ‘Move for Well-being in Schools’
Physical activity at school can be beneficial to children’s psychosocial well-being. To realise this potential, a school environment that supports physical activity is crucial. Self-Determination Theory provides the basis for one approach, namely to focus on pupils’ need to feel competent, autonomous and related. The purpose of this study was to investigate how pupils experienced a school physical activity intervention based on Self-Determination…
Designing Activating Schoolyards
Girls are typically less active in the schoolyard during recess than boys. It is therefore necessary to understand influences on girls' recess activity in schoolyards. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate girls' perceptions of physical environmental factors influencing recess physical activity in re-designed schoolyards and to compare the perceptions of girls from different age groups. In 2018, 50 girls from five Danish schools we…
Changing recess geographies
Insights into children’s perceptions of their changing recess geographies are absent. The current paper provides qualitative evidence from 5 renewed schoolyards by investigating children’s perceptions of their new schoolyards. Ten focus groups (2 at each school) including go-along interviews were conducted, in total 57 4 to 8 graders (28 girls). The functional aspects of the altered child–environment relationship were assessed using Gibson’s conc…
A Ban on Smartphone Usage during Recess Increased Children’s Physical Activity
School recess provides a unique opportunity for children to be active. However, many children perceive smartphones as a key barrier for engaging in physical activity during recess. The aim was to investigate if a ban on smartphone usage during recess changed children's physical activity. During August-October 2020, children from grades 4-7 (10-14 years) at six Danish schools were banned from using their smartphones during recess for a four-week p…
Exploring implementation of a nationwide requirement to increase physical activity in the curriculum in Danish public schools
This study provides an evaluation on a nationwide physical activity requirement in Danish public schools. When introducing a wide-ranging nation-wide requirement on physical activity within the curriculum, school managers need to prioritize and support the implementation process. Teachers need to be involved in the decision processes in order to ensure motivation and local ownership. The study also highlights the benefits of an internal coordinat…
Physical Activity in Crisis
Objectives: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, societies have been shut down, changing the lives of citizens worldwide, including their physical activity (PA) behavior. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the impact of the shutdown on Danish citizens' leisure PA throughout different stages of life: 15–18, 19–29, 30–59, and 60+ years. Methods: Between April 3 and 15, 2020, while Denmark was shut down, a survey was distributed through on…
I’m nearly as active as the boys who play football’
Polarisation between the least and most active pupils is increasing both in Denmark and worldwide, and the least active pupils often have poorer mental health and low physical self-esteem. However, the least active pupils’ perspectives on physical activity in school are underrepresented in the research. This study explores how the least active pupils describe the purpose of physical activity at school and how active they consider themselves to be…
Asphalt Ii
To reduce inequalities in children's sport participation, studies are needed to explore ways in which children from low resource neighbourhoods can be engaged and retained in sport. GAME Community is a peer-led community sport programme which aims to promote physical activity through participation in inclusive street sports activities targeting 8-15-year-old children living in low resource neighbourhoods. The GAME Community intervention is implem…
Investigating the use of playgrounds by tweens
Playgrounds provide a developmental framework for social and physical interactions of children. School playgrounds have been extensively investigated but little research has focused specifically on tweens’ (9–12-year-olds) use of school playground equipment. In this study, we investigated play categories, play equipment use, and play activities of tweens. On four Danish school playgrounds, 991 children were observed by trained observers using The…
Children's play behaviour and engagement with the schoolyard environment
Motivating school playgrounds for tweens
School playgrounds are important for children’s health and development, but tweens (children aged 9–12) have been overlooked in playground research. Using an integrated analysis in an explanatory mixed-methods sequential study design, we analyzed and integrated data from three studies aiming toward a wholistic understanding of tweens’ playground behavior that can guide practitioners. The study included four Danish school playgrounds, and data fro…
A RE-AIM evaluation of a co-designed child-friendly outdoor space in ‘the middle of nowhere’
Involving children in the co-design of outdoor spaces has been suggested as a viable approach to engagement and use. However, an in-depth evaluation of such spaces is necessary to establish their full potential. The evaluation framework RE-AIM was used to examine the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a Danish outdoor space that was co-designed with fifth graders from the local school. Fifth to eighth graders parti…
Co-creating a systems map with adolescents
A large number of adolescents, particularly adolescents from underserved neighborhoods, often fail to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines, increasing their risk of developing noncommunicable diseases. Physical inactivity among adolescents is considered a complex problem driven by multiple, interrelated factors, and participatory action research is a valuable approach for exploring and improving the systems that influence adolescents’ PA behavi…
Co-creation in the public sector for developing health-promoting activity spaces in local communities
Co-creation is increasingly being applied in the public sector. Yet, there is limited knowledge of how stakeholders experience participating in public sector-driven co-creation. To gain in-depth insights into this, group interviews were conducted with 56 stakeholders involved in the co-creation of activity spaces across six municipalities. The results illustrate three trade-off situations that emerged during the process: iteration versus solution…
Children's Ambivalent Experiences of Leisure Screen Use
Children today spend a significant part of their leisure time on digital activities. Research highlights the risks and benefits of screen use in relation to children's health and well‐being. In recent years, the topic has gained increasing attention in both research and public debate, with opinions divided between advocating for restrictions or bans on screen use and cautioning that overly restrictive approaches may do more harm than good. To nua…
Understanding co-creation processes with adolescents in YoPA Denmark
This study explored adolescents’ experiences of participating in a co-creation process within the Danish part of the EU-funded YoPA project. Conducted in two leisure clubs in Aalborg, an eight-month co-creation process involved 24 adolescents, of whom 18 adolescents participated in six group interviews being the data for this study. Reflexive thematic analysis identified four key themes that shaped the adolescents ́ experience: prosocial framing …
Gender and intersectionality in sports
Parenting in a Digital Void
Digital platforms have grown in popularity among children, leading to increased screen time and new challenges for parents. Parents are often left in a void of overwhelming pressure and responsibility, tasked with managing children's screen use while navigating the complexities of balancing digital activities with other aspects of their children's well‐being. This study examines how children's screen use functions as both a daily and persistent s…
A systems perspective on children’s outdoor play in a disadvantaged area in Denmark – a co-creative approach with children as co-researchers
This study explores what shapes children’s outdoor play in a disadvantaged Danish context, emphasizing their own perspectives. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach and systems thinking, 56 fourth-grade children (aged 9–11) acted as co-researchers across 14 sessions. Through methods such as photovoice, go-along interviews, mapping, and storytelling, children shared insights into what enables or limits their outdoor play. A syste…
Psychology (15 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Physical activity (9 works) · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet (8 works) · Qualitative research (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Child Development and Digital Technology (6 works) · Nursing (6 works) · Physical therapy (6 works) · Public health (6 works)