Abstract
(1) Background: The association between actual and perceived motor competence (MC) is one of the underlying mechanisms that influence the practice of physical activity. This study mainly aimed to analyze the structure and correlations between actual and perceived MC in schoolchildren and to compare actual and perceived MC between girls and boys. (2) Methods: A total of 467 fifth and sixth graders (43.9% girls, M = 11.26, SD = 0.70) participated. Actual and perceived MC were assessed. To examine the proposed four factor models, structural equation models (factor analyses, latent correlations, invariance testing for gender) were conducted. Student t-test for independent samples was used to compare boys and girls. (3) Results: Proposed models achieved acceptable fit values with moderate correlation between the factors according to the type of MC in actual and perceived MC. Invariant factor structure in boys and girls was revealed. Boys performed and perceived themselves higher in object control than girls; whereas girls showed higher actual and perceived self-movement than boys. (4) Conclusions: The association between actual and perceived MC exists both globally and separately by gender, despite the differences between boys and girls. It is important to consider the role of gender and type of MC in the development of motor competencies, as well as in the strengthening of the children’s sense of competence.
Highlights
The development of appropriate levels of motor competence (MC) during childhood is considered as an essential factor for the adherence to the practice of physical activity (PA) [1,2] as well as for its promotion throughout life span [3]
From a pedagogical perspective, these fundamental motor skills (FMS) are divided into two categories: (a) self-movement, which is the movement and control of the body in an open space; (b) object control, which implies the use of hands and feet to handle objects [7]
On account of the multilevel structure, we considered the dependencies within the multilevel structure in the models by correcting the standard error with the type = complex function for nested datasets implemented in Mplus
Summary
The development of appropriate levels of motor competence (MC) during childhood is considered as an essential factor for the adherence to the practice of physical activity (PA) [1,2] as well as for its promotion throughout life span [3]. From a pedagogical perspective (school-based PE setting), these FMS are divided into two categories (or what can be considered as well as motor competencies): (a) self-movement, which is the movement and control of the body in an open space (running, galloping, jumping, etc.); (b) object control, which implies the use of hands and feet to handle objects (throwing, catching, bouncing, dribbling) [7]. If these FMS are not developed properly during childhood, it will be more difficult to learn more
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