BRAINballs Program Improves the Gross Motor Skills of Primary School Pupils in Vietnam.

Van Han Pham,Sara Wawrzyniak,Michał Bronikowski,Ireneusz Cichy,Andrzej Rokita

doi:10.3390/ijerph18031290

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the BRAINballs program on second graders’ gross motor skills in a primary school in Vietnam. A total of 55 students (23 boys and 32 girls) aged seven years participated in the study. The research used the method of a pedagogical experiment and parallel group technique (experimental and control group) with pre- and post-testing. The study was conducted in the school year 2019/2020. The gross motor skills performance was assessed by the Test of Gross Motor Development—2nd Edition. The BRAINballs program was conducted twice a week and combined physical activity with subject-related contents by means of a set of 100 balls with painted letters, numbers, and signs. The results showed that the experimental and control groups improved their motor skills after one school year (p < 0.001). However, the analysis of covariance demonstrated that students from the experimental group, compared to students from the control group, showed significantly better scores in both subtests: locomotor (p = 0.0000) and object control skills (p = 0.0000). The findings of this study show that the BRAINballs program had a positive effect on children’s motor performances and may help to better understand the development of basic motor skills of seven-year-old students in Vietnam.

Highlights

Accepted: 25 January 2021Fundamental movement skills (FMS)—skills sometimes called gross motor skills—are considered to be the basic elements for the more advanced, complex movements essential for adequate participation in many physical and athletic activities [1,2,3,4]
An increasing number of studies evidence the association between FMS competence with better health outcomes in children, and this motor proficiency may play a potential role in promoting positive long-term physical activity and health trajectories across the lifespan [6,7,8]
The results showed that the level of gross motor skills in the experimental and control groups significantly improved after one school year

Summary

Introduction

Accepted: 25 January 2021Fundamental movement skills (FMS)—skills sometimes called gross motor skills—are considered to be the basic elements for the more advanced, complex movements essential for adequate participation in many physical and athletic activities [1,2,3,4]. An increasing number of studies evidence the association between FMS competence with better health outcomes in children, and this motor proficiency may play a potential role in promoting positive long-term physical activity and health trajectories across the lifespan [6,7,8]. The recent evidence suggests that failing to acquire FMS at the appropriate age may increase the risk of a child experiencing long-term physical and mental health problems [6]. FMS deficits may influence a pupil’s ability to participate in physical activity, and low levels of physical activity in childhood are associated with many adverse physical and mental health problems [3,9,10].

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Discussion

Conclusion