Effects of Pre-school Play on Motor Development in Children

Hayrettin Gümüşdağ

doi:10.13189/ujer.2019.070231

Abstract

Motor skills are considered important for children's physical, social, and psychological development. Pre-school age seems to be decisive for the development of motor skills. Our study's aim was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks game education on the motor development of pre-school children aged 4 to 6 years. In the research, experimental method pre-test / post-test and control group design was used. In this study, a total of 30 boys and 30 girls were enrolled. The research consisted of a total of 60 children who were studying in pre-school and were selected via random sampling model. In order to collect data, 12 weeks game education was conducted on participants. Motor Performance test protocol, developed by Morris, Atwater Williams and Willmore in 1980, was used on both experiment and control group children, in order to measure their motor performance before and after 12-weeks game education. Average and standard deviation values were calculated for the data collected. Children's throwing, catching, long jump, vertical jump, running, and stopping skills were measured. Mean and standard deviations of the data obtained in the study were taken. A statistically significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups in terms of post-test. A statistically significant difference was found in the experimental group pre-test and post-test comparisons. In these comparisons, the post-test values were found to be higher than the pre-test values. According to the results of the research, it is necessary to apply more long-term applications to increase the positive effect of 12-Weeks basic game education at the levels of motor development in children aged 4 to 6 years old.

Highlights

During childhood and pre-school age, movement is an integral part of children‘s life
The sound assessment of children‘s motor development level is directly associated with the planning of developmentally adequate movement programs [3], the implementation of which is considered essential, for the better preparation of children in the field of learning, and for the avoidance of motor disorders and the important subsequent problems during the period of growth and development [4]
The sample of the research consists of a total of 60 girls and boys (Nk=30Nb=30) who have continued their education in Private Bilkent Primary School. 30 of the students participated in the control group and 30 of them participated in experimental group

Summary

Introduction

During childhood and pre-school age, movement is an integral part of children‘s life. The sound assessment of children‘s motor development level is directly associated with the planning of developmentally adequate movement programs [3], the implementation of which is considered essential, for the better preparation of children in the field of learning, and for the avoidance of motor disorders and the important subsequent problems during the period of growth and development [4]. The studies of pre-school aged children‘s motor development usually focus on the examination of the movement features that change subsequent to growth and differentiate according to environmental factors or unique characteristics of various population groups (gender, race, social surrounding, developmental disorders, etc). Are gender differences in motor performance already noticeable during the pre-school years (a period that is so critical for human development) [11]

Objectives

Methods

Results