Abstract
As children transition from early to middle childhood, the relationship between motor skill proficiency and perceptions of physical competence should strengthen as skills improve and inflated early childhood perceptions decrease. This study examined change in motor skills and perceptions of physical competence and the relationship between those variables from kindergarten to grade 2. Participants were 250 boys and girls (Mean age = 5 years 8 months in kindergarten). Motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and perceptions were assessed using a pictorial scale of perceived competence. Mixed-design analyses of variance revealed there was a significant increase in object-control skills and perceptions from kindergarten to grade 2, but no change in locomotor skills. In kindergarten, linear regression showed that locomotor skills and object-control skills explained 10% and 9% of the variance, respectively, in perceived competence for girls, and 7% and 11%, respectively, for boys. In grade 2, locomotor skills predicted 11% and object-control skills predicted 19% of the variance in perceptions of physical competence, but only among the boys. Furthermore, the relationship between motor skills and perceptions of physical competence strengthened for boys only from early to middle childhood. However, it seems that forces other than motor skill proficiency influenced girls’ perceptions of their abilities in grade 2.
Highlights
Lower perceptions of physical or sport competence are associated with dropout from organized sport among children and youth [1] and avoidance of physical education [2], whereas higher perceptions of physical competence are consistently associated with greater participation in physical activity among children and youth [3,4,5,6]
Motor skills generally improve during childhood [7,8,9,10,11], and second, perceptions of physical competence generally decrease as children develop cognitively [5,12,13,14]
We tested aspects of a developmental model conceptualized by Stodden and colleagues [15]: that the relationship between motor skill proficiency and perceptions of physical competence would strengthen as children transitioned from early to middle childhood
Summary
Lower perceptions of physical or sport competence are associated with dropout from organized sport among children and youth [1] and avoidance of physical education [2], whereas higher perceptions of physical competence are consistently associated with greater participation in physical activity among children and youth [3,4,5,6]. With low levels of physical activity worldwide, it is important to understand the development of self-perceptions and motor skills in children and youth so participation can be enhanced. As children transition from early to middle childhood, hypothetically two processes should strengthen the relationship between motor skill proficiency and perceptions of physical competence. Motor skills generally improve during childhood [7,8,9,10,11], and second, perceptions of physical competence generally decrease as children develop cognitively [5,12,13,14]. Developmental theorists note that as children age and become more exposed to additional factors that influence their perceptions, they rely less on the feedback from significant others (e.g., parents and caretakers), and more on that from other sources (e.g., peers) [15]. Motor skills are less developed in early
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