Motor competence and implications in primary school

Abstract

IntroductionMotor competence play a significant role in fitness level, and are important for general health (Lubans et al., 2010; Cantell et al., 2008; Blair et al., 2001). When children are six-year-old, they have to master different motor skills, and have a basic motor competence that is necessary in school. Difficulty with daily living skills as dressing and gross motor activity as play in schoolyard will reduce the children participation (Summers et al., 2008). Motor learning is as a set of processes related to practice or experience that lead to relatively permanent change in the ability to perform motor skills. Furthermore, motor development are connected to the concept of motor learning, and is a continuous change in motor behaviour throughout the life cycle, brought about by the movement task, the biology of the individual, and the conditions of the environment (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006).Children who have problems with motor skills like running, climbing or ball-skills are often reffered to as clumsy, motor impaired or children with DCD (developmental coordination disorder), and have been shown to be less physically active than their peers, they often withdraw or are shut out from play with other children (Geuze et al., 2001; Smyth & Anderson, 2000). Activity stimulate motor development, while insufficient activity reduce motor development (Cantell et al., 2008; Fisher et al., 2005), and a cycle with resistance to practice will get consequences for normal motor development. Motor impairments is supposed to be caused by lack of experience, delayed biological maturation or a combination of the two (Sigmundsson, 2005). Research points to some of the circularity in causal network, children with motor problems have shown to be less physically active than that of their peers (Wrotniak et al., 2006), and is often associated with other problems like bad self-image, concentration problems and learning difficulties (Green et al., 2008; Skinner & Piek, 2001). It is important to discover the problems at an early stage, and possibly bring into action any enterprise (Lahno et al., 2015). In the absence of an intervention, the syndrome will likely continue to manifest itself, although there may be some alleviation over the years (Pless et al., 2002).Research is indicating that 5-6 % of school-children are categorised as motor impaired (Zwicker et al., 2012). The results are similar to the previous estimates, the general range reported are 5-10 % (Kadesjo & Gillberg, 1999). Sigmundsson & Rostoft (2003) tested 91 pre-school children aged four to five years, and found only one out of these children would be classified as motor impaired, but seven children as `borderline, that means that they are in risk sone to develop motor impairment. Some findings indicate that boys more often have motor problems than found among girls (Missiuna et al., 2008). The present study is focusing on primary school children. At school, we can reach the whole population, and if we can identify children with in risk zone at an early phase, we have possibility to provide support and prevent later problems.MethodParticipants and testsA number of 94 six-year-old children participated in the study. They were selected from two schools in an urban area in Norway, and the children come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC-test) was applied for movement skill assessment (Henderson & Sugden, 1992). On the basis of the norms it is possible to establish whether a child has a normal motor performance, `borderline performance, or regarded as children with motor problems. Children scoring at or below the 5th percentile of the Movement ABC are regarded as children with motor problems, and children scoring at or below 15th percentile is `borderline performance group (Henderson & Sugden, 1992).The Movement ABC-test (version 1992) consist of three sub-tests, with eight items, the content of which differs depending on the age range for which the test is used, and have shown good reliability and validity of the movement assessment in children (Croce et al. …