Relationship Between Motor Skills And Executive Function In Preschool Children

Abstract

The issue of executive functions is researched in connection with the readiness of pre-schoolers for compulsory school education. Executive functions include cognitive processes that corresponds with planning, thinking and organization of activities, as well as the ability to self-control. Work maturity and ability to concentrate on assigned tasks significantly influence the childs success in the education process. The assessment of readiness before entering the compulsory primary school education includes an assessment of the childs ability to maintain the pace of work. The project IGA_PdF_2019_015 dealt with the issue of the relationship among the pre-school childs motor skills level, compulsory school attendance, work maturity, work pace and concentration of attention. The relationship between the ability to cooperate and the level of motor skills was also examined. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the authors workplace and approval of the management of kindergartens and legal representatives of each child was obtained for its implementation. The research group consisted of 139 children (boys 73, girls 66) attending kindergartens in the last year of pre-school education, which is compulsory in the Czech Republic. The results confirm a significant relationship between working maturity and motor proficiency level (p≤0.05). Given the increasing demands on the level of knowledge and skills of children in compulsory school education, it is necessary to further investigate the issue and implement the findings into curricular documents for education in kindergartens. It is also necessary to review the undergraduate education of future kindergarten teachers.