Structured program of visual-motor integration (SP-VMI) for preschool children

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the Structural Program of Visual-Motor Integration (SP-VMI) with preschool disadvantaged and special education (SPED) children. The SP-VMI is based on theoretical perspectives that emphasize developmental principles and needs for mastery of perceptual-motor skills in relation to writing and reading skills (i.e. Gesell 1940; Montessori 1960) and on the Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) theory which stresses mediation of metacognitive strategies and an active-modificational approach (Feuerstein, Rand & Hoffman 1979). A sample of disadvantaged (n = 60) and SPED (n = 30) preschool children were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 45) and control (n = 45). All children were administered perceptual-motor tests and a dynamic test of Complex Figure before and after the intervention. Ratings of the children in various adjustment categories were taken at the end of the program. The SP-VMI was applied in small groups (3–5 children) for four months; during this period the control group received a free-play intervention. The major findings show that the experimental children significantly improved their performance from pre- to post-intervention on (a) perceptual-motor tests, (b) measures of cognitive modifiability, and (c) rated higher on adjustment categories. The improvement on the dynamic test of Complex Figure was significantly higher for the SPED than for the disadvantaged children in the experimental group as compared to the parallel subgroups among control group. The findings, in general, confirm the efficacy of the SP-VMI and support the integration of mediated learning experience processes with perceptual-motor training.