Abstract
It is known in the literature that fundamental motor skill acquisition is strongly associated with the development of neuromotor, cognitive, social, and emotional aspects in childhood. Unfortunately, in Italy, the physical education teacher is not included in the school’s core personnel, and it is very hard to find a specific physical education program (PEP) that could improve preschool children’s motor and cognitive status. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the quotient of gross motor development (QGMD) and pre-literacy skills concerning visual analysis and spatial orientation abilities changed after 16 weeks of PEP (2 h/week) in preschool children. We conducted a school-based non-randomized pilot trial. It involved 119 preschool children, clustered in a control group [CG, n = 29, body mass index (BMI): 16.90 ± 3.16 Kg/m2] and an intervention group (IG, n = 90, BMI: 16.00 ± 1.75 kg/m2). Participants were assessed for literacy readiness, locomotor and object control skills before and after the experimental period. IG increased the locomotor, object-control skills and QGMD in response to PEP. As concerns the pre-literacy domain, no significant difference was found in visual analysis and spatial orientation skills between IG and CG groups. However, we detected improvements from baseline to post-test in IG children. In conclusion, this study contributes additional evidence suggesting how a PEP could affect not only motor skills, but also cognitive ones. Consistently with the growing research, interventions based on structured ludic-motor activities ensure health benefits for preschool children.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01274117.
Highlights
Motor skill development influences the entirety of a child’s growth (Barnett et al, 2008)
Insufficient funding or perceived benefits associated with participation in the study by children and parents at the control site made the number of control preschoolers very small
CG did not exhibit any significant difference in locomotor, object-control skills or quotient of gross motor development (QGMD) scores
Summary
Motor skill development influences the entirety of a child’s growth (Barnett et al, 2008). Kirk and Kirk (2016) developed a PA program to be carried out by classroom teachers to preschool children over 8 months This comprised 60 min of moderate PA units (two times per day) combining motor and early literacy tasks aimed at training oral language, vocabulary and phonological awareness. In our knowledge, many studies lack of a structured and reproducible Physical Education Program (PEP) that includes specific activities, timing and duration Based on these issues, the aim of this study was to explore the effects of a specific 16-week-long PEP on the development of gross motor and pre-literacy skills concerning visual analysis and spatial orientation skills in preschool children with a psychomotor, fun and enjoyable approach
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