The Influence Of Non-cognitive Functional Characteristics At Age 6 On Physical Fitness Characteristics At Age 10

Abstract

Human non-cognitive functioning is developed mostly in early childhood. It may be that physical characteristics during childhood affected by daily exercise behaviors are also affected by non-cognitive functional characteristics in the early childhood. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of non-cognitive functional characteristics at the age of 6 years on the physical fitness characteristics at the age of 10 years. METHODS: Subjects included 223 children (110 boys and 113 girls) who performed the physical fitness test (eight exercises) at 10 years of age. In order to understand non- cognitive functional characteristics at 6 years of age, a questionnaire of 21 questions consisting of 8 items (self-recognition, motivation, perseverance, self-control, social appropriateness, resilience and coping ability, creativity, and personality) was used. Evaluation of non-cognitive function was carried out by three kindergarten teachers who had the experience of being their homeroom teacher. From the evaluation obtained, grouping was performed with the upper group (UG), the middle group (MG), and the lower group (LG) based on the evaluation value of each non-cognitive function. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using a one-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons (Tukey’s HSD test) to compare physical fitness among the groups. RESULTS: Results of the analysis revealed significant differences in physical fitness in all items except “nervous” among the 21 questions. UG of each item was significantly higher than LG. In particular, there was a very high effect size (ES) in “persistent efforts” (ES: 1.99), “ingenuity” (ES: 1.92), and “ability to pull out” (ES: 1.85). CONCLUSIONS: It was suggested that children with increased non-cognitive functions such as condition judgment ability and tenacity in early childhood have a good effect on physical fitness at school age. Supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (No.16H03271) from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan.