How Does the Amount of a Physical Education Intervention Affect Gross Motor Coordination in Early Childhood?

Abstract

Little is known about the dose–response of physical education interventions on motor coordination in preschoolers. Our aim was to investigate whether the development of motor skills changed depending on different amounts of a physical education program (PEP) in children aged 3–5 years. One hundred forty-five children were recruited from kindergartens and randomly divided into a control group (CG, n = 28), which did not perform any PEP, and two intervention groups, which performed 4 h/week (I1, n = 78) and 10 h/week (I2, n = 39) of a PEP for 16 weeks. Each lesson was set in the form of a programmed game in order to produce fun, thus increasing enthusiasm for participation. Before and after the intervention, locomotor and object control skills and the gross motor development quotient were assessed with the Italian version of the gross motor development test. Both intervention groups showed a significant increase in the motor skills compared with the control group. Moreover, the level of performance was significantly higher after 10 h/week compared to 4 h/week. These findings can be useful for standardizing PEPs in preschool settings so that they can be applied by teachers for planning effective programs for developing motor skills in early childhood.

A 16-week school-based intervention improves physical fitness in Slovenian children: a randomized controlled trial

“…Furthermore, it is crucial to recognise that hand-eye coordination plays a critical role in the development of fine and gross motor skills that are essential for everyday tasks and school activities. Children’s ability to perform these tasks with greater accuracy and coordination can have a lasting impact on their academic progress and general wellbeing ( Giuriato et al, 2022 ; Navarra et al, 2022 ; Cinar et al, 2023 ; Kojić et al, 2023 ). Flexibility, even if it appears to make a lesser contribution to health, future outcomes and disease prevention, is an important facet of PF that deserves attention.…”