Motor ability and working memory in Omani and German primary school-aged children

Abstract

This study investigated the motor ability and working memory performance of Omani and German primary school-aged children. One hundred eighty-five children from public schools participated in a gross motor test that integrated whole body coordination, three different ball tasks, and a 20-meter run. Furthermore, they completed four working memory tests (the Digit-Span Test forward and backwards and the Corsi Block-Tapping Test forward and backwards). Two MANOVAS with the different motor and working memory tests and one univariate analysis of the general motor ability with the between-subject factors group and gender were conducted. Additionally, correlations between motor ability and working memory scores were executed. German children outperformed Omani children in the overall measurement of motor ability, (p = .01) and all aspects of working memory, (all p< .015). There were no correlations between motor and cognitive variables, when analyzing the results for the Omani and German children separately. These findings may be a result of different educational styles or socioeconomic status and must be investigated in more detail.

Interrelations of Physical Fitness and Cognitive Functions in German Schoolchildren

“…Lower coordination skills such as balance and side jumping were observed in Portuguese children compared to children from Finland or Belgium [18] and locomotor skills of Belgian children were reported to be better than those of children from the USA [19] or Australia [20]. German children outperformed Omani children in a sprint over 20 m but not in coordinative tests [21]. Given these country-specific differences in children's fitness skills, it is vital for effective health promotion to recognize the strong correlation between specific fitness and cognitive skills.…”

“…The interplay of physical fitness and cognitive abilities in German schoolchildren has rarely been studied [5]. None of the studies compared physical fitness and cognitive performance of German children aged 10-12 years, taking into account other characteristics of the selected study population [9,21,25,26]. Consequently, the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive functions in 10-12-year-old boys and girls using validated German fitness tests and specific cognitive tasks, considering additional predictors, namely, sex, age, PE class, BMI and physical activity.…”

effect of physical activity and fitness on executive functions and academic performance in children of elementary school. A systematic review

“…In addition, a good CRF, an adequate body composition, and a higher motor performance are associated better AP (Haapala et al, 2014). However, Jansen et al (2019) did not find relationship between PF (body coordination and speed) and working memory in school-aged children.…”

Visuospatial working memory: A socioeconomic normative reference of the Corsi Block-Tapping Task for children aged 7 to 12 years old in Brazil.

“…According to Baddeley (2011), the visuospatial sketchpad is responsible for storing and manipulating visuospatial information. Initially referred to assess short-term visuospatial memory (Berch, Krikorian, & Huha, 1998; Orsini, Schiappa, & Grossi, 1981), currently the Corsi Block-Tapping Task is generally reported as tapping into the visuospatial aspect of working memory (Farrell Pagulayan, Busch, Medina, Bartok, & Krikorian, 2006; Jansen, Scheer, & Zayed, 2019; Kessels et al, 2008; Monaco, Costa, Caltagirone, & Carlesimo, 2013; Nichelli, Bulgheroni, & Riva, 2001; Robinson & Brewer, 2016; Rognoni et al, 2013; Siquara, 2014; Tapper, Gonzalez, Roy, & Niechwiej-Szwedo, 2017).…”

“…Better neuropsychological performance was reported on children from Brazilian private schools compared to public schools (Shayer et al, 2015). Although these aspects are discussed in international context (Jansen et al, 2019; Nichelli et al, 2001; Orsini et al, 1981), there are few normative data regarding contextual aspects in Brazil, such as SES and age. Thus, the main objective of this study is to present normative reference for Brazilian children from North and Northeast of the country for the visuospatial component of working memory, considering different school types—private and public school.…”