The Reliability and Validation of the Aquatic Movement Protocol as an Instrument for Assessing Aquatic Motor Competence in Primary Aged Children

Abstract

There is a dearth of research in aquatic motor competency, a key requirement for primary physical education in order to become physically literate. This study proposes a new assessment protocol for aquatic motor competence and sets out to examine the validity of the Aquatic Movement Protocol (AMP) in children between 7 and 9 years of age. Testing of Gross Motor Development—second edition was implemented to assess general motor competence, including a composite of 10-m running sprint time and standing long jump distance. Aquatic motor competence was assessed by the AMP. Univariate analyses of covariance were used to examine whether assessment of general motor competence differed as opposed to aquatic motor competence. Process and product measures of dryland motor competence were analyzed using male and female subjects measuring three aquatic motor competences (low, medium, and high). Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analyses were implemented to show both construct and concurrent validity of the AMP. Children classified as high for aquatic motor competence had significantly higher general motor competence (p = .001). Those who achieved a higher composite score for faster sprint speeds and longer jump distances had significantly higher aquatic motor competence (p = .001). Cronbach’s alpha of .908, showed internal consistency of the AMP. Results extracted one factor from analysis with an eigenvalue = 6.2; %variance = 62.1, with loadings higher than 0.5. This data suggests that the items on the AMP measure a single construct that we would call “Aquatic Motor Competence.” This study demonstrates that the AMP is a valid measure of aquatic motor competence in primary aged children.

The Impact of Swimming on Fundamental Movement Skill Development in Children (3–11 Years): A Systematic Literature Review

“…Articles examining the effect of swimming on FMS met the following series of criteria: participants 3–11 years; swimming measured either observationally or using a form of aquatic movement assessment such as the AMP [ 10 ]; having used an instrument to evaluate FMS; primary data collection through baseline or observational study; peer-reviewed; analysing swimming and FMS or variant terminology. Articles wherein participants were outside of the 3–11-year age bracket were excluded to keep analysis predominately within the primary school age bracket, as swim competency should be achieved by KS2 [ 13 ].…”

“…Although limited, research supports the positive impact of swimming intervention on FMS development [ 8 , 9 ] and highlights a need for a more modern and universal swimming assessment tool [ 10 ]. This is particularly true for UK research, representative of the population, in addressing the importance of swimming within the UK curriculum and Swim England (SE; [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]).…”

“…In recent years, the emergence of new assessment tools for swimming includes the aquatic movement protocol (AMP) [ 10 ], backed by the increasing number of children and adults dying from drowning, a preventable cause of death. In 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) [ 23 ] identified that drowning is a top-five cause of deaths in 1–14-year-olds in 48 of 85 countries worldwide, highlighting the significance of learning swimming not just for FMS development, but also as a lifesaving tool.…”

“…In 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) [ 23 ] identified that drowning is a top-five cause of deaths in 1–14-year-olds in 48 of 85 countries worldwide, highlighting the significance of learning swimming not just for FMS development, but also as a lifesaving tool. The AMP [ 10 ] is one of the first tools proposed to effectively assess aquatic motor competence in young children. Whilst this study identified a significant relationship ( p = 0.01) between swimming and improved FMS, there needs to be further research to assess the test–retest reliability of the AMP, which may prove to be a useful tool that can be utilised by swimming coaches, education teachers, and sport scientists [ 10 ], especially in the UK where research is limited.…”

“…The AMP [ 10 ] is one of the first tools proposed to effectively assess aquatic motor competence in young children. Whilst this study identified a significant relationship ( p = 0.01) between swimming and improved FMS, there needs to be further research to assess the test–retest reliability of the AMP, which may prove to be a useful tool that can be utilised by swimming coaches, education teachers, and sport scientists [ 10 ], especially in the UK where research is limited.…”