Comparing the Experience Level and Target Play on the Perceptual-Motor Skills of 4- to 6-Year-Old Girls

Preschool and the early elementary years are critical to a child’s development and mastery of perceptual–motor skills. In early childhood, children who lack cognitive–motor skills are more prone to fail in movement and less likely to participate in sports and childhood and adolescence games. Studies reported low levels of perceptual–motor skills in pre–school children. Education empowers children to grow and be self–sufficient and be able of living in harmony with society. The first 6 years of life, called the preschool period, could be considered as the fastest growing and most sensitive stage. Additionally, training received in the first years of life significantly impacts an individualchr('39')s success and living status. The current study aimed to compare the effect of experience level and target play on the perceptual–motor skills of girls aged 4 to 6 years.

This was an applied and quasi–experimental research with a pretest–posttest design. The statistical population of the study included 4– to 6–year–old girls attending kindergarten and preschool educational classes in the 2017–2018 academic year. To select the research samples, by referring to kindergartens in Mashhad City, Iran, 180 overweight girls who were the first child were selected. Then, they performed the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency–Second Edition (BOT–2) to measure their gross motor skills. The BOT–2 is an individually administered measure of fine and gross motor skills of 4– to 21–year–olds. The test’s concurrent validity with the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency–Short Form (BOTMP–SF) was calculated as 0.88. Furthermore, its reliability in the age range of 4–21 years was reported as 0.81–0.90. The BOT–2 has long and short forms. Reviewing the BOT–2 describes its development and psychometric properties; appraises strengths and limitations, and discusses implications for use by physical therapists and occupational therapists. There are 4 subtests of gross motor skills (speed & agility, balance, bilateral coordination, & power) and a subtest of motor skills (measuring upper limb coordination) for this scale. The test run time for a healthy person is 15–30 minutes. The study data were analyzed in SPSS by univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni posthoc test (p<0.01).

The present study findings suggested that in all three age groups of 4–, 5–, and 6–year–olds, along with an experienced instructor, purposeful education could significantly improve the perceptual skills of childrenchr('39')s gross motor activities (p<0.01). In addition, if the coach is inexperienced, the existence of purposeful training alone could be effective in this regard (p<0.01). The achieved results highlighted the necessity to provide structured opportunities for facilitating the learning of perceptual–motor skills in children; it may include the provision of separate games, equipment, and spaces. Mastery of perceptual–motor skills is limited in preschool children. Such a finding indicates the importance of early intervention programs in this area.

Preschool and child care centers are the key to implementing perceptual–motor skills programs. In childhood, student–centered and experienced tutor–based education in the targeted group in kindergartens and preschools impacts the development of gross motor skills.