Self-report Participation of Physical Activity Outside School on Rate of Motor Skills Development in Elementary Students

This research investigates the question of why some younger children appear to have better motor skills than older children. The hypothesis that children involved in physical activities after school or in the evenings have better motor skills at younger ages than children who aren\u27t involved in physical activities outside of school is proposed. Young children have very varied levels of motor skills competency that have developed due to living in different environments and having varied opportunity to be physically active. These differences are a result of factors like socioeconomic status, parental influence, climate, and culture.2 Sports and physical activities are usually executed in team settings, allowing children to develop important social skills like teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, and responsibility among others.1 But what if in addition to these numerous benefits, physical activity throughout childhood also offered an improvement in the rate of development of motor skills? 120 students in grades K-5 at the East Tennessee State University School participated in a large program looking at perception, cognition and motor skills. There were no exclusion criteria for the study and all children were invited to participate. A total of 95% of the kids participated in the study and the attrition rate was zero. This portion focuses on the part of the larger study that was done prior to the start of the program. Children’s motor skills were evaluated with a standardized measure (BOT-2). The BOT-2 had 3 sections which were implemented, running speed and agility, balance, and upper limb coordination. These scores served as the dependent variable that relied on the time spent in physical activities outside of school and in the evenings as the independent variable. The scores were analyzed along with self-reported surveys on the levels of physical activity of the children. The results showed that there was evidence to support an association between the amount of physical activity outside of school, either after or in the evenings, r = .621, p = .001. There was evidence to support an association between the amount of time spent in physical activity on after school/evenings and running speed/agility, r = 0.295 and 0.269 p=.001. There was some evidence to support an association between the amount of time spent in physical activity after school and upper limb r = 0.253, p = 0.05. There was no evidence to support an association between the amount of time spent in physical activity on nights/after school and balance r = 0.045 and r = 0.059 p = 0.45. This work will be useful in understanding the relationship between children’s participation in physical activity after school and their motor skills development rate. The information gathered from this research can be used to promote and support the increase of physical activity time that is available to students during school. Allowing children to have more experiences and opportunities for physical activity at school can help minimize any disadvantage in the rate of motor skills development that children who are not physically active at home may have