Studies have found that movement can have a positive effect on the linguistic and intellectual capabilities of the brain, proving that physical fitness is related to academic performance. By allowing elementary students to move around and be involved in physical activity at school, the brain is able to make stronger connections with the material…

Visual arts education is a process that helps the reflection of inner worlds, socialization via group works and healthier motor skills development of normally developing or handicapped children like the mentally retarded. This study aims to determine the influence of visual art studies on the motor skills development of primary school first grade…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 8-week gymnastics curriculum on children's movement competence and their physical self-concept. There were 113 children (46% girls, 49% intervention) with a mean age of 9.4 years (SD = 1.8) that participated. Intervention children underwent 8 weeks of gymnastics and the comparison group continued with…

Research has illuminated contributions--usually modeled separately--of both executive functioning (EF) and visuomotor integration (VMI) to mathematical development in early elementary school. This study examined simultaneous associations of EF and VMI, measured at the beginning of the school year, with concurrent and later mathematics performance…

The main purpose of the present study is to elucidate any differences which may exist in the FMSs of children between the ages of six and nine. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a total of 485 participants (244 boys and 241 girls) in Chiayi City and Chiayi County. All of the participants were between the ages of six and nine and had no…

The term "physical literacy" has been embraced by a number of different countries around the world. Although the concept has regained momentum over the past few decades, little has been written about specific activities that may assist in providing the foundation for physical literacy as a life-long journey. This article introduces…

Background: It is well established that phonological awareness, print knowledge and rapid naming predict later reading difficulties. However, additional auditory, visual and motor difficulties have also been observed in dyslexic children. It is examined to what extent these difficulties can be used to predict later literacy difficulties. Method:…

Inspired by Enactivist philosophy yet in dialog with it, we ask what theory of embodied cognition might best serve in articulating implications of Enactivism for mathematics education. We offer a blend of Dynamical Systems Theory and Sociocultural Theory as an analytic lens on micro-processes of action-to-concept evolution. We also illustrate the…

Background: Motor skill (MS) competence is an important contributing factor for healthy development. Purpose: The goal was to test the effectiveness of primary school physical education (PE) on MS and physical fitness (PF) development. Methods: Three classes (n = 60, aged 9.0 ± 0.9) were randomly assigned to three diverse conditions during a…

Background and purpose: Attentional focus cues have been shown to impact motor performance of adults and children. Specifically, an external focus of attention results in improved motor learning and performance as compared to adopting an internal focus of attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an internal and external…

Self-determination theory research in physical education has linked more autonomous forms of motivation to many teacher and student benefits. This area of inquiry has largely neglected the impact of motivation on learning. This study examined the efficacy of an intervention in increasing one preservice teacher's provision of need-supportive…

In Maryland, one way children's wellbeing is measured is by looking at the data from the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). While the data can illustrate how children perform on various indicators across literacy, math, social-emotional development and physical well-being, it's really a reflection of the "readiness" of Maryland…

This study aimed to analyze the comprehensiveness of learning objectives formulated in the newly developed primary school teacher education courses in Ethiopia. Data were collected using documents of 124 course syllabi and questionnaire from 23 teacher educators, and interview with a curriculum consultant. Findings revealed that the three learning…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure preservice teachers' knowledge of instructional tasks for teaching three manipulative skills in elementary physical education. Method: Data were collected to measure preservice teachers' entry and exit knowledge of instructional tasks that require selecting developmentally and sequentially…

Objectives: The project assessed the efficacy of a home-based intervention program for young children (n = 64, ages ranging from 3 to 6 years) with developmental delays in Vietnam. It was hypothesized that the children in the intervention group would show greater progress in adaptive behavior than the children in the control group. Methods:…