ERIC Number: EJ1315782
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Sep
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: EISSN-1939-0599
Improvements in Motor Competence Skills Are Associated with Improvements in Executive Function and Math Problem-Solving Skills in Early Childhood
Developmental Psychology, v57 n9 p1463-1470 Sep 2021
Efforts to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in school-age children are associated with improved health, cognitive, and academic outcomes. However, questions remain about whether similar benefits are observed in early childhood. We hypothesized that motor competence, not MVPA, would be related to improved cognitive and academic skill development in early childhood. For this study, 283 children were recruited from 13 community-based preschools (55% female; M = 4.2 years old, SD = 0.6; 41% non-Hispanic White, 37% non-Hispanic Black; 10% Hispanic, 10% mixed race, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian). Children's physical activity, motor competence, executive function (EF), and math problem-solving skills were measured using the same protocol in three assessments in a single academic year (i.e., fall, winter, spring). Although motor competence was strongly correlated with contemporaneous measures of EF and math problem-solving skills (rs = 0.51-0.63), MVPA was weakly correlated with EF and math problem-solving skills (rs = 0.03-0.18). Mixed linear models demonstrated that improvements in children's motor competence were related to improvements in their EF and math problem-solving skills (ps < 0.001), their improvements in MVPA were not statistically significant related to any of the outcomes. These within-child associations provide a stronger basis of inference by controlling for all time-invariant confounders. The results of this study suggest that efforts to improve motor competence skills in young children may improve EF and math problem-solving skills, though experimental studies are required to rigorously test this idea.
Descriptors: Psychomotor Skills, Physical Activity Level, Executive Function, Mathematics Skills, Problem Solving, Preschool Children, Preschool Education, Correlation, Time, Inhibition, Self Control, Short Term Memory, Reaction Time
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Related Records: ED619360
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement; Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A160035