Search Results

The purpose of this study was to examine the inter- and intrarater reliabilities of the Test of Gross Motor Development—third edition (TGMD-3). The TGMD-3 was administered to 10 typically developing children. Five raters with experience using the Test of Gross Motor Development—second edition (TGMD-2) scored the digitally recorded performances and then rescored the same performances after a period of 2 weeks. Intraclass correlation (ICC) was used to examine both inter- and intrarater reliabilities of scores. Interrater reliability for the total score, locomotor subscale, and ball skills subscale (ICC: 0.92–0.96) were all excellent, while individual skills (ICC: 0.51–0.93) had fair-to-excellent reliability. Intrarater reliability across all raters was also excellent (ICC: 0.77–0.98) but varied widely for individual raters (ICC: 0.28–1.00) including multiple examples of poor reliability. While raters experienced with the TGMD-2 can produce consistent scores for TGMD-3 total scale and subscales, additional training is needed to improve skill-specific reliability.

Fundamental motor skills (FMSs) are building blocks for future movements and may vary according to cultural context. Moreover, network analysis can identify which skills contribute most to an overall set of skills. This study identified the most influential FMS in samples of U.S. and Brazil preschoolers that may contribute to a pattern of adequate motor skills. Participants were 101 Brazilian (55 boys; 47.52 ± 5.57 months of age) and 236 U.S. preschoolers (108 boys; 49.56 ± 8.27 months of age), who provided completed FMS assessments (Test of Gross Motor Development—third edition). Confirmatory factorial analysis was used to test alternative models. To quantify the importance of each variable in the network, the expected influence was calculated, using the network analysis Mplus, Rstudio, and JASP (version 0.14.1). Reduced models with nine and 11 FMS for Brazilian and U.S. preschoolers, respectively, showed adequate adjustment indexes. Jump (1.412) and one-hand strike (0.982) in the Brazilian sample, and hop (1.927) and dribble (0.858) in the U.S. sample, showed the highest expected influence values. This study presents a new perspective to report which are the most important FMS in preschoolers of different sociocultural contexts, which act as building blocks for the acquisition of more complex motor skills.

The purpose of this review is to synthesize the evidence of the relationship between fundamental motor skills (FMS) competence and physical activity by qualitatively describing results from 13 studies that met rigorous inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria: (a) published in a peer-review journal, (b) participants were between the ages of 3–18, (c) participants were typically developing, (d) FMS was measured by a process-oriented assessment, (e) assessed physical activity, (f) related FMS and physical activity through statistical procedures, and (g) printed in English. Databases were searched for relevant articles using key terms related to FMS and physical activity. Evidence suggested low to moderate relationships between FMS competence and physical activity in early childhood (r = .16 to .48; R ² = 3–23%, 4 studies), low to high relationships in middle to late childhood (r = .24 to .55; R ² = 6–30%, 7 studies), and low to moderate relationships in adolescence (r = .14 to .35; R ² = 2–12.3%, 2 studies). Across ages, object control skills and locomotor skills were more strongly related to physical activity for boys and girls, respectively. Future research should emphasize experimental and longitudinal research designs to provide further understanding of the relationship between FMS competence and physical activity.

This study examined the effect of demonstration conditions (multimedia and live) in school-age children on performance of the Test of Gross Motor Development—Second Edition (TGMD-2) locomotor and object control subscale raw scores, and participants’ enjoyment in the preoperational and operational stages of cognitive development. Forty-five children ages 5–10 years were divided into two age groups: younger (n = 21, M _age = 5.95 years, SD = .80) and older (n = 24, M _age = 8.96 years, SD = .86). Children completed the TGMD-2 under two counterbalanced conditions: live and multimedia demonstration. Immediately following each testing condition, children ranked their enjoyment and completed a semistructured interview. Paired sample t tests examined motor skill and enjoyment differences in each age group. For both groups, no statistically significant differences were present for motor skill performance or participants’ enjoyment between the two demonstration conditions (p ≥ .05). Overall, 44.5% of participants preferred the multimedia demonstration, while 32.5% preferred the live demonstration. Mixed responses were reported by 22.5% of participants. Within age groups, younger participants preferred the multimedia demonstration more than older participants (multimedia = 50%, 41%; live = 23%, 41%, respectively). This study provides evidence that multimedia demonstration may be suitable for administration of the TGMD-2.

Perceived motor competence (PMC) is a psychological construct that may be influenced by various environmental factors. This study aimed to analyze differences in PMC of children from four diverse countries. The sample was comprised of 231 Brazilian, 129 Australian, 140 Portuguese, and 114 American children, aged 5–8 years. The PMC was assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Differences in PMC among countries were verified using Kruskal-Wallis tests, separately by age and gender. For girls (from the age of six), differences were found in the leap, slide, hit, and catch, as well as the sum of object control skills and total score. For boys, differences were found among countries in the gallop, jump, slide, hit, catch, and roll, as well as the sum of locomotor and object control skills, and the total skill score. Overall, American children seem to perceive themselves more competent compared to children from other countries. Leisure and sport activities in each country may influence the construction of PMC.