Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity
Basic motor competencies (BMC) are a prerequisite for children to be physically active, participate in sports and thus develop a healthy, active lifestyle. The present study provides a broad screening of BMC and associations with age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and extracurricular physical activity...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.804753/full |
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| author | Marina Wälti Jeffrey Sallen Manolis Adamakis Fabienne Ennigkeit Erin Gerlach Christopher Heim Boris Jidovtseff Irene Kossyva Jana Labudová Dana Masaryková Remo Mombarg Liliane De Sousa Morgado Benjamin Niederkofler Maike Niehues Marcos Onofre Uwe Pühse Ana Quitério Claude Scheuer Harald Seelig Petr Vlček Jaroslav Vrbas Christian Herrmann |
| author_facet | Marina Wälti Jeffrey Sallen Manolis Adamakis Fabienne Ennigkeit Erin Gerlach Christopher Heim Boris Jidovtseff Irene Kossyva Jana Labudová Dana Masaryková Remo Mombarg Liliane De Sousa Morgado Benjamin Niederkofler Maike Niehues Marcos Onofre Uwe Pühse Ana Quitério Claude Scheuer Harald Seelig Petr Vlček Jaroslav Vrbas Christian Herrmann |
| author_sort | Marina Wälti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Basic motor competencies (BMC) are a prerequisite for children to be physically active, participate in sports and thus develop a healthy, active lifestyle. The present study provides a broad screening of BMC and associations with age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and extracurricular physical activity (PA) in 10 different European countries. The different country and regional contexts within Europe will offer a novel view on already established BMC associations. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 regions in 10 European countries in 2018. The motor competence areas, object movement (OM) and self-movement (SM), were assessed using the MOBAK-1-2 test instrument in 3758 first and second graders (age: M = 6.86 ± 0.60 years; 50% girls) during Physical Education classes. Children were questioned about their extracurricular PA and age. Their body weight and height were measured in order to calculate BMI. Statistical analyses included variances and correlations. The results showed significant differences in BMC levels between countries (OM: F = 18.74, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.048; SM: F = 73.10, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.163) whereas associations between BMC and correlates were similar. Boys performed significantly better in OM while girls performed better in SM. Age was consistently positively related to OM and SM with older children reaching higher levels of BMC than younger ones. While participation rates for extracurricular PA differed widely, participation in ball sports was correlated with OM and SM. Participation in individual sports showed a significant association with SM. In summary, BMC levels of children seem to depend on where they live and are strongly related to their participation in extracurricular PA. Therefore, education and health policies, in order to enhance motor competence development and PA participation, are recommended. Further research on country-specific Physical Education frameworks and their influence on BMC will provide more insights into structural factors and cultural characteristics of BMC development. On a school level, support tools and educational materials for teachers about BMC may enable children to achieve a basic level of motor competencies through Physical Education, contributing to lifelong participation in PA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:21:29Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:21:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f8a6e6ed9d44199a7adfcd5d1db08a42022-12-22T00:08:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-04-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.804753804753Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical ActivityMarina Wälti0Jeffrey Sallen1Manolis Adamakis2Fabienne Ennigkeit3Erin Gerlach4Christopher Heim5Boris Jidovtseff6Irene Kossyva7Jana Labudová8Dana Masaryková9Remo Mombarg10Liliane De Sousa Morgado11Benjamin Niederkofler12Maike Niehues13Marcos Onofre14Uwe Pühse15Ana Quitério16Claude Scheuer17Harald Seelig18Petr Vlček19Jaroslav Vrbas20Christian Herrmann21Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Educational Sciences & Didactics in Sport, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, GermanySchool of Education, University College Cork, Cork, IrelandInstitute of Sports Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, GermanyInstitute of Human Movement Science, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute of Sports Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, GermanyDepartment of Motor Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, BelgiumDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GreeceDepartment of School Education, Trnava University, Trnava, SlovakiaDepartment of School Education, Trnava University, Trnava, SlovakiaInstitute for Sport Studies, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, NetherlandsDepartment of Motor Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium0Institute of Didactics, Teaching and School Development, Salzburg University of Education Stefan Zweig, Salzburg, AustriaDepartment of Educational Sciences & Didactics in Sport, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany1Centro de Estudos de Educação, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana & Unidade de Investigaçao e Desenvolvimento em Educação e Formação, Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland1Centro de Estudos de Educação, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana & Unidade de Investigaçao e Desenvolvimento em Educação e Formação, Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal2Department of Education and Social Work, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, LuxembourgDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland3Department of Physical Education and Health Education, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia3Department of Physical Education and Health Education, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia4Physical Education Research Group, Zurich University of Teacher Education, Zurich, SwitzerlandBasic motor competencies (BMC) are a prerequisite for children to be physically active, participate in sports and thus develop a healthy, active lifestyle. The present study provides a broad screening of BMC and associations with age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and extracurricular physical activity (PA) in 10 different European countries. The different country and regional contexts within Europe will offer a novel view on already established BMC associations. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 regions in 10 European countries in 2018. The motor competence areas, object movement (OM) and self-movement (SM), were assessed using the MOBAK-1-2 test instrument in 3758 first and second graders (age: M = 6.86 ± 0.60 years; 50% girls) during Physical Education classes. Children were questioned about their extracurricular PA and age. Their body weight and height were measured in order to calculate BMI. Statistical analyses included variances and correlations. The results showed significant differences in BMC levels between countries (OM: F = 18.74, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.048; SM: F = 73.10, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.163) whereas associations between BMC and correlates were similar. Boys performed significantly better in OM while girls performed better in SM. Age was consistently positively related to OM and SM with older children reaching higher levels of BMC than younger ones. While participation rates for extracurricular PA differed widely, participation in ball sports was correlated with OM and SM. Participation in individual sports showed a significant association with SM. In summary, BMC levels of children seem to depend on where they live and are strongly related to their participation in extracurricular PA. Therefore, education and health policies, in order to enhance motor competence development and PA participation, are recommended. Further research on country-specific Physical Education frameworks and their influence on BMC will provide more insights into structural factors and cultural characteristics of BMC development. On a school level, support tools and educational materials for teachers about BMC may enable children to achieve a basic level of motor competencies through Physical Education, contributing to lifelong participation in PA.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.804753/fullmotor competencephysical activityFMSMOBAKmotor developmentscreening |
| spellingShingle | Marina Wälti Jeffrey Sallen Manolis Adamakis Fabienne Ennigkeit Erin Gerlach Christopher Heim Boris Jidovtseff Irene Kossyva Jana Labudová Dana Masaryková Remo Mombarg Liliane De Sousa Morgado Benjamin Niederkofler Maike Niehues Marcos Onofre Uwe Pühse Ana Quitério Claude Scheuer Harald Seelig Petr Vlček Jaroslav Vrbas Christian Herrmann Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity Frontiers in Psychology motor competence physical activity FMS MOBAK motor development screening |
| title | Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity |
| title_full | Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity |
| title_fullStr | Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity |
| title_short | Basic Motor Competencies of 6- to 8-Year-Old Primary School Children in 10 European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study on Associations With Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Physical Activity |
| title_sort | basic motor competencies of 6 to 8 year old primary school children in 10 european countries a cross sectional study on associations with age sex body mass index and physical activity |
| topic | motor competence physical activity FMS MOBAK motor development screening |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.804753/full |
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