Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs
Tailoring motor activities to the unique needs of children with special educational requirements has shown considerable efficacy. Our study aimed to develop a structured program specifically designed to enhance psychomotor abilities, focusing on balance and motor–cognitive skills among 28 students (...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/102 |
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| author | Daniel Roșu Florin Cojanu Paul-Florinel Vișan Nicoleta Samarescu Mariana Augustina Ene Raul-Ioan Muntean Vasile Emil Ursu |
| author_facet | Daniel Roșu Florin Cojanu Paul-Florinel Vișan Nicoleta Samarescu Mariana Augustina Ene Raul-Ioan Muntean Vasile Emil Ursu |
| author_sort | Daniel Roșu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tailoring motor activities to the unique needs of children with special educational requirements has shown considerable efficacy. Our study aimed to develop a structured program specifically designed to enhance psychomotor abilities, focusing on balance and motor–cognitive skills among 28 students (aged 12–14) from two institutional centers in Romania. The program spanned 36 weeks, with biweekly 30 min sessions. Psychomotor skills were assessed through tests measuring balance, speed of movements, and upper limb motor laterality. Initial and final data were collected for evaluation. A statistical analysis, employing the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Wilcoxon Z tests, compared the assessments. The results indicated significant improvements in movement speed, with a notable increase in stimulus identification (averaging from approximately 13 to 14) (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and reduced processing time (decreasing from about 28.7 to 28 s) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). However, while the structured program demonstrated substantial enhancements in specific motor and cognitive–motor skills, it did not yield significant changes in dynamic balance, maintaining values close to 0.9 (<i>p</i> > 0.05) for open-eyed balance and 0.88 (<i>p</i> > 0.05) for closed-eyed balance. Additionally, an analysis of the processing speed in pulses per second showcased a marginal decline, from approximately 0.46 to 0.45, revealing notable disparities between the initial and final measurements (<i>p</i> < 0.05). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:01:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f17336742a734892ad1cee610721f79a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:01:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-f17336742a734892ad1cee610721f79a2024-01-26T15:49:04ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-01-0111110210.3390/children11010102Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational NeedsDaniel Roșu0Florin Cojanu1Paul-Florinel Vișan2Nicoleta Samarescu3Mariana Augustina Ene4Raul-Ioan Muntean5Vasile Emil Ursu6Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sciences, Physical Education and Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Pitesti University Center, 110040 Pitesti, RomaniaDepartment of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sciences, Physical Education and Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Pitesti University Center, 110040 Pitesti, RomaniaDepartment of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sciences, Physical Education and Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Pitesti University Center, 110040 Pitesti, RomaniaDepartment of Educational Science, Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Psychology, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Pitesti University Center, 110040 Pitesti, RomaniaDoctoral School Sports Science and Physical Education, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Pitesti University Center, 110040 Pitesti, RomaniaDepartment of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University “1 Decembrie 1918” of Alba Iulia, 510009 Alba Iulia, RomaniaDepartment of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University “1 Decembrie 1918” of Alba Iulia, 510009 Alba Iulia, RomaniaTailoring motor activities to the unique needs of children with special educational requirements has shown considerable efficacy. Our study aimed to develop a structured program specifically designed to enhance psychomotor abilities, focusing on balance and motor–cognitive skills among 28 students (aged 12–14) from two institutional centers in Romania. The program spanned 36 weeks, with biweekly 30 min sessions. Psychomotor skills were assessed through tests measuring balance, speed of movements, and upper limb motor laterality. Initial and final data were collected for evaluation. A statistical analysis, employing the Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Wilcoxon Z tests, compared the assessments. The results indicated significant improvements in movement speed, with a notable increase in stimulus identification (averaging from approximately 13 to 14) (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and reduced processing time (decreasing from about 28.7 to 28 s) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). However, while the structured program demonstrated substantial enhancements in specific motor and cognitive–motor skills, it did not yield significant changes in dynamic balance, maintaining values close to 0.9 (<i>p</i> > 0.05) for open-eyed balance and 0.88 (<i>p</i> > 0.05) for closed-eyed balance. Additionally, an analysis of the processing speed in pulses per second showcased a marginal decline, from approximately 0.46 to 0.45, revealing notable disparities between the initial and final measurements (<i>p</i> < 0.05).https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/102motor skills assessmentinstitutionalized educationbalancemovement speed |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Roșu Florin Cojanu Paul-Florinel Vișan Nicoleta Samarescu Mariana Augustina Ene Raul-Ioan Muntean Vasile Emil Ursu Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs Children motor skills assessment institutionalized education balance movement speed |
| title | Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs |
| title_full | Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs |
| title_fullStr | Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs |
| title_short | Structured Program for Developing the Psychomotor Skills of Institutionalized Children with Special Educational Needs |
| title_sort | structured program for developing the psychomotor skills of institutionalized children with special educational needs |
| topic | motor skills assessment institutionalized education balance movement speed |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/1/102 |
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