How can we best measure fundamental movement skills?

The assessment of movement skill is a critical component of many disciplines and professions. In particular, the effectiveness of movement programs hinges on accurate information about the skill level of participants. This information should be based on assessment that is valid, comprehensive, educative, fair and explicit. The chosen process is matched to the assessment purpose. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative and qualitative strategies will be presented and the areas for future research highlighted

Physical activity, physical fitness or physical education: Are we betting on the wrong horse?

If you read the daily newspaper, it is highly likely there will an article on the importance of physical activity. A recent survey I undertook showed that on some weeks up to 25 articles with physical activity as a key word were published in mainstream Australian papers. A key word search of peer reviewed journals in Academic Search Premier reveals a similar pattern-with up to 30,000 articles having the word physical activity in the abstract. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. The number of published articles about physical activity related studies has grown astronomically compared to two other important terms, physical fitness and physical education. So why has this happened? Has this impacted on support for our learning area, physical education? In this article I will argue that we, as a community, have lost sight of one of the main reasons we need to be active (to build physical fitness) and do not adequately support a key pathway to lifetime physical activity (physical education). I suggest we are betting on the wrong horse

How fundamental are fundamental movement skills?

If you take the time to observe children playing in a playground you will notice some whose movements are fluid and graceful, who clearly experience the joy of successful movement and feel confident in their actions. Look further and you may notice some less confident children who may be hovering on the sidelines, causing fights with their peers, sitting quietly by themselves on the verandah or even hidden away in the library reading a book. These children find participation in playground games and many other physical activities challenging, tiring and even embarrassing. They are worried they will miss a ball thrown to them in a game of keep-off or fall over in a game of chasey. Nobody wants them on their team. For these children, the opportunity to feel the intrinsic enjoyment of successful movement is denied. Their inadequacy is very public and subsequently humiliating – this is much worse than the experience of the child who is yet to master math or reading. Their inadequacy is more easily concealed in a classroo

Measurement of teacher attitude to direct instruction

This study investigates teacher attitude towards a teaching innovation, Direct Instruction. In particular, it is concerned with what aspects of this teaching strategy affect a teacher\u27s decision to implement the method and the relationship between experience with Direct Instruction and teacher attitude. A repeated measures, pretest-posttest design was employed to assess participants\u27 attitude before and after viewing a video demonstrating the teaching method, Direct Instruction. The 40 item Attitude towards Direct Instruction (AD I) scale comprised 30 items derived from a questionnaire designed by Proctor (1989) in addition to ten new items created especially for the study. The scoring function comprised the familiar Likert rating format using five response categories; Strongly Agree, Agree, Not Sure (NS), Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Data was collected from two sample groups. The first group, or \u27change\u27 sample, comprised 144 primary trained teachers and was used to assess the degree of attitude change between the pretest and posttest occasion. The second group, referred to as the \u27control sample\u27, comprised 275 third year education students at Edith Cowan University and was included in the study to assess the influence of the NS response category on the precision of the measuring instrument as well as forming part of the calibration sample. Item analyses were conducted on the ADI scale using the extended model of Rasch, an important measurement model for assessing the psychometric properties of items with ordered categories. Due to the nature of the change sample, which included teachers with no experience with Direct Instruction, it was necessary to include the NS category despite the knowledge that it can cause problems of a measurement nature. By assessing threshold order across all items it was shown that the NS category could be employed during the initial data collection but that any responses obtained had to be suppressed and changed to missing data in the data file if the subsequent analyses were to be effective. A final instrument comprising 19 items demonstrated sound psychometric properties with high reliability and person separation capabilities; Graphical procedures, which took account of the special features of the measurement model, were used to investigate item bias (as part of the calibration of the instrument) as well as attitude change. In both cases, the plots provided an effective and simple interpretation of information as inconsistencies amongst both items and people were readily identified. The relationship between attitude change, as a result of the demonstration of Direct Instruction, and prior teacher experience with the method was also obtained from an examination of plot shifts across the calibration range. Generally, teachers were more likely to have a negative attitude towards Direct Instruction if they had never taught the method. They perceived Direct Instruction to be too teacher oriented and highly structured. On the other hand, teachers were more likely to have a positive attitude towards Direct Instruction if they had had the opportunity to use it. They saw Direct Instruction as effective, easy to use, and versatile

What do we really know about the constraints and enablers of physical activity levels in young children?

Ample evidence exists to support the benefits of habitual physical activity levels on long term health and well-being for adults, youth and, more recently, children. However information about factors that impact on young children’s choices to be active or inactive is limited because the accurate measurement of physical activity in young children is difficult. Consequently, many statements found in the literature about young children’s physical activity levels are not founded on empirically validated information. Some conclusions are extrapolated to younger children from findings in studies of older children. This paper is based on an extensive review of literature and the outcomes of a National Summit held in Fremantle, WA in November 2001. It seeks to identify those key early life experiences and context factors that research has confirmed create the child who is attracted to physically active play rather than sedentary play. The implications of these findings for future research and intervention programs are presented

Implementing a fundamental Mmvement skill program in an early childhood setting: The children’s perspectives

Ample evidence exists about the importance of physical activity for developing and maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle. As many habits are formed when young, well planned and effective movement programs specifically designed for young children are important. In this paper, the influence of a new teaching resource designed to support teachers in implementing a fundamental movement skill program on the children in the classes is presented using a case study approach. The case studies were constructed with teachers and children in a range of early childhood settings. The impact of the program on the children’s level of confidence, knowledge of fundamental movement skills and personal physical activity level is presented. This information was gathered using direct observation methods, observation records and questionnaires. The findings indicated an increase in the children’s physical activity levels, confidence and knowledge about fundamental movement skills

Australian adolescents\u27 motor competence and perceptions of physical activity outcomes

Benefits that are generally associated with physical activity include enjoyment of the activity, expectation of positive benefits, intention to exercise, perceived fitness or health self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and positive physical self-perceptions (Sallis & Owen, 1999). In the Australian context where motor skill is highly valued, the ability to participate in play, games, and sports is likely to be particularly important in the socialization process of adolescents, such as their opportunity for reaffirming friendships and gaining social support from significant others. To be competent at movement would seem a clear advantage in order to experience quality of life through physical activity. However for adolescents who have poor motor competence, whose past experiences in sporting contexts have been less positive, future engagement in physical activity may not be viewed as so worthwhile. From a theoretical perspective motor competence has been closely linked to positive self-perceptions (Harter, 1999; Nicholls, 1990) and feelings of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Furthermore, the choices individuals make are directly related to their expectancies for success, and subjective values they place on the options they perceive to be available (Eccles, Barber, & Jozefowicz, 1999). Empirical findings with adolescents (Cantell, Smyth, & Ahonen, 2003; Poulsen, Ziviani, Cuskelly, & Smith, 2007) suggest that level of motor competence is associated with psycho-social outcomes that in turn influence the intrinsic motivation to engage in physical activity. Even with marginal motor difficulties, adolescents perceive greater barriers to exercise (Rose, Larkin, Hands, & Parker, 2008) but there is little known of how adolescents with low motor competence perceive outcomes of future engagement in physical activity differently to their better coordinated peers. Their difficulties are not only frequently overlooked but are compounded by not experiencing the joy of participation and benefit from the healthy outcomes of physical activity so important to quality of life. Furthermore, there is evidence that movement difficulties experienced in childhood do not go away and there are often physical and psycho-social difficulties extending into adulthood (Cantell, Smyth, & Ahonen, 2003). In our study we proposed that adolescent girls and boys who differ in level of motor competence will also differ in their perceptions of benefits gained from any future engagement in sports and physical recreation. These proposed differences especially may be evident in physical and social evaluative settings where according to Harter (1999) adolescents are particularly vulnerable. She found that subgroups experiencing motor difficulties are likely to have a diminished view of their physical selves and be unwilling to participate in physical activities. If little positive benefit is perceived from participation there are strong implications for physical health associated with low energy expenditure and for overall quality of life. Considering that gender is linked to academic, occupational and recreational choice (Eccles et al., 1999) and that socialization for girls in sport often differs from that of boys (Coakley, 2007), girls may view their future in physical activity as less rewarding. This might have implications not only for girls but particularly for those girls who also lack competence in movement. Boys also may experience disadvantage if their motor competence does not reach the expectations of a sport oriented society (Poulsen et al., 2007). Our purpose here was to examine the likelihood of experiencing positive or negative outcomes from engaging in physical activity in adolescent boys and girls who differed in level of motor competence

Implementing a fundamental movement skill program in an early childhood setting: The teachers’ perspectives

The place of explicit movement skill development programs in early childhood settings is contentious. However given the growing understanding that movement competence is important for maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle (Hands, Parker, & Larkin, 2001), well planned and effective programs specifically designed for young children are important. In this paper, the influence of a new teaching resource designed to support teachers in implementing a fundamental movement skill program is presented using a case study approach. The case studies were constructed with teachers working in a range of early childhood settings. The impact of the program on teachers’ level of confidence, knowledge of fundamental movement skills and personal physical activity level is presented. The information was gathered using a structured self-reflection process including a journal, group meetings, individual face-to-face interviews and a final written evaluation. The findings indicate an increase in teacher confidence and knowledge but no impact on personal physical activity level

Developmental coordination disorder: A discrete disability

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have a motor learning disability that reduces their ability to interact with the environment and compromises their social and emotional development. Accordingly, these children should be given the extra assistance and consideration given to children with other learning difficulties. Even though many countries have well developed policies to support students at educational risk, children with movement difficulties are not widely considered to be members of this category. This paper argues for a change in education policy and practice in order to better support children with DCD or Motor Learning Disability (MLD). Improved teacher education practices, community education of professionals and parents and a greater interaction between parents, teachers and therapists will enrich the educational experiences of these children. A first step, however is to acknowledge that DCD is a motor learning disability (MLD) and consider adopting this alternative term. While focussing on the Australian perspective, this paper has implications for education policy and practice in all countries

Physical Wellness: The relationship between motor skill, fitness and physical activity in young children

The health benefits of adequate physical activity levels for children are well reported. However, we cannot assume that children will choose to be sufficiently active of their own accord. Motor competence and fitness are increasingly highlighted as key co-determinants of physical activity in young children (Hands, Parker, & Larkin, 2001) and where possible strategies to enhance these factors should be included in early childhood settings. However few studies have adopted an integrated view of the collective effects of these three factors on developing healthy children. This presentation explores interrelationships between measures of motor skill competence, fitness, and weekly physical activity level in 44 children aged between 5 and 10 years. These are derived from parent completed questionnaire and physical assessments. In particular the emphasis was on comparing low active and high active children and drawing implications for parents, caregivers and teachers on ways to facilitate children’s physical well being