Editorial
European Psychomotricity Journal 2008; 1; 1, 1 Special Issue: 1st Symposium of SPA-Hellas Download (pdf, 68kb)
Volume 1 – 2008, Special Issue
A study of the construct validity of the Democritus–psychomotor assessment tool for pre-school children
The aim of the present study was the examination of the construct validity of the Democritus Assessment Tool for Pre-school Children (PAT-PRE) (Kambas, Aggeloussis, & Gavrilidou, 2003). PAT-PRE was distributed to 435 children (238 boys and 197 girls) aged 48-71 months that were divided in four age groups [48-54 months (n=92), 55-59 months (n= 92), 60-65 months (n= 125) and 66-71 months (n=126). The results of the factor analysis revealed a model that accounted for the 60.38 % of the total score variance and was consisted of one strong multicollective factor and three weaker ones supporting the proposal of Kambas et al. (2003) for the use of the total score. Moreover, the item scores had statistically significant relationships with the total short form score. Age had a statistically significant effect on the total PAT-PRE score, while sex did not. PAT-PRE seemed to be a valid test on motor performance in normal Greek pre-school children.
Test-retest reliability of the “Beat Competence Analysis-Test”
Rhythmic ability is one of the coordination abilities and its development is related to motor skills improvement, academic achievement, dancing performance and sports. Its significance indicates a valid and reliable assessment tool. Weikart’s “Beat Competence Analysis Test” (“BCAT”) is a battery that evaluates rhythmic ability and it‘s been applied in many researches in Greece but its adequacy in Greek population has not been examined yet. The purpose of the present study was the preliminary examination of the testretest reliability of the “BCAT” battery in Greek population. Eighty one students, 5-8 years old (18 kindergarten pupils, 23 1st grade, 21 2nd grade and 19 3rd grade students) were administered the battery twice. Intraclass and Cronbach’s a coefficients were used for the statistical analysis of data. The results revealed that the test-retest reliability was supported but not enough, so.
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A transdisciplinary assessment of sensory motor and psychomotor skills of children with developmental disability
The need to understand better the complex problems that can reflect the profile of a developmental disability seems to be served by multidimensional solutions. Therefore this paper will present the results of a transdisciplinary assessment of sensory motor and psychomotor skills of children with developmental disability. Subjects were 19 children, eleven with mild mental retardation and seven with developmental disabilities. The mean age was 7.3 years old. The instruments used were the LOSKF- 18, the sensory profile and a music rhythmic test. In interpreting the results it appears that the important cross-correlations found between LOS-KF-18, the sensory profile and the music rhythmic test conform to theoretical precedents and inquiring data. All correlations are statistically significant. A multidimensional assessment such as the transdisciplinary approach can provide a more functional profile of the child with developmental disability since it refers to the correlation between functional skills. Further research is needed to determine the correlation between sensory motor and psychomotor development in order to determine the best practices for the intervention in children with developmental disability.
Gross and fine motor skills: the case of Roma
The purpose of the present study is to evaluate gross and fine motor performance of roma children and to investigate the possible differences between roma and non-roma children. Twenty Roma and 20 non-roma preschoolers and first grade primary school children participated in this study. The two following tests have been used: The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD) (Ulrich, 2000), and the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) (Beery, 1997). The data shows that there were statistically significant differences only in the VMI, which shows roma children’s underachievement in fine motor skills. This underdevelopment of fine motor skills may be impeded by the different daily routine of their families and their infrequent attendance of kindergarten. The significance of early childhood education is being emphasized as a key component of roma’s school success.
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Psychomotor Education in Preschool Years: An Experimental Research
The purpose of this study is to present the results arrived at as a result of the implementation and evaluation of an experimental program of psychomotor education for preschool children. The research sample was 116 children aged 58 – 69 months old (M = 62.72, SD =3.41) who were attending public preschool classes in Iraklio and Rethymno during the school year 2001 – 2002. The children were split in two groups (experimental and control group). The research process was comprised by three phases: psychomotor skills testing at the beginning of the year, implementation of the psychomotor program in the experimental group (for 12 consecutive weeks), and further psychomotor testing which evaluated the effectiveness of the program. Data collection was carried through the ‘checklist of psychomotor ability’ which we have constructed ourselves. The research results showed that the experimental program of psychomotor education, which was followed for the experimental group, resulted in the improvement of psychomotor skills assessed by the checklist (those were body concepts and skills, space concepts, and time concepts) in comparison with the control group which followed a typical preschool class schedule. The overall progress of the experimental group was statistically significant (t = 9.441, df = 114, p < .001). The findings of this research showed that psychomotor education can play a decisive role in the development of fundamental concepts such as body, space, time which are also fundamental for cross thematic and interdisciplinary teaching in the preschool class.
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Motor and mental representation of preschool aged children
Aim of the present research was the detection of motor disturbances, the detection of the vividness degree of the mental representation as well as the study of the relationship between the different levels of motor coordination and the vividness degree of the mental representation among 412 children of preschool age from 4 to 6 years old, who were selected by accidental sampling from Epirus and Corfu regions. The motor test “Motor Assessment Battery for children (M-ABC, Henderson &Sugden,1992).The evaluation of vividness degree of the formation of mental pictures has been made according to “The measurement of imagery ability) (Hall, Pongrac and Buckolz,1985). There were used tables of frequency distribution and their relative percentages regarding the rates of the two variables as well as the factors of correlation Pearson and Spearman.Comparing the results we conclude that a 4.9 percentage of the sample has serious difficulties in motor . It has been observed a statistically negative connection (Spearman r = -,461 & Pearson r = -,710 df = 410,p<0.001)between vividness degree of the mental representation and the different levels of motor coordination. The children who have demonstrated good rates of motor coordination without difficulties have also shown a high vividness degree of mental representation while the difficulties on children’s motor coordination are related to the low rates of the vividness degree of mental representation. The importance of the present survey is double-based. Through the appointment of this relationship between the two variables of the motor coordination (body-motor level) and the vividness grade of mental representation (perceptivecognitive) level, useful conclusions are being extracted not only on pedagogic science but on sports, too. The motor behavior and the motor learning are promoted through such processes of motor coordination growth and the processes of perceptive-cognitive development shaping in that way an all-out child’s personality which is the aim of General Education. Additionally, ways of early detection of children with motor and perceptive-cognitive particularities are being demonstrated.
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Evaluation of motor coordination in early school aged children
Motor coordination ability development has constituted a popular field of in the last decade, as it provides important information about children’s developmental level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of motor coordination in early school age children. The sample consisted of 150 students (72 boys and 78 girls) of ages ranging from 69 to 99 months (Μ=83.75, SD=7.43), who attended the organized educational program of their school and did not participate in any exercising program. For the evaluation of motor coordination Koerperkoordinationstest fuer Kindern, KTK, was used. The test is considered to be one of the most reliable (r=.90) and is comprises of four individual tests that measure: a) balance capacity, b) one- leg obstacle surmounting, c) side jump and d) side locomotion and object replacement. The Two-Way Analysis of Variance did not present any statistically significant interaction of age and sex in any of the individual tests.
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The relationship between motor performance and accident proneness in preschool and primary school children
Nowadays, children and adolescents are becoming less physically active and are adopting a sedentary life, in front of computers and television screens. However, at school, children get away from the above habits and become more active. Because of this increased physical activity, a lot of accidents are caused during school hours compared with the accidents that are caused during the rest of the day. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor performance and accident proneness in preschool and primary school children. Specifically, the factors, which have been contributed to accident proneness, have been studied. Finally, the relationship between motor performance and severity of injury has been investigated. Possible factors that contribute to an accident are proved to be age, gender, psychologicalbehavioural factors, the activity engaged, the surface or equipment used and insufficient organization. Regarding the frequency of accidents and the age, most researchers come to the conclusion that as children grow up become more prone to accidents. According to the relationship between sex and frequency of accidents most researchers claim that boys have higher accident rates than girls. It is also mentioned a significant relationship between accident frequency and measures of high hazard exposure. Finally, children’s motor development plays an important role in the avoidance of accidents. On the other hand, there is no research that studies the relationship between the seriousness of an accident with the level of motor ability and the tendency of a child to have accidents.
Relationship between BMI, physical activity and TV-watching in preschool children.
The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between BMI, physical activity, and hours of watching TV in preschool aged children. The sample consisted of 102 children (49 boys and 53 girls) aged 48 to 79 months (Mean=60.67, S.D.=7.07). Physical activity was measured using an OMRON walking style II pedometer, while hours of TV watching and occupation with “digital” games were recorded using a parent questionnaire. Differences between groups were assessed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). From the results was not found any statistically significant effect of BMI in number of steps/week (F =.411, p=.672), in number of covered km/week (F=.411, p=.673) and in hours of TV watching/day (F=.004, p=.996). However, statistically significant difference was found in the level of physical activity between children that watched less than 1h TV per day, (number of steps/week: Mean=61426.75, SD=10766.28) and total km/week: Mean=24.54, SD=4.31) and children that watched above 5h TV per day, (number of steps/week: Mean=37753.25, SD= 2975.89 and km/week: Mean=15.07, SD=1.18). Consequently, ΒMI is not a perfect predictor for preschool aged children to show any differentiations in relation to older children. However a negative association is possible to exist between physical activity and hours of TV watching at a sensitive time period.
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A study on the accuracy of three pedometers
A study on the accuracy of three pedometers: Omron Walking style pro HJ-720IT-E2 (OHJ), Omron walking style II (OII) and Yamax SW-200 (YSW). This study examined the effects of walking speed on the accuracy of the above pedometers: Thirty two subjects (271.22 ± 28,4 months) walked on a treadmill at various speeds (54, 67, 80, 94, and 107 mmin-1) for five min stages. Two investigators determined steps simultaneously by a hand counter and a camera was recording all the trial. YSW and OHJ were measured on the right side and OII was measured on the left side. OHJ and OII did not differ a lot from actual steps at any speed (p>0.05), only YSW differed a lot at 54 m*min-1 (p<0.05). OHJ and OII appeared to be accurate at any speed and YSW provide accurate values at 64 m*min-1 and above.
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Motor proficiency, physical activity and body mass index in preschool aged children
The purpose of this study was to compare the motor proficiency and the physical activity (PA) of preschool children with different body mass index (BMI). Fifty-three preschoolers (26 boys and 27 girls), aged 4-5 years, were divided, according to their BMI, to those with: a) normal BMI, b) overweight children and c) obese children. Their motor proficiency was determined by the ‘Motorik’ Module test battery and their PA was evaluated by using the interview ‘Interviewleitfaden zur Aktivität für Kinder von 4 bis 6 Jahren’. According to the IOTF standards, the 22.6% and 9.4% of the children were categorized, as overweight and obese, accordingly and they had no statistically significant difference in their motor performance, when compared with children with normal BMI. However, the weekly participation in at least 60 min daily accumulation of physical activity, was significant lower (MD=1.80, p<.05) in obese children than normal weight peers. The results of the present study are particularly useful, for those who are involved in pre-school education, as they suggest that physical inactivity is strongly related to obesity in preschool children and notify the necessity of Physical Education in the Greek nursery school.
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Lifestyle and physical activity of young people in Greece: The role of the school and the community in the promotion of active living.
The investigation of young people lifestyles and attempts to influence them to a desirable direction are high priorities on the research agenda for health and education bodies worldwide, since the formulation of the concept of lifestyle begins during childhood with the dynamic interaction between individual characteristics and the physical environment. Physical activity, diet, participation on passive leisure time pursuits, smoking and alcohol consumption are today important components of the young peoples’ lifestyle. These factors are directly related to the epidemic spread of obesity and a number of physical and psychological disorders. Greeks, of all age-groups, adopted an actually risky lifestyle in these terms of leisure time pursuits. Greek young people spent a great amount of time daily in passive leisure time pursuits and indicate a low interest towards active play and an increase interest for activities of social interaction and sedentary recreation. Furthermore, Greek young people are classified as the most obese between their counterparts of other European countries and they consist the leading group in the adoption of unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. Appropriate intervention programmes are needed. Studies support the notion that interventions must i) target multi-level changes of both individual-level and environmental-level factors in an integrated approach to PA and health promotion, and ii) tailored to the needs, preferences and characteristics of young people. Schools and community can play a decisive role to this direction.
Effectiveness of interventions promoting physical activity in young people in Europe
Despite a significant evidence base about the benefits of physical activity [PA], most children remain resistant to adopting and maintaining active lifestyles. There have been several large studies of the physical activity characteristics of young people in Europe over the last decade. European boys of all ages participate in more physical activity than European girls and the gender difference is more marked when vigorous activity is considered. There is a marked reduction in activity over the adolescent years (Armstrong & Welsman, 2006). Several types of intervention have been used to increase the PA levels of young people in Europe. In a recent systematic review of interventions, Van-Sluijs et al. (2007) identified 57 studies worldwide, of which 17 were conducted in Europe (9 in UK, 3 in Greece, 1 in Ireland, 1 in France, 1 in Finland, 1 in Netherlands, and 1 in Spain). Eight of the 17 EU studies exhibited high methodological quality. The studies (13 out of 17) focusing on children (<12 years) employed educational (6 studies), environmental (4 studies), and multi-component (3 studies) interventions. Three high quality educational studies, 1 high quality environmental study, and 1 high quality multi-component study reported a significant positive effect. All except one (family-based intervention) study of children involved school-based interventions. Five studies were restricted to school setting only and six evaluated school-based interventions which also included family or community components. Four of the school setting only interventions, and four of the school plus family or community interventions reported a significant positive effect. The studies (4 out of 17) focusing on adolescents (>12 years) employed educational (2 studies) and multi-component (2 studies) interventions. Only 1 multi-component study was considered to be of high quality and this study reported a significant positive effect of a school plus family or community component. The limited number of European studies highlights the need for more high quality studies. From the 13 studies conducted with children, 8 reported a significant positive effect and they were all school-based interventions. Only 4 European studies focused on adolescents, stressing the urgent need for interventions targeting this population. Overall, the evidence from the 57 studies worldwide was inconsistent for children with the strongest effects coming from studies with adolescents. Specifically, some evidence of effect was shown for environmental interventions targeting children, whereas multi-component interventions may make important differences in physical activity levels in adolescents. These findings support recent calls for the incorporation of both individual-level and environmental-level factors in an integrated approach to physical activity research and practice. Considering multiple levels (e.g., intrapersonal, interpersonal, home, school, community, policy) of influence on young people’s behaviour will contribute to the understanding of the principal determinants of PA and the causes of the inactivity among young people. This approach requires interventions that are context-specific, expand outside the school setting and are developed locally. Although there are currently no interventions which could be described as a model for “best practice”, new interventions need to mesh better with how the problem of inactivity is dealt in real life settings.
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