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Environment for Preschool Children to Learn Fundamental Motor Skills: The Role of Teaching Venue and Class Size

Author

Listed:
  • Peggy Cheung

    (Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Li Zhang

    (School of Physical Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China)

Abstract

The development of children’s fundamental motor skills (FMS) is shaped by the environment surrounding them. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the changes of children’s FMS after an intervention program differed between classes conducted in different schooling conditions. Participants were 295 preschool children (62 boys, 133 girls; M = 5.4 years; SD = 0.28) from eight preschools in Hong Kong. Children participated in an 8-week FMS program and their FMS were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2). A linear mixed model was used to analyze the association on the changes of FMS score between children in different schooling conditions: (1) teaching venue size (large or small); and (2) class size (large, medium, or small), while accounting for the clustering of participants within preschools. The changes of object control skills were significantly different between groups with different teaching venue size ( p = 0.000) (small: 5.54 ( SD = 5.84) vs. large: 2.46 ( SD = 6.42)) and different class size ( p = 0.000) (small: 8.12 ( SD = 6.34) vs. medium: 2.92 ( SD = 6.26) vs. large: 4.00 ( SD = 5.79)). The findings have practical implications for the teaching of FMS in that the social and physical environment in preschools should be considered for the design of FMS intervention programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Peggy Cheung & Li Zhang, 2020. "Environment for Preschool Children to Learn Fundamental Motor Skills: The Role of Teaching Venue and Class Size," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-10, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9774-:d:449709
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    Cited by:

    1. Chunshan Zhou & Dahao Zhang & Xiong He, 2021. "Transportation Accessibility Evaluation of Educational Institutions Conducting Field Environmental Education Activities in Ecological Protection Areas: A Case Study of Zhuhai City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Yunfei Zheng & Weibing Ye & Mallikarjuna Korivi & Yubo Liu & Feng Hong, 2022. "Gender Differences in Fundamental Motor Skills Proficiency in Children Aged 3–6 Years: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.

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