Content uploaded by Fatma İlker Kerkez
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Fatma İlker Kerkez on Mar 07, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 16 (6): 769-774, 2013
ISSN 1990-9233
© IDOSI Publications, 2013
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2013.16.06.75159
Corresponding Author: Fatma Ilker Kerkez, School of Physical Education and Sport, Inonu University, 44000, Malatya, Turkey.
Tel: +905319915100, Fax: +904223411153, E-mail: fatma.kerkez@inonu.edu.tr.
769
The Efficacy of Motor Skill Interventions among Turkish Preschoolers:
A Review of the Turkish Literature and Recommendations
Fatma Ilker Kerkez and Leah Robinson
12
School of Physical Education and Sport, Inonu University, 44000, Malatya, Turkey
1
Department of Kinesiology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
2
Abstract: This paper reviewed scientific data regarding the efficacy of motor skill interventions on the
development of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in typically developing preschoolers (ages 4 - 6) in Turkey. A
systematic search was conducted for Turkish printed theses and research articles published between January
1980 and September 2012. A total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria for this literature review. The studies
selected had a combined sample size of 1,111 preschool children and the sample sizes ranged from 52 to 240
(average sample size 58.8) per study. Our findings indicated that motor skill interventions are effective at
improving FMS in children. This review also highlights the limited number of existing interventions to improve
motor development among young children in Turkey. It is important to continue determining the most effective
characteristics of motor skill interventions (i.e. minutes of instruction time, instructional approaches, providers)
to shape policy and curriculum recommendations for structured movement programs in early childhood
settings.
Key words: Motor skill Intervention Preschoolers
INTRODUCTION practiced and reinforced through developmentally
One component of physical development is learning time to work on FMS.
fundamental movement skills (FMS). FMS are typically Currently, there are 6,198,957 children in the 0 - 4 age
classified as object control and locomotor skills [1]. group in Turkey (3,016,307 girls and 3,182,650 boys) and
Locomotor skills include different movements to transport preschool education for children ages 3 - 5 is optional [11,
the body from one location to another, such as running, 12]. According to the Ministry of National Education [11],
jumping, hopping, leaping, galloping and sliding. Object there are 27,197 preschool institutions in Turkey and the
control skills include transporting, intercepting or number of children enrolled in preschool education is
projecting objects by actions such as throwing, catching, 1,077,933 (515,754 girls and 562,179 boys). Similar to the
dribbling, kicking, underhand rolling and striking. Both global obesity epidemic, obesity also poses a health risk
locomotor and object control skills are basic skills of the to Turkish children. According to several studies
physical domain. These skills must be mastered before conducted in Turkey, the prevalence of obesity in
learning more complex and specialized sports skills, which children varies between 1.9 and 30.7% [13-15]. While the
involve combinations of FMS in games, sports and dance number of obese children is increasing in Turkish society,
activities [1- 5]. FMS enable children to apply basic motor the age of the onset of obesity is decreasing [15]. Despite
skills to participate in sports and games that require more this trend, scientific data on the influence of movement
advanced movements [6]. For example, to participate in a and physical activity on Turkish children is limited.
game of basketball, individuals need basic competence in Additionally, there is no national movement and physical
running, catching and throwing. Evidence supports the activity recommendations, guidelines or plans for Turkish
association between FMS competence and physical preschoolers. The purpose of this review was to
activity [2, 7-10]. However, FMS competence does not summarize literature that investigates the efficacy of motor
develop naturally. Rather, FMS need to be taught, skill interventions on FMS among preschoolers in Turkey.
appropriate movement programs [3]. Preschool is the ideal
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 16 (6): 769-774, 2013
770
Findings from this review will provide scientific data and in the search: preschool, kindergarten, movement,
critical information related to physical activity physical activity, intervention, health, motor,
recommendations to contribute to future studies and psychomotor, play and development. A review of the
public health policies for pediatric populations in Turkey. reference lists of identified studies expanded the literature
Despite advances in international recommendations for consulted for this review. Ten theses and one article that
physical activity among preschool children, Turkey lacks matched the criteria were summarized in Table 1,
a set of guidelines for this population. categorized by objective, sample and method.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: All identified theses
Identification of Studie: Systematic computer searches for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. For the purpose of
Turkish printed research articles and theses published this review, the inclusion criteria consisted of: (1) motor
between January 1980 and December 2012 were skills-related interventions, (2) use of experimental
conducted using the Hacettepe University Journal of research designs (i.e. randomized controlled trials,
Physical Education and Sports Sciences, the Niðde controlled clinical trials, comparative, quasi-experimental
University Journal of Physical Education and Sports or multi-center studies) conducted in Turkey, (3) an age
Sciences, the Celal Bayar University Journal of Physical criterion in which subjects were between the ages of 4 and
Education and Sports Sciences, the Selçuk University 6 years or the mean age was in this range, (5)
Journal of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, the implementation of the intervention in preschool or school
Pamukkale University Journal of Sports Sciences settings and (6) assessment of pre- and post-test outcome
databases and the National Thesis Center of the Turkish measures. Studies were excluded if (1) the population was
Council of Higher Education. Several keywords were used not defined as healthy, (2) they were purely observational
and articles were further examined to ensure that they met
Table 1: Intervention studies with children ages 4 - 6 in Turkey.
Sample Significant
(Experimental-control Intervention Intervention Total intervention Intervention Motor improvement
Study Type of work Age group numbers) Content provider duration session (min) Assessment (Y/N)
Altinkok [16] Master’s 5 - 6 n = 60 Physical Researcher 16 weeks x 3 days 50 Flamingo, stabilometer Y
girls = 31 education 2400 min (static and dynamic)
boys = 29 balance, agility, standing long jump,
(E = 30 - C = 30) ball throwing, sprint, flexibility, grip
strength, finger strength, vertical leap,
duration to stay in the air
Boz [17] PhD 5 - 6 n = 120 Basic Researcher 12 weeks x 2 days 30 TGMD-2 Y
girls = 60 movement 720 min (Locomotor and
boys = 60 training Object control skills)
(E = 60 - C = 60)
Çelebi [18] Master’s 5 - 6 n = 60 Movement Researcher 8 weeks x 3 days 45 Agility, standing long jump, Y
girls = 30 training 1080 min standing in balance on one foot,
boys = 30 throwing a tennis ball,
(E = 30 - C = 30) sprint and catch
Dursun [19] Master’s 6 n = 54 Movement Researcher 6 week x 2 days 45 Standing balance on one foot, Y
girls = 25 training 540 min velocity, ball catching,
boys = 29 standing long jump,
(E = 28 - C = 11) tennis ball launchers, sprint
Kerkez [20] National Article 5 - 6 n = 105 Researcher 12 weeks x 2 days 45 TGMD-2 Y
girls = 54 Game and 1080 min (Locomotor and Object
boys = 51 activity control skills)
(E = 57 - C = 48)
Kerkez [21] PhD 5 - 6 n = 152 Play and Researcher 12 weeks x 2 days 45 TGMD-2 Y
girls = 75 exercise 1080 min (Locomotor and Object
boys = 77 control skills)
(E = 71 - C = 81)
Kesilmi [22] Master’s 4 - 6 n = 136 Gymnastics Researcher 12 weeks x 2 days 60 Standing long jump, Y
girls = 70 training 1440 min vertical leap, reaction time,
boys = 66 hand-eye coordination,
(E = 93 - C = 43) dynamic balance.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 16 (6): 769-774, 2013
771
Table 1: Continue
Sample Significant
(Experimental-control Intervention Intervention Total intervention Intervention Motor improvement
Study Type of work Age group numbers) Content provider duration session (min) Assessment (Y/N)
Kr c [23] Master’s 4 - 6 n = 240 Movement Researcher 8 weeks x 5 days 50 Agility, standing long jump, Y
girls = 100 training 2000 min standing balance on one foot,
boys = 140 tennis ball launchers,
(E = 120 - C = 120) sprint and catch
Özbar [24] PhD 4 - 6 n = 70 Movement Researcher 40 weeks x 3 days 60 Standing balance on one foot, Y
girls = 35 training 7200 min dynamic balance, agility, flexibility,
boys = 35 ball catching, tennis ball launchers,
(E = 35 - C = 35) standing long jump, sprint,
vertical leap, hand force
Tüfekcioglu Master’s 4 - 6 n = 62 Perceptual Researcher 14 weeks x 3 days 30 Static balance, Y
[25] girls = 31 motor 1440 dynamic balance, velocity
boys = 31 development
(E =30 - C = 32) activities
Uluta [26] Master’s 6 n = 52 Major Researcher 8 weeks x 2 days 60 Balance, leaping, bouncing, Y
girls = 26 games 960 min running, catching, standing long jump, Four o f
boys = 26 tennis ball throwin g five skills
(E = 26 - C = 26)
or cross-sectional, (3) no detailed description of the begin their primary education at the age of 6 and children
intervention was provided or (4) they took place in an ages 3 - 5 have the option of attending preschool at the
afterschool program. Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education [12].
Two independent reviewers (Ph.D. candidates)
carefully reviewed each article. The following data were Intervention Contents: The identified studies involved
extracted for studies that met the inclusion criteria: 1) movement programs that focused on the development of
author(s) and publication information (i.e. title, journal or basic motor skills [16, 19, 23 and 25] and games [21, 26].
institute, publication year), 2) description of study From the literature, recommended activities for children
population (gender, age, sample size), 3) study design, 4) ages 4 - 6 include locomotor (walking, running and
description of intervention components, 5) duration of jumping), non-locomotor (turning and twisting) and
intervention and follow-up period(s), 6) outcome manipulative (throwing, catching and dribbling) skills, all
measures and 7) summary of primary and secondary of which are basic skills of the motor domain. These skills
outcome(s). A third party resolved any differences. must be mastered before learning more complex and
RESULTS fundamental movement skills in games, sports and dance
In total, 11 student-directed research studies (3 PhD, the development of FMS and the large number of children
7 master’s) and 1 national study that investigated the enrolled in early childhood settings, these settings are
efficacy of motor skill interventions on FMS development ideal for the implementation of motor skill interventions
among preschoolers (ages 4 - 6) in Turkey were published [3]. None of the identified studies involved teachers or
between 1995 - 2012. The combined sample size of the parents in the interventions.
studies was 1,111 preschoolers (537 girls, 574 boys).
The sample size ranged from 52 to 240 (average sample Intervention Duration: Intervention durations ranged
size 58.8) per study and a majority (n = 9) of the studies from 6 to 16 weeks (Table 1). However, one study lasted
were conducted with older children, ages 5 - 6 years. 40 weeks [24]. In the international literature for the same
Thus, it appeared that preschool institutions are the ideal age group, the intervention durations ranged from
setting for interventions that promote regular physical 4 weeks to 1 year, with most interventions having
activity during the early childhood years. Researchers duration between 8 and 12 weeks [3, 28- 33]. In the
tend to focus on older children (e.g. 5- and 6-year-olds) identified studies, the frequency of physical activity
because until 2012, Turkish children began their primary ranged from every other day up to 5 days per week.
education at the age of 7. Currently in Turkey, children Instruction times in these studies ranged from 30 - 60
specialized sports skills, which involve combinations of
activities [2, 4, 5 and 27]. In addition, given the benefits of
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 16 (6): 769-774, 2013
772
minutes per week over 2 - 5 sessions (Table 1). The United prevent the development of obesity during school-age
States recommends that preschool-age children should and to reduce the increasing prevalence of adult
participate in at least 1 hour of planned and 1 hour of obesity. Some previous studies claimed that parents
unstructured movement every day for healthy growth and school administrators in Turkey have limited
[34]. However, none of the studies in this review information about movement education, given that few
implemented structured physical activities that met this studies and insufficient outreach have been conducted in
recommendation. this setting [42-44]. Therefore, there is an urgent need to
Motor Assessments: Studies use different tests to among children ages 0 - 5 in Turkey. It is important to
assess motor skills. Of the studies included in this review, continue determining the most effective characteristics
only three studies [17, 20 and 21] used the Test of Gross of motor skill interventions (i.e. minutes of instruction
Motor Development (TGMD-2) to assess motor skill time, instructional approaches) to shape policy and
competence. The TGMD-2 is an established and validated curriculum recommendations for structured
assessment of motor skill performance with established movement programs in early childhood settings in
validity for Turkish children [17, 35]. Other studies used Turkey.
specific skills, such as balance, flexibility, running,
throwing, catching, standing long jumps and vertical CONCLUSIONS
leaps, to assess motor skill competence [16, 18, 19, 22-26].
Intervention Efficacy: Although a limited number of interventions that have been conducted to improve motor
studies exist, their findings demonstrated that motor development among young children in Turkey. Future
skill-based interventions significantly improved FMS studies should include participants between the ages of
among Turkish preschoolers. Just Uluta [26] stated that 0 and 5, with a particular focus on children enrolled in
games positively influenced balance, leaping, bouncing preschool. For optimum effectiveness, a variety of
and standing long jumps but did not affect catching interventions with different durations should be
ability. It is possible that the games chosen in the study implemented daily. The physical activities included in
mostly consisted of locomotor skills such as running, these interventions should aid in the development of
sliding and jumping. Because catching is an object control basic motor skills, such as fun games and dance activities.
skill, it may not have been improved by these types of Standard test protocols that are well known in the
activities. international literature, such as TGMD-2, should be used
DISCUSSION should focus on the optimal dose-response for
This systematic review of studies conducted between healthy weight. Additionally, the effect of physical
1980 and September 2012 investigated the efficacy of activity in early childhood on developing obesity at later
motor-skill interventions on the development of FMS in ages should be tracked. Teachers, researchers and
typically developing preschoolers (ages 4 - 6) in Turkey. parents should be involved in the implementation of
From this review, 11 articles were identified as meeting the interventions because parental involvement is critical to
inclusion criteria. This review demonstrated that ensuring knowledge transfer from the intervention setting
preschool-age children should participate in planned and to the home environment.
regular physical activities [16-26, 36]. This finding is in From this review, we propose several
agreement with several other studies showing that motor recommendations for movement and physical activity for
skill interventions provide children with the basic FMS children 5 years of age and younger in Turkey. It is
competence needed for more advanced [3, 37-41]. essential for health care workers, educators, coaches,
Moreover, Logan et al. [3] found that lower FMS child development experts and even families to consider
competence is associated with less participation in these recommendations, as they will help with children’s
physical activity and overweight or obesity. Thus, overall health and development. Schools and child-care
implementing motor skill interventions may be an centers should ensure that children have sufficient
important strategy to promote physical activity and movement-activity opportunities and enough space and
prevent childhood obesity. Yücel et al. [15] claimed that equipment to accomplish the recommended amounts of
obesity should be monitored before 6 years of age to physical activity. Initially, emergency measures should be
understand the effectiveness of motor skill interventions
This review highlights the limited number of
to measure motor skill development. Research questions
overweight or obese preschool children to maintain a
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 16 (6): 769-774, 2013
773
taken to develop national physical activity guidelines for 11. Ministry of National Education, Republic of Turkey,
preschool-age children that consider the guidelines that
are used in developed nations and have been
recommended in scientific studies.
REFERENCES
1. Haywood,K.M. and N. Getchell, 2009. Lifespan motor
development (5 ed.). Champaign, IL: Human
th
Kinetics.
2. Goodway, J.D., S. Wall and N. Getchell, 2009.
Promoting an ‘active start’ for young children:
Developing competent and confident early movers.
Strategies, 23: 30-32.
3. Logan, S.W., L.E. Robinson, A.E. Wilson and W.A.
Lucas, 2012. Getting the fundamentals of movement:
A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of motor skill
interventions in children. Child Care Health
Development, 38: 305-315.
4. Robinson, L.E., 2011. The relationship between
perceived physical competence and fundamental
motor skills in preschool children. Child: Care, Health
and Development, 37: 589-596. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-
2214.2010.01187
5. Robinson, L.E. and J.D. Goodway, 2009. Instructional
climates in preschool children who are at-risk. Part I:
Object control skill development. Research Quarterly
for Exercise and Sport, 80: 533-542.
6. Clark, J.E., 1994. Motor development. In V.S.
Ramachandran (Ed.), The encyclopedia of human
behavior (3rd ed). New York, NY: Academic Press.
7. Fisher, A., J.J. Reilly, L.A. Kelly, C. Montgomery,
A. Williamson, J.Y. Paton and S. Grant, 2005.
Fundamental movement skills and habitual physical
activity in young children. Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, 37: 684-688.
8. Houwen, S., E. Hartman and C. Visscher, 2009.
Physical activity and motor skills in children with and
without visual impairments. Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, 41: 103-109.
9. Morgan, P.J., A.D. Okely, D.P. Cliff, R.A. Jones and
L.A. Baur, 2008. Correlates of objectively measured
physical activity in obese children. Obesity,
16: 2634-2641.
10. Williams, H.G., K.A. Pfeiffer, J.R. O’Neill, M. Dowda,
K.L. McIver, W.H. Brown and R.R. Pate, 2008. Motor
skill performance and physical activity in preschool
children. Obesity, 16: 1-6.
2013. National Education Statistics for Formal
Education. Ankara, Turkey: Ministry of National
Education.
12. Ministry of National Education, Republic of Turkey,
2012. The regulation related to preschool education
program (Government Gazette No. 28360).
13. Garipagaoglu, M., N. Budak, N. Süt, Ö. Akdikmen, N.
Öner and R. Bundak, 2009. Obesity risk factors in
Turkish children. Journal of Pediatric Nursing,
24: 332-337.
14. Karaka , S., P. Okyay, Ö. Önen, F.A. Ergin and
E. Be er, 2002. Body mass index of 7-14 age group
students from urban and rural elementary school in
Ayd n. 8 National Public Health Congress Book,
th
pp: 741-748.
15. Yücel, O., S. Tulgar Kinik and S. Aka, 2011.
Diagnosis of a trend towards obesity in preschool
children: A longitudinal study. European Journal of
Pediatrics, 170: 751-756.
16. Altinkok, M., 2006. Research on the effect of a
physical education proposal that contains basic
motor skill development on the development of basic
motor movements in 5-6 year old children, M.S.
thesis, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
(In Turkish).
17. Boz, M., 2011. Influence of basic movement
education program implemented with 5-6 year old
children on the development of movement skills,
Ph.D. thesis, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey (In
Turkish).
18. Çelebi, B., 2010. Influence of the movement education
on the development of physical and motor
development of 5-6 year old children in preschool
education institutions, M.S. thesis, Mugla
University, Mugla, Turkey (In Turkish).
19. Dursun, Z., 2004. Influence of a special physical
education program proposal that contains basic
skills on motor skill access of 6 year old children,
M.S. thesis, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey (In
Turkish).
20. Kerkez, F.I., 2004. Influence of the developed game-
exercise program on the locomotor skills of
kindergarten children, Journal of Sport Science,
15(2): 76-90 (In Turkish).
21. Kerkez, F.I., 2006. Research on the effect of games
and exercise on physical and motor development of
5-6 year old children attending pre-K and
kindergarten, Ph.D. thesis, Karadeniz Technical
University, Trabzon, Turkey (In Turkish).
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 16 (6): 769-774, 2013
774
22. Kesilmi , I., 2012. Influence of gymnastic exercise in 34. National Association for Sport and Physical
4-6 year old children on growth and biomotor skills,
M.S. thesis, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
(In Turkish).
23. K r c , H.M., 2008. Influence of an 8-week movement
education on motor performances of 4-6 year old
children in preschool education institutions,
M.S thesis, Mugla University, Mugla, Turkey (In
Turkish).
24. Özbar, N., 2007. Investigation of the effect of
movement education program on motor skill and
body composition of 4-6 year old children, M.S.
thesis, Marmara University, stanbul, Turkey (In
Turkish).
25. Tüfekcioglu, E., 2002. Influence of perceptual motor
development programs on balance and velocity in 4-6
year old preschool children, M.S. thesis, Marmara
University, stanbul, Turkey (In Turkish).
26. Uluta , A., 2011. Influence of major games on
psychomotor development of children (6 years) in
preschool period, M.S. thesis, Inonu University,
Malatya, Turkey (In Turkish).
27. Clark, J.E. and J.S. Metcalfe, 2002. The mountain of
motor development: A metaphor. Motor
Development: Research and Review, 2: 62-95.
28. Chatzipanteli, A., E. Pollatou, N. Diggelidis and T.
Kourtesis, 2007. The effectiveness of a music-
movement program on manipulative skills
performance of six years old children. Inquiries in
Sport & Physical Education, 5: 19-26.
29. Deli, E., I. Bakle and E. Zachopoulou, 2006.
Implementing intervention movement programs for
kindergarten children. Journal of Early Childhood
Research, 4: 5-18.
30. Riethmuller, A., 2011. Promoting physical activity and
motor development among preschool-aged children:
The jump start pilot randomized controlled trial, Ph.D.
thesis, University of Wollongong.
31. Rimmer, J.H. and L.E. Kelly, 1989. Gross motor
development in preschool children with learning
disabilities. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly,
6: 268-279.
32. Specker, B. and T. Binkley, 2003. Randomized trial of
physical activity and calcium supplementation on
bone mineral content in 3 to 5 year old children.
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 18: 885-892.
33. Trost, S.G., J.R. Sirard, M. Dowda, K.A. Pfeiffer and
R.R. Pate, 2003. Physical activity in overweight and
nonoverweight preschool children. International
Journal of Obesity, 27: 834-839.
Education (NASPE). 2011. Active start: A statement
of physical activity guidelines for children from birth
to age 5 (2 ed.), USA.
nd
35. Tepeli, K., 2007. Turkish standardization of the large
muscle skills measurement scale, Ph.D. thesis, Selcuk
University, Konya, Turkey (In Turkish).
36. Özturk, A., 2009. Investigation of the effect of
different movement education models on physical
development and physical fitness in 5-6 year old
children, M.S. thesis, Marmara University, Ýstanbul,
Turkey (In Turkish).
37. Ghaly, W.E.E., 2010. The Effect of Movement
Education Program by Using Movement Pattern to
Develop Fundamental Motor Skills for Children Pre-
School. World Journal of Sport Sciences, 3: 461-491,
ISSN 2078-4724, IDOSI Publications.
38. Hosseini, S.S., M. Panahi, Z. Naghilo and L.D.
Ramandi, 2011. The Effect of Exercise Training on
Perceptual Motor Skills and Physical Fitness Factors
in Preschool Children. Middle-East Journal of
Scientific Research, 9(6): 764-768, IDOSI Publications.
39. Fahimi, M., M.A. Aslankhani, M. Shojaee, M.A. Beni,
M.R. Gholhaki, The effect of four motor programs on
motor proficiency in 7-9 years old boys. Middle-East
Journal of Scientific Research, 13: 1526-1532, IDOSI
Publications.
40. Kayapýnar, F.Ç., 2012.The Effect of The movement
Education on the Dynamic Balance Skills of
Preschool Children. World Applied Science Journal.
10: 607-611, IDOSI Publications.
41. Ahmed, S.G., 2011. Effect of a Motor Education
Program Using Evaluative Documents' Package
"Portfolio" on Developing Sensory Motor Perception
in Kindergartens' Children. World Journal of Sport
Sciences, 4: 202-212, IDOSI Publications.
42. Aytekin, H., 2001. Influences of the game as a part of
preschool education programs on the development of
the child, M.S. thesis, Dumlupýnar University,
Kutahya, Turkey (In Turkish).
43. Özmen, A., 2004. Evaluation of movement education
implementations in preschool education (Sample of
Eski ehir province), M.S. thesis, Anadolu University,
Eskisehir, Turkey (In Turkish).
44. Sevimli-Çelik, S., S. Kirazcý and M.L. nce, 2011.
Preschool movement education in Turkey:
Perceptions of preschool administrators and parents.
Journal of Early Childhood Education, 39: 323-333.
doi: 10.1007/s10643-011-0473-x.
