Effects of Individual and School-Level Characteristics on a Child’s Gross Motor Coordination Development

Raquel Chaves, Adam Baxter-Jones, Thayse Gomes, Michele Souza, Sara Pereira and José Maia
Additional contact information
Raquel Chaves: Academic Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Technology, Paraná (UTFPR), Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165, 80230-901-Curitiba/PR, Brazil
Adam Baxter-Jones: College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B2, Canada
Thayse Gomes: CIFI2D (Centro de Investigação, Formação, Inovação e Intervenção em Desporto), Kinanthropometry Lab, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido Costa, 91, 4250-Porto, Portugal
Michele Souza: CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, SBN Quadra2, Bloco L, Lote 06, 70040020, Brasília, Brazil
Sara Pereira: CIFI2D (Centro de Investigação, Formação, Inovação e Intervenção em Desporto), Kinanthropometry Lab, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido Costa, 91, 4250-Porto, Portugal
José Maia: CIFI2D (Centro de Investigação, Formação, Inovação e Intervenção em Desporto), Kinanthropometry Lab, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido Costa, 91, 4250-Porto, Portugal

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: The aim of this study was to identify child and school-level characteristics that explained inter-individual differences in gross motor coordination (GMC). Participants (n = 390), recruited from 18 Portuguese primary schools, were aged 6 to 10 years of age. Birth weight, body fat (BF), physical activity (PA), physical fitness (PF) and GMC were assessed. School size, setting, infrastructure and physical education classes were considered as school context markers. A multilevel modeling approach was used to identify hierarchical effects (child and school levels). It was found that children-level variables (sex, PF, and BF) significantly explained 63% of the 90% variance fraction at the individual level; boys outperformed girls ( p < 0.05), individuals with higher BF were less coordinated ( p < 0.05), and those with higher PF were more coordinated ( p < 0.05). School-variables (e.g. school size and playing surface) explained 84% of the 10% variation fraction. These findings confirm the roles of sex, PFS and BF. Interestingly they also suggest that the school environment plays a minor but significant role in GMC development. However, it is important to stress that the school context and conditions can also play an important role in a child’s motor development, providing adequate and enriching motor opportunities.

Keywords: motor coordination; hierarchical linear modeling; schoolchildren (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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