Effects of a Fundamental Motor Skill-Based Afterschool Program on Children’s Physical and Cognitive Health Outcomes

Joonyoung Lee, Tao Zhang, Tsz Lun (Alan) Chu, Xiangli Gu and Ping Zhu
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Joonyoung Lee: Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
Tao Zhang: Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
Tsz Lun (Alan) Chu: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI 54311, USA
Xiangli Gu: Department of Kinesiology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Ping Zhu: Department of Educational Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Globally, more than half of school-aged children do not engage in the recommended 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Given that developing sufficient fundamental motor skills (FMS) competence during early elementary school years is important for a child’s physical and cognitive development, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an 8-week FMS-based afterschool program on physical and cognitive health outcomes among elementary children. Participants were 31 K–2 students (19 girls, 12 boys; M age = 6.65 ± 0.98) from three public elementary schools in the southwestern United States who were assigned to the intervention group (FMS-based afterschool program; n = 20) or the control group (traditional afterschool program; n = 11). A 2 × 2 repeated measures MANOVA showed significant changes in FMS competence and MVPA between the intervention and the control group over time. However, no significant changes were found in cognitive functioning. The 8-week FMS-based afterschool program showed significant improvements in FMS competence and MVPA, compared to a traditional afterschool program. This finding suggests that structured FMS-focused strategies (e.g., fun games and goal setting) can be a critical component when implementing a physical activity program to enhance children’s motor skills and physical activity behavior.

Keywords: motor skill performance; moderate to vigorous physical activity; cognitive functioning; school-aged children; afterschool program (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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