Effectiveness of a 16 week gymnastics curriculum at developing movement competence in children

Abstract Objectives Internationally, children's movement competence levels are low. This study's aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 16 week gymnastics curriculum on stability, locomotive and object control skills and general body coordination. It was hypothesised that the gymnastic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of science and medicine in sport 2017-02, Vol.20 (2), p.164-169
Main Authors: Rudd, James, Barnett, Lisa, Farrow, Damian, Berry, Jason, Borkoles, Erika, Polman, Remco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Case-Control Studies
Child
Children & youth
Curricula
Curriculum
Design
Female
Fundamental movement skills
Gymnastics
Humans
Intervention
KTK
Male
Motor ability
Motor Activity
Motor Skills
Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Performance evaluation
Physical education
Physical Education and Training
Physical fitness
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Primary school
Schools
Skills
Sports Medicine
Stability skills
TGMD-2
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Summary:Abstract Objectives Internationally, children's movement competence levels are low. This study's aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 16 week gymnastics curriculum on stability, locomotive and object control skills and general body coordination. It was hypothesised that the gymnastics intervention group would demonstrate significant improvements beyond a PE comparison group. Design This study used a non-randomised control design. The intervention and comparison groups were drawn from three primary schools. The study followed the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND) statement for reporting. Methods A total of 333 children (51% girls, 41% intervention) with a mean age of 8.1 years ( sd = 1.1) participated. Intervention children (16 weeks x 2 hrs of gymnastics) were compared to children who received (16 × 2 hrs) standard PE curriculum. Children's movement competence was assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development–2, Stability Skills Assessment and the Körper-Koordinationstest für Kinder. Multilevel linear mixed models, accounting for variation at the class level and adjusted for age and sex, were used to assess intervention relative to comparison differences in all aspects of movement competence. Results Stability and object control skills showed a significant ( p < .05) intervention x time interaction effect. No difference was found in locomotor skills or general coordination. Conclusions Gymnastics is effective at developing stability skills and object control skills without hindering the development of locomotor skills or general coordination. Accelerated learning of stability skills may support the development of more complex movement skills.
ISSN:1440-2440
1878-1861
DOI:10.1016/j.jsams.2016.06.013