Effects of Free Play and Partly Structured Playground Activity on Motor Competence in Preschool Children

A Pragmatic Comparison Trial

Bibliographic Data

ID15459366
AuthorsPatrizia Tortella (0000-0002-2553-9163, Università degli Studi di Enna Kore), Monika Haga (0000-0002-3198-4351, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, corresponding author), Håvard Lorås (0000-0003-4768-5580, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Guido Francesco Fumagalli (0000-0003-2195-4973, Associazione Italiana Vulvodinia Onlus), Hermundur Sigmundsson (0000-0003-2333-5711, University of Iceland)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue13
Pages7652-7652
Publication date2022-06-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19137652
PMID35805311
OpenAlexW4283316911
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited51

Both the indoor and the outdoor environments and their organization exert pronounced influence upon physical activity behavior and motor development of preschool children. The aim of this study was to explore whether partly structured activity or free play in a specific playground had different impacts on motor competence development in 4-6-year-old preschoolers. The study had a pretest-post-test design, with two intervention groups and one control. Sixty-two children were included in a partly structured activity group and forty-three children in a free-play group. Both groups participated in playground activities consisting of 10 sessions (once a week), each lasting 1 h, in a specific playground setting. For the partly structured activity group, activities in each session consisted of a combination of both structured and free activity while the free-play group were engaged in unstructured play only. The control group did not attend the playground activities (N = 36). To assess levels of motor skills, each child completed pre- and post-tests using the Movement Assessment Battery for children (MABC-2), the Test of Motor Competence (TMC) and two playground-specific tests. A 3 (study group) and X 2 (gender) ANCOVAs were conducted on post-test scores on each of the test items from TMC, MABC-II and playground tests, with pre-test scores as covariates. Post hoc pairwise multiple comparisons were conducted with the alpha Bonferroni corrected, and the partial eta-squared ( η 2 p ) was applied as a measure of effect size. The results indicate no significant differences in motor competence measured by the TMC or the MABC-2 between groups. On the contrary, a significant improvement in performance in the playground-specific tests was observed in the partly structured activity group compared to the free-play and control groups

Bonferroni correction · Competence (human resources · Developmental psychology · Motor activity · Motor skill · Physical activity · Physical therapy · Post-hoc analysis · Repeated measures design · Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders · Children's Physical and Motor Development · Infant Development and Preterm Care · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology