Purpose: This study examined the extent to which fundamental motor skill competence (FMSC; locomotor and object control skill competence) and perceived physical competence (PPC) predicted physical activity levels and sedentary behaviors during free-play time at preschool. Method: A total of 72 children (girls n = 33, boys n = 39; M[subscript age]…

Purpose: This study investigated the age-related speed--accuracy strategies of children, adolescents, and adults in performing a rapid striking task that allowed the self-selection of the interception position in a virtual, two-dimensional environment. Method: The moving target had curvilinear trajectories that were determined by combinations of…

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to examine specific linkages between early visual-motor integration skills and executive function, as well as between early object manipulation skills and social behaviors in the classroom during the preschool year. Method: Ninety-two children aged 3 to 5 years old (M[subscript age] = 4.31 years) were…

Purpose: Improvements in motor performance and coordination may be impacted by the interaction of practice and organismic constraints. It has been proposed that these aspects of motor learning are achieved at a different time rate: first, during placement of the events (performance), and second, segmental spatiotemporal relationships…

Reduction in performance variability is characteristic of skill acquisition during childhood. Less understood is the role of variability in adaptive skill. The purpose of this study was to determine children's capacity for adapting to changing task requirements. Children ages 4-14 years and adults rode a stationary ergometer at different levels of…

A sample of 250 children from grades K through four were given a confidence scale, a motor competence assessment, and a questionnaire regarding sport participation in order to examine the interrelationships among perceived physical competence, motor competence, and participation in organized sport in young children. Results are discussed.…

The behaviors and interactions of preschool-aged siblings in object-oriented and body-oriented conditions were observed to discover if the child's siblings significantly influenced motor skill development. This study focused on categories of sibling behaviors and interactions. (Author/DF)

The running patterns of two-, four-, and six-year-old children were analyzed to determine how age and sex differences affected selected kinematic and kinetic variables. Differences tended to involve displacement, velocity, and magnitude of force measures. Sex differences concerning the leg swing were noted. (Author/PP)

The Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL) test was used to evaluate 610 children, aged 2-1/2 to 5-1/2. Performance varied by race, sex and age,leading to the conclusion that our understanding of basic characteristics of movement performance in preschool children is far from complete. (Author/MT)

Children from three to six years of age were tested to determine the relationship of age and sex to motor performance. Tests involved balancing, scrambling, catching, speed running, long jumping, and ball throwing. Although significant age and sex differences were found, it appeared that age generally was more closely related to performance than…

To clarify patterns in the rate of motor development, children observed between kindergarten and second grade were refilmed, performing an overarm throw, when they became seventh-grade students. Results were compared with predictions made earlier. Differences in the skill levels of boys and girls and differences in their throwing experience are…

The relationship of age and developmental differences to modeling and motor skill development were examined. Comparisons of the observational learning patterns of four- and five-year-old children and of seven- and eight-year-olds suggest that their physical and cognitive capacities call for different instructional strategies. (Author/PP)

A four-part taxonomy was used to analyze first-, third-, and fifth-grade children's ability to throw and to anticipate the position of a target. The children's performances were assessed under conditions in which both the thrower and the target were stationary, both were moving, and one was moving and the other stationary. (Authors/PP)