Self-Regulatory Skill Among Children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder: An Exploratory Study

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Motor Learning
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) impacts motor skill acquisition.
• Cognitive learning paradigms suggest DCD involves deficits in cognitive and metacognitive skills.
• Limited research exists on self-regulatory and metacognitive skill use in children with DCD during motor learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore and compare self-regulatory performance in children with and without DCD.
• To investigate differences in self-regulation during motor learning tasks.

Main Methods:

• Mixed methods approach involving 15 children aged 7-9 years, with and without DCD.
• Observation of self-regulatory behavior during socially mediated motor practice.
• Quantitative coding scheme and qualitative analysis of video-recorded sessions (focus on quantitative results).

Main Results:

• Children with DCD demonstrated less independent and less effective self-regulatory skills.
• Children with DCD relied more on external support for regulation.
• Negative patterns of motivational regulation were more prevalent in children with DCD.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the hypothesis that children with DCD struggle with self-regulating motor learning.
• Highlights the need for targeted interventions to improve self-regulation in motor learning for children with DCD.
• Suggests directions for future research on metacognitive strategies and support systems.