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Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses: Motor Skill Interventions to Improve Fine Motor Development in Children Aged
Karel F B Strooband1, Marc de Rosnay1, Anthony D Okely1,2
1Early Start, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Insights
Motor skill intervention programs show positive effects on fine motor development in young children. These programs, targeting children aged birth to 6 years, demonstrate moderate impacts on fine motor, visual motor, and manual dexterity skills.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Motor Learning
Background:
- Fine motor skill development is crucial in early childhood.
- Early intervention programs can support the development of these skills.
- Research on the efficacy of these programs is ongoing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review evidence on motor skill intervention programs for children aged birth to 6 years.
- To assess the impact of these programs on fine motor development.
- To synthesize findings on intervention components and settings.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of six electronic databases with no date restrictions.
- Inclusion of randomized controlled trials and quasiexperimental designs with a minimum of 15 participants.
- Data extraction on study design, participants, intervention details, quality, and efficacy.
Main Results:
- Twenty-five out of 31 studies reported positive effects on fine motor skills.
- Meta-analyses of 19 studies revealed moderate effect sizes for fine motor, visual motor, and manual dexterity.
- Interventions were predominantly school-based, facilitated by teachers, with varied content and duration.
Conclusions:
- Intervention programs show promise for enhancing fine motor skills in early childhood.
- Findings suggest a growing international research interest in this field.
- Results should be interpreted cautiously due to a high risk of bias in several studies.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to systematically review the evidence of motor skill intervention programs on typically developing children's fine motor development aged birth to 6 years.
Methods:
Six electronic databases were searched with no date restrictions. Inclusion criteria were any school-, community-, or home-based intervention targeting the development of fine motor skills of children aged birth to 6 years; randomized controlled trials using quasiexperimental, experimental, or single group prepost designs with a minimum sample size of 15 participants per group; and statistical analyses of fine motor skill development at both preintervention and postintervention or addressing the intervention effects on fine motor skill development. Data were extracted on design, participants, intervention components, methodological quality, and efficacy.
Results:
Twenty-five of the total 31 studies reported positive intervention effects on fine motor skills. The meta-analyses included 19 studies and revealed moderate effect sizes of motor skill programs on fine motor, visual motor, and manual dexterity outcomes. There were substantial differences between intervention settings, facilitators, length, and content with most studies implemented in school settings and facilitated by teachers.
Conclusion:
Fine motor skill development in the early years is an extensive upcoming field of interest for many international researchers. This review study presents evidence on the positive effects of intervention programs that aim to enhance fine motor skills for young children. The findings are promising but need to be interpreted with caution because of the high risk of bias in many of the studies.
