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Cognitive and Academic Outcomes of Fundamental Motor Skill and Physical Activity Interventions Designed for Children
Pinja Jylänki1, Theo Mbay1, Anni Byman1
1Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00170 Helsinki, Finland.
Insights
Fundamental motor skills and physical activity interventions show varied effects on cognitive and academic skills in young children with special needs. More high-quality research is needed due to study limitations.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Special Education
- Pediatric Physical Therapy
Background:
- Children with special educational needs often face challenges in cognitive and academic development.
- Fundamental motor skills (FMS) and physical activity (PA) are crucial for overall child development.
- Interventions targeting FMS and PA may offer a pathway to improve skills in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the methodological quality of studies on FMS and PA interventions.
- To evaluate the effects of these interventions on cognitive and academic skills in 3- to 7-year-old children with special educational needs.
- To identify factors influencing intervention effectiveness based on the type and severity of special needs.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across seven databases (e.g., ERIC, PubMed, Scopus) updated January 2022.
- Inclusion of 22 studies involving 1883 children with various special educational needs.
- Methodological quality assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool; Cohen's d effect sizes calculated.
Main Results:
- A majority of the included studies (19/22) had weak methodological quality.
- Intervention effects varied by learning difficulty severity: largest cognitive/language gains in children at-risk due to family background, largest executive function gains in children with learning disabilities.
- Significant heterogeneity across studies complicates generalizable conclusions.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence on FMS and PA interventions for children with special needs is limited by low methodological quality and study heterogeneity.
- While some positive effects are suggested, particularly for specific skill domains and child subgroups, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn.
- High-quality research is essential to establish the efficacy and optimal implementation of these interventions for diverse special educational needs populations.
Abstract:
This systematic review aimed to investigate the methodological quality and the effects of fundamental motor skills and physical activity interventions on cognitive and academic skills in 3- to 7-year-old children with special educational needs. The review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) statement. A literature search was carried out in April 2020 (updated in January 2022) using seven electronic databases, including ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, and SPORTDiscus. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed with Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool. Cohen's d effect sizes and post-hoc power analyses were conducted for the included studies. Altogether 22 studies (1883 children) met the inclusion criteria, representing children at-risk for learning difficulties, due to family background (nstudies = 8), children with learning difficulties (nstudies = 7), learning disabilities (nstudies = 5), and physical disabilities (nstudies = 2). Two of the included 22 studies displayed strong, one moderate, and 19 studies weak methodological quality. The intervention effects appeared to be somewhat dependent on the severity of the learning difficulty; in cognitive and language skills, the effects were largest in children at-risk due to family background, whereas in executive functions the effects were largest in children with learning disabilities. However, due to the vast heterogeneity of the included studies, and a rather low methodological quality, it is challenging to summarize the findings in a generalizable manner. Thus, additional high-quality research is required to determine the effectiveness of the interventions.
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