What Motor Skills Do Children Perceive as Important? A Child-Centred Exploration Using the Motor Coordination...

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Motor Skills
• Cross-Cultural Psychology

Background:

• Understanding children's motor skill perceptions is vital for designing effective interventions.
• Little is known about valued motor activities in diverse, low-resource settings, especially concerning motor coordination difficulties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how children perceive the importance of various motor activities.
• To investigate how cultural context, sex, and motor skill level influence these perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Administered a culturally adapted Motor Coordination Questionnaire (MoCQ) to 1438 children (6-13 years) in South Africa and Ghana.
• Assessed motor skill levels using standardized tools and classified children into typically developing (TD) or probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD) groups.
• Compared perceived importance ratings across countries, sex, and motor coordination groups.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in perceived motor activity importance were found across countries, sex, and motor coordination groups.
• Self-care, handwriting, and household chores were universally rated as important.
• Cultural variations emerged: Ghanaian children valued activities like kicking and indigenous games, while South African children prioritized handwriting. Sex differences also noted, with males favoring team sports and females favoring dance.

Conclusions:

• Children's perceptions of motor activity importance are significantly influenced by cultural context, sex, and motor proficiency.
• Findings underscore the need for culturally responsive and child-centered interventions for motor development.
• The MoCQ is a useful tool, but further expansion is recommended for enhanced cultural inclusivity.