Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 28, 2026
Non-Invasive Modulation and Robotic Mapping of Motor Cortex in the Developing Brain
Published on: July 1, 2019
Structured Motor Play and Preschool Task Performance: An Exploratory Single-Site Randomized Pilot Study in Tunisian
Rahma Loussaief1,2, Amayra Tannoubi3,4, Anis Ben Chikha2,5
1Department of Education, Higher Institute of Continuing Education and Training, University of Tunis, Tunis 1007, Tunisia.
Background:
Cognitively enriched motor play activities may engage movement, rule following, attention, response inhibition, spatial processing, and early mathematical concepts during early childhood. Experimental evidence from preschool settings remains limited, particularly in North African contexts. This study examined short-term between-group differences associated with a structured motor play program in Stroop interference, response inhibition, intervention-aligned mathematics performance, and immediate affective valence among Tunisian preschool children.
Methods:
This exploratory randomized pilot study included 40 preschool children (mean age = 4.06 years, SD = 0.17) from a single preschool in Tunisia. Children were allocated to either a structured motor play group (n = 20) or a usual preschool activities group (n = 20). The intervention was delivered twice weekly for 12 weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and immediately post-intervention. Between-group differences in change scores were examined using Welch's t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Hedges' g effect sizes. A Benjamini-Hochberg false-discovery-rate procedure was applied across the four exploratory outcome comparisons.
Results:
Groups showed similar changes in derived Stroop interference time (-1.00 vs. -0.85 s; p = 0.893). Compared with the usual preschool activities group, the structured motor play group demonstrated a greater reduction in Go/No-Go commission errors (-0.55 vs. 0.05; p < 0.001; Hedges' g = -1.49) and a greater increase in immediate affective valence (1.45 vs. 0.05; p < 0.001; Hedges' g = 2.12). The between-group difference in intervention-aligned mathematics task change was marginally significant before adjustment (p = 0.048) but was not retained after false-discovery-rate correction (q = 0.065).
Conclusions:
A 12-week structured motor play program was associated with improved performance on a preschool Go/No-Go response inhibition task and more positive immediate affective valence, whereas no between-group difference was observed in derived Stroop interference time. The mathematics finding was not retained after adjustment for multiple comparisons. These preliminary findings support further research on structured motor play approaches as a potentially valuable component of early-childhood education.
Trial Registration:
Open Science Framework, 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZTKV4; registered retrospectively on 6 March 2026, after completion of recruitment, intervention delivery, and post-intervention assessment.
