The relationship between children's perceived and actual motor competence

To examine the relationship between children's perceived and actual motor competence, 218 children between the ages of 9 and 11 years individually completed the Motor Skill Perceived Competence Scale. After completing the scale, the subject's actual motor competence was measured on a series of gross motor tests. Incomplete principal component analysis identified two actual motor competence dimensions from the motor test battery. The two factors included a lower-body and an upper-body factor of actual motor competence. A two-factor analysis of variance indicated that the boys and girls differed in perceived competence and actual competence. The boys showed higher perceived competence and actual motor competence. In addition, the 9-, 10-, and 11-year-old age groups differed from each other on the lower-body factor of actual motor competence. As age increased, lower-body competence increased. Regression analysis indicated that actual and perceived motor competence was moderately correlated. Adding age to the multiple regression model significantly increased the multiple correlation. Adding gender to the model did not increase the correlation, showing that perceived competence was a function of actual motor competence and age, and this finding held for boys and girls. These findings showed that 9-, 10-, and 11-yr-old children can assess personal motor competence. However, practitioners should attempt to understand children's perceived competence given that their assessments are not extremely accurate.