Effect of a kinderkinetics programme on components of children’s perceptual-motor and cognitive functioning

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the effect of a Kinderkinetics programme on components of children’s perceptual-motor and cognitive development. A pre-/post-test design with an intervention group and a control group was used. A sample of 40, 4- to 6-year-old pre-school children was selected and allocated to the two groups. The intervention group participated in a perceptual-motor programme while the control group received no intervention. The programme involved an hour session once per week, over a period of seven months and consisted of different activities to improve body awareness, gross and fine motor skills, coordination, balance, bilateral integration, locomotor skills and spatial awareness. Both groups were evaluated with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2) and the Junior South African Individual Scale (JSAIS). Co-variance of analysis adjusted for pre-test differences showed that the programme contributed significantly to improvement in the fine motor, gross motor and total motor quotients, while two of the subscales of the JSAIS also showed significant improvement. The Kinderkinetics programme was effective in the improvement of perceptual-motor abilities of these pre-school children, while also contributing to their school readiness on an attentive and cognitive level.