Impact of a community-based programme for motor development on gross motor skills and cognitive function in preschool children from disadvantaged settings

Abstract

The aims of the studies were to assess the impact of the Little Champs programme for motor development on (1) the gross motor skills, and (2) cognitive function of children in the programme. In study 1, 118 children from one Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) were tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, and in study 2, 83 children were tested from six ECDCs using the Herbst Early Childhood Development Criteria test. The results showed that children exposed to eight months of Little Champs had significantly better overall scores for locomotor (p < 0.005) and object control (p < 0.01) skills compared to the control group. There was a statistically significant improvement in the cognitive scores of children who participated regularly in the programme (p < 0.0001). These findings suggest that even limited exposure to a low intensity programme for motor development can positively impact gross motor skills and cognitive function in disadvantaged preschoolers.

Keywords:

• gross motor
• cognitive
• disadvantaged
• community-based programme
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Little Champs coaches who assisted with this research, the ECDCs who accommodated the testing and Dr Ingrid Herbst for her assistance with training for use of the Herbst test. Funding for this research was provided by Little Champs and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.