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Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 82-91).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-91). Also available in print.

M.Ed. (Education) / The teaching of motor skills is to a large extent neglected in early childhood. This conclusion has been drawn from practical experience and observation obtained from teaching at a preparatory school. The research undertaken in this study has focussed on the design of a motor guiding programme in which individual motor skills can effectively be taught. Naturally the first priority has been to establish which motor skills a child must obtain at each developmental stage. Therefore this study analysed different characteristics of the growing child in the three developmental stages - the neonate, the infant and the preschool child. the next step has been to establish which criteria constitute the' basis for the motor guiding programme. The solution to this problem has been obtained from observing small children, ages three to six years as well as from scrutinizing the vast amount of empirical research on motor skills that appear in representative literature. The following criteria which emanated from the research programme, constitute the basis for the proposed motor guiding programme: individual uniqueness, the original situation, estimation of time, content, school readiness, sosializing, norm establishment, human dignitiy, positive selfconcept, realistic aims, aspiration level, stimulation, affective stability, safety and evaluation. The next stage of research was the design of appropriate teaching principles applicable to motor skills by the analysis of the cognitive, affective and motor aspects of the teaching of motor skills for preschool children. These principles appear to be: aims and goals, self actualization, sosialization, motivation, evaluation, structuring and contextualization. Having analysed these principles and criteria, a motor guiding programme has been developed.

Yu, Jie. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; appendixes includes Chinese.

[Tuncated abstract] Previous research has shown that associated movements (AMs) decrease with age in typically developing children. However, considerable variability has been found to exist between children of the same chronological age (Wolff et al., 1983; Largo et al., 2001) and the reasons for this variability are unclear. As AMs are considered to be a construct of motor behaviour it is possible that varying levels of motor ability may contribute to this variability. Only a few studies have investigated the relationship between motor ability and AM expression, and those have resulted in equivocal findings. Therefore, the aim of the first study in this research project was to investigate the relationship between motor ability and AMs using a large sample of normative children (N=165). Group 1 consisted of 19 boys and 33 girls in school year 1 with a mean age of 6 years and 4 months (SD = 4 months); Group 2 consisted of 28 boys and 29 girls in school year 3 with a mean age of 8 years and 3 months (SD = 3 months); and Group 3 consisted of 27 boys and 29 girls in school year 5 with a mean age of 9 years 11 months (SD = 5 months). Motor ability was established using the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND) (McCarron, 1982). Associated movements were measured using tasks adapted from the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment (Largo et al., 2002), the Fog Test (Fog & Fog, 1963), and Licari et al. (2006). '...' The second study in this research project continued to explore the relationship between motor ability and AMs by investigating whether increased severity of AMs previously reported in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Denckla & Rudel, 1978; Lazarus, 1994; Mostofsky et al., 2003) is reflective of symptoms associated with the disorder or movement difficulties co-occurring in some children with the disorder. Four groups of children participated in the study. Group 1 consisted of 13 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) with a mean age of 7 years 3 months (SD = 9 months); Group 2 consisted of 13 children with ADHD with a mean age of 7 years 4 months (SD = 11 months); Group 3 consisted of 10 children with co-occurring DCD and ADHD with a mean age of 7 years 4 months (SD = 10 months); and, Group 4 was a normative sample 15 control children. The children undertook the same AM assessment protocol outlined for Study 1. The AM data was entered into the RUMM 2020 and person location estimates (Rasch AM scores) were created for each child based on the person location map from Study 1. A comparison of AM scores between the groups revealed that the DCD and DCD/ADHD groups showed significantly more (p <0.001) AMs than the children in the ADHD and control groups. No significant differences were found between children in the DCD and DCD/ADHD groups (p = 0.19) or the ADHD and control groups (p = 0.67). The findings of this research show that increased expression of AMs is not influenced by the symptoms of ADHD. In addition, the finding that increased expression of AMs in children with DCD extends the findings from Study 1 showing that AM expression is linked to motor ability. Overall this research has enhanced the understanding of a unique measure of motor behaviour.

Prehension is a fundamental skill usually performed as part of a complex action sequence in everyday tasks. Using an information processing framework, these studies examined the effects of task complexity, defined by the number of component movement elements (MEs), on performance of prehension tasks. Of interest was how motor control and organisation might be influenced by age and/or motor competence. Three studies and two longitudinal case studies examined kinematic characteristics of prehension tasks involving one-, two- and three-MEs: reach and grasp (low-complexity); reach, grasp and object placement (moderate-complexity); and reach, grasp and double placement of object (high-complexity). A pilot study established the suitability of tasks and procedures for children aged 5-, 8- and 11-years and showed that responses to task complexity and object size manipulations were sensitive to developmental changes, with increasing age associated with faster movements. Study 2 explored complexity and age effects further for children aged 6- and 11-years and adults. Increasing age was associated with shorter and less variable movement times (MTs) and proportional deceleration phases (%DTs) across all MEs. Task complexity had no effect on simple reaction time (SRT), suggesting that there may be little preprogramming of movements beyond the first ME. In addition, MT was longer and more on-line corrections were evident for the high- compared to the moderate-complexity task for ME1. Task complexity had a greater influence on movements in ME2 and ME3 than ME1. Adults, but not children, showed task specific adaptations in ME2. Study 3 examined performance of children with different levels of motor competence aged between 5- and 10-years. Increasing age was associated with shorter SRTs, and MTs for ME1 only. A decrease in motor competence was associated with greater difficulty in planning and controlling movements as indicated by longer SRTs, higher %DTs and more on-line corrections, especially in ME2. Task complexity affected movements in all MEs, with a greater influence on ME1 compared to Study 2. Findings also indicated that performance in MEs following prehension may be especially sensitive to motor competence effects on movement characteristics. Case studies for two children at risk of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) revealed two different patterns of performance change over a 16-17 month period, highlighting the heterogeneous nature of DCD. Overall, findings highlighted age-related differences, and the role of motor competence, in the ability to adapt movements to task specific requirements. Results are useful in guiding movement education programmes for children with both age-appropriate and lower levels of motor competence.

This study was designed to assess the relationship of selected factors to the developmental outcome of fundamental motor skill performance in young children ages 3 to 6 years residing in foster or adoptive care, and have a documented history of prenatal exposure to cocaine and other drugs. Using an ecological theory of child development and the person-process-context model, the study focused on the child's development in selected gross motor skills. Through multiple regression analysis, the study considered the contributions of the following on motor skill performance as measured by the Test of Gross Motor Development: child effortful control as measured by the Children's Behavior Questionnaire, the nonbiological mother's parental attitude as measured by the adapted Parent Attitude Survey, the amount of early intervention services as recorded in the child's medical chart. Participants included 28 children (15 males and 13 females) and their foster or adoptive mother. There is suggestive but inconclusive evidence for the hypothesis that fundamental motor skill performance is predicted by the interaction of the child's effortful control, the nonbiological mother's understanding and confidence, and the amount of early intervention service the child received, [F (7, 20)=2.24, p<0.07 ]. Trends in the data suggest gross motor performance increases with high levels of early intervention, given children with low effortful control and low levels of parental confidence and understanding. In addition, early gross motor scores did not predict fundamental motor skills, r=.10. Despite a 38% rate of identified early gross motor delay, no child was delayed in fundamental motor skill at ages 3 to 6 years. Fundamental motor skill performance ranged from average to superior, M=121.54. Motor performance was assessed in a clinical setting and caution is recommended when considering skill performance within group settings. Based on this study, children with prenatal exposure to cocaine/polydrugs are viewed as variable in temperamental control and gross motor performance, but perform at an average to above average level in gross motor skill. Further research is needed to validate trends, specifically regarding the interactive effects of child effortful control, parental attitude, and the amount of early intervention service received. / Graduation date: 1997

This study compared the effects of two conditions on the motor development of preschool children and investigated the relationship between preschool children's motor development and perceived competence. Specifically, it provided information for discerning: a) the relative effects of a sensory-motor condition and an unstructured activities condition on the motor development of preschool children immediately following the 20-week intervention; and b) whether perceived competence was related to motor development in the preschool children following termination of the treatment. Additionally, a teacher survey which addressed the teacher-consultant relationship was developed and piloted within the context of the study for use in future research. Subjects were 31 children enrolled in two preschool programs including: a) the curriculum group (N=16), and b) the non-curriculum group (N=l5). The Peabody Motor Developmental Scales and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance were used to assess the children's motor development and perceived competence, respectively. All subjects were tested prior to the 20- week intervention period and immediately following the intervention. A series of 2 (group) X 2 (testing time) repeated measures analyses of variance were used to analyze the impact of the two conditions. Results revealed that the motor development of subjects in both groups changed significantly over time; however, there were no differences between groups. Product-moment correlations and linear regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between preschool children's motor development and perceived competence. Results revealed that perceived competence relative to motor development did not change over time; however a reciprocal relationship between motor development and perceived competence in preschool children was found. The piloted teacher survey showed potential for evaluation of service delivery models and as a tool for teacher-consultant communication in future studies. / Graduation date: 1991

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-84).