Physical education interventions improve the fundamental movement skills in kindergarten: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are the foundation for the development of advanced motor skills. To assess the effect of physical activity intervention on the promotion of FMS and explore the influencing factor of physical activity intervention on the development of FMS in preschool children. Trails with children aged 3-7yeas in kindergarten settings that applied physical activity intervention programs were included. We calculated the effects on overall FMS, locomotor skill and object control skill subscales (LMS and OCS) by weighted standardized mean differences using random-effects models. In this study, 23 trials involving 2258 preschoolers (aged 3.3-6.5years) were selected, including 7 high quality studies, 11 medium quality studies and 5 low quality studies. Analysis of the effects of physical activity intervention revealed significant differences among groups in favor of intervention group, FMS (SMD = 1.50, 95% CL [1.29, 1.71], I-2 = 89.7%), locomotor skills (SMD = 1.56, 95% CL [1.38, 1.75], I-2 = 59.2%), object control skills (SMD = 1.43, 95% CL [1.25, 1.61], I-2 = 93.8%). Physical activity interventions can significantly improve FMS in healthy preschool aged children. However, we should be cautious due to the limited researches, low-quality evidence and immediate post-intervention effects without long-term follow-up.

Automated summary

This study explores the effects of physical activity interventions on the promotion of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in preschool children and finds that such interventions can significantly improve the motor skills of healthy preschoolers.