Teacher-Rated Executive Functions, Gender and Relative Age: Independent and Interactive Effects on Observed Fundamental Motor Skills in Kindergarteners.

Fundamental motor skills (FMS) of children can be affected by different variables, such as executive functions (EF), gender and relative age. However, the effects of these variables on FMS have been scarce studied, especially in early childhood, and show inconsistent results. To clarify these relationships, this study was carried out. Its aim was to analyze whether EF, gender and relative age influenced FMS in 43 Spanish kindergarteners. A multimethod and mixed methods approach was used. Kindergarteners' teachers completed the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory to know the children level of EF (working memory and inhibition control). Kindergarteners' parents complimented ad hoc questionnaire reporting the children gender and birth data (to know their relative age). A Nomothetic/Punctual/Multidimensional observational design was used to observe children FMS in their habitual motor sessions at school. Two-way ANOVAs were performed to know the independent and interactive effects of working memory level (lower/higher), inhibition control level (lower/higher), gender (boys/girls) and relative age (according to the birth semester in the year) on FMS. Results showed these variables have independent and interactive effects on some FMS, but not on others. FMS influenced by these variables vary depending what independent variable(s) is/are considered. Therefore, it can be concluded that the influences of teacher-rated EF, gender and relative age on observed FMS in kindergarteners are complex and specific. Results obtained must be taken into to design and implement instructional and intervention strategies, as well as educational and sport policy changes, especially in early childhood, when FMS are more malleable.

Early Environmental and Biological Influences on Preschool Motor Skills: Implications for Early Childhood Care and Education.

Early motor skills underpin the more complex and specialized movements required for physical activity. Therefore, the design of interventions that enhance higher levels of early motor skills may encourage subsequent participation in physical activity. To do so, it is necessary to determine the influence of certain factors (some of which appear very early) on early motor skills. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of some very early environmental variables (delivery mode, feeding type during the first 4 months of life) and some biological variables (sex and age in months) on preschool motor skills, considered both globally and specifically. The sample was composed by 43 preschool students aged 5-6 years. The participant's parents completed an ad hoc questionnaire, reporting on delivery mode, feeding type, sex, and age in months. The children's motor skills were assessed using observational methodology in the school setting, while the children participated in their regular motor skills sessions. A Nomothetic/Punctual/Multidimensional observational design was used. Results revealed that certain preschool motor skills were specifically influenced by delivery mode, feeding type, sex, and age. Children born by vaginal delivery showed higher scores than children born via C-section in throwing (p = 0.000; d = 0.63); total control of objects (p = 0.004; d = 0.97); total gross motor skills (p = 0.005; d = 0.95); and total motor skills (p = 0.002; d = 1.04). Children who were exclusively breastfed outperformed those who were formula-fed in throwing (p = 0.016; d = 0.75); visual-motor integration (p = 0.005; d = 0.94); total control of objects (p = 0.002; d = 1.02); total gross motor skills (p = 0.023; d = 0.82); and total motor skills (p = 0.042; d = 0.74). Boys outperformed girls in throwing (p = 0.041; d = 0.74) and total control of objects (p = 0.024; d = 0.63); while the opposite occurred in static balance (p = 0.000; d = 1.2); visual-motor coordination (p = 0.020; d = 0.79); and total fine motor skills (p = 0.032; d = 0.72). Older children (aged 69-74 months) obtained higher scores than younger ones (aged 63-68 months) in dynamic balance (p = 0.030; d = 0.66); visual-motor integration (p = 0.034; d = 0.63); and total balance (p = 0.013; d = 0.75). Implications for early childhood care and education are discussed since this is a critical period for motor skill development and learning.

Association Between Preschoolers' Specific Fine (But Not Gross) Motor Skills and Later Academic Competencies: Educational Implications.

Motor development is an inseparable component of cognitive development. So, to develop the mind, it is necessary to work the body. Therefore, Early Childhood Education curricula and the scientific literature emphasize the need to promote the development of motor skills during the 1st years of life. These skills are necessary for learning and subsequent academic performance. However, studies frequently offer only a partial view of these relationships. Few works have analyzed the specific relationships between different components of preschool gross and fine motor skills and subsequent performance on different academic competencies. Further, they present discrepant results. The aim of this study was to determinate which specific components of gross and fine motor skills assessed in Spanish students during the final year of Early Childhood Education (5 to 6-year-olds) were associated with different academic competencies assessed in the following academic year, when the students were in their 1st year of Primary Education. The final sample consisted of 38 Spanish students, aged 5. A mixed methods approach was used. It consisted of systematic observation to assess specific components of gross and fine motor skills when children were in the Early Childhood Education period, and selective methodology to evaluate their academic competencies (specifically in literacy and mathematics and overall), 1 year later, once in Primary Education. Multiple linear regression models were constructed using the computing language R to examine the association between motor skills and academic competencies. The results indicated that only the components of fine motor skills showed associations with academic competencies. The pattern of association varied when literacy and mathematics competencies were specifically and individually assessed and when overall academic competency was considered. The two assessed fine motor skills (Coordination and Integration) were associated with literacy competency (ß = 0.344, p = 0.025; ß = 0.349, p = 0.024, respectively) and overall academic competency (ß = 0.267, p = 0.065; ß = 0.493, p = 0.001, respectively). However, only Integration was associated with mathematics competency (ß = 0.476, p = 0.002). The "Discussion" section focuses on the educational implications of these results and future research. It highlights the importance of early assessment of fine motor skills to identify students likely to present inadequate subsequent academic performance and the need to apply instruction and interventions tailored to the specific needs of each child.

Preschool Metacognitive Skill Assessment in Order to Promote Educational Sensitive Response From Mixed-Methods Approach: Complementarity of Data Analysis.

A child's metacognitive skills contribute significantly to their learning and success. However, very few studies are focused on these skills at early education and most of them are carried out from inappropriate methodological perspectives for the characteristics of the youngest students. To overcome such limitations, it is essential to carry out observational studies that analyze children's metacognitive behaviors in the natural and habitual context of children's learning, as well as appropriate tasks for their level of development. The aim of this study was to analyze the sequential and associative structure of the metacognitive skills used by 5-year-old children throughout the resolution of a playful task (a puzzle). It was interesting to know if there were different hidden structures in the use of metacognitive skills in the children who solved the puzzle and those who did not. From the methodological approach, this work was located in the perspective of mixed methods which is characterized by the integration of qualitative and quantitative elements. This integration was carried out from the "connect" option. The integration involved developing quantitizing, as one of its possibilities. Recent scientific literature has considered systematic observation, in which the QUAL-QUAN-QUAL macro stages take place, as a mixed method itself. Consequently, systematic observation was applied, because it was suitable for our aim. A Nomothetic/Punctual/Multidimensional observational design was used. The playful activity of 44 preschool children solving the puzzle individually was coded. It allowed us to obtain data matrices that respond to the QUAL stage. Regarding the QUAN stage, once the quality of data was controlled, the records were further analyzed by differentiating two groups of participants (those who had solved the puzzle and those who did not) using three quantitative techniques of observational analysis (T-pattern detection, lag sequential analysis, polar coordinate analysis). Finally data was returned to a QUAL stage to interpret the results. The use of these three techniques allowed a detailed and in-depth analysis of the children's activity. Results reveal differences in the metacognitive abilities of the children that solved and didn't solve the puzzle. These results have important implications for educational practice.

Systematic Observation: Relevance of This Approach in Preschool Executive Function Assessment and Association with Later Academic Skills.

Executive functions (EFs) are high-level cognitive processes that allow us to coordinate our actions, thoughts, and emotions, enabling us to perform complex tasks. An increasing number of studies have highlighted the role of EFs in building a solid foundation for subsequent development and learning and shown that EFs are associated with good adjustment and academic skills. The main objective of this study was to analyze whether EF levels in 44 Spanish children in the last year of preschool were associated with levels of literacy and math skills the following year, that is, in the first year of compulsory education. We used a multi-method design, which consisted of systematic observation to observe preschool children during play and selective methodology to assess their reading, writing, and math skills in the first year of compulsory primary education. General linear modeling was used to estimate the percentage of variability in academic skills in the first year of primary school that was explained by preschool EF abilities. The results showed that preschool EF level, together with participants and the instrument used to assess academic skills, explained 99% of the variance of subsequent academic performance. Another objective was to determine whether our findings were generalizable to the reference population. To make this determination, we estimated the optimal sample size for assessing preschool EFs. To do this, we performed a generalizability analysis. The resulting generalizability coefficient showed that our sample of 44 students was sufficient for assessing preschool EFs. Therefore, our results are generalizable to the reference population. Our results are consistent with previous reports that preschool EF abilities may be associated with subsequent literacy and math skills. Early assessment of EFs may therefore contribute to identifying children who are likely to experience later learning difficulties and guide the design of suitable interventions for the optimization of EFs.

[Patterns of interactive behavior in a multicultural school context]. / Patrones de conducta interactiva en contexto escolar multicultural.

This paper is an empirical research based on observational methodology. It is an idiographic research with a mixed observational design of low intervention, of the following type: monitoring/nomothetical/multidimensional. We used a tool created in situ for the systematic multidimensional register of the complex occurrence of several types of behavioural events in real time, which combines the format of field investigation with the system of categories. The reliability of the observation tool is obtained through the researcher-observer's agreement with him- or herself. Our aim is to study the social relationships between first-grade peer students in a multicultural context. We present some structures of seeking social closeness, help and cooperation among children of similar and different cultures, which were discovered through the detection and analysis of temporal patterns of the interactive situation of boys and girls who were observed during their academic and leisure activities in the natural context of their school.

Patrones de conducta interactiva en contexto escolar multicultural / Patterns of interactive behavior in a multicultural school context

Este trabajo se inscribe en el marco de una investigación empírica basada en la metodología observacional. Constituye un estudio idiográfico, con un diseño observacional mixto de baja intervención, de tipo Seguimiento/ Nomotético/ Multidimensional. Utilizamos un instrumento diseñado in situ para el registro sistemático multidimensional de la compleja ocurrencia de varios tipos de eventos de conducta en tiempo real, que combina el formato de campo con el sistema de categorías. La fiabilidad del instrumento de observación se obtiene por medio del acuerdo del observador investigador consigo mismo. Se persigue un acercamiento al estudio de las relaciones sociales entre iguales de alumnos de primer año básico en contexto multicultural. Se presentan aquí algunas estructuras de búsqueda de proximidad social, ayuda y colaboración entre niños de cultura similar y de cultura diferente; descubiertas mediante la detección y análisis de patrones temporales de la situación interactiva de los niños y niñas observados durante el desarrollo de sus actividades académicas y lúdicas en el contexto natural de su colegio

This paper is an empirical research based on observational methodology. It is an idiographic research with a mixed observational design of low intervention, of the following type: monitoring/nomothetical/multidimensional. We used a tool created in situ for the systematic multidimensional register of the complex occurrence of several types of behavioural events in real time, which combines the format of field investigation with the system of categories. The reliability of the observation tool is obtained through the researcher-observer’s agreement with him- or herself. Our aim is to study the social relationships between first-grade peer students in a multicultural context. We present some structures of seeking social closeness, help and cooperation among children of similar and different cultures, which were discovered through the detection and analysis of temporal patterns of the interactive situation of boys and girls who were observed during their academic and leisure activities in the natural context of their school

Utilización de la técnica de coordenadas polares en el estudio de la interacción infantil en el marco escolar / Use of the technic of polar coordinates in the study of the children interaction in the schoolroom

El trabajo que presentamos forma parte de uno más amplio que se está llevando a cabo en aulas de Educación Infantil en la ciudad de Huesca. En esta ocasión, nos hemos centrado en el estudio del proceso de interacción que se establece entre dos o más niños, ya desde edades tempranas, cuando tratan de resolver la tarea propuesta, la reconstrucción de situaciones espaciales básicas, en ver como son capaces de adaptar y modificar su actuación en función de la respuesta del compañero. Para llevar a cabo el estudio hemos utilizado la metodología observacional, registrándose las sesiones con un único sistema de categorías a lo largo de los tres años que dura el Ciclo Escolar. El análisis de datos utilizado ha sido la técnica de coordenadas polares que nos permite establecer las diferentes relaciones de activación o de inhibición que se dan entre las categorias que configuran la herramienta de registro y codificación. Posibilita la construcción de mapas conceptuales que ponen de manifiesto las diversas relaciones que se establecen entre los dos sujetos, tutor y tutorizado, durante la realización de la tarea. Este análisis, nos permite la reducción de datos a partir del análisis secuencial de retardos mediante el estadístico ZSUM introducido por Cochran (1954) y aplicado por Sackett (1980). El análisis de coordenadas polares, permite la complementación de una perspectiva diacrónica y otra sincrónica, mediante la representación de los valores obtenidos en forma de módulos y águlos de vectores (coordenadas polares). El módulo de vector (>1,96) le da la significación, y el ángulo, dependiendo del cuadrante en el que se encuentre, la naturaleza de la relación (AU)

The project we present is part of a bigger one that is taking place in the kindergarten schoolrooms in the city of Huesca. This time, we have focused in the study of the process of interaction that is established among two or more children, already since the tender years, when they try to solve a proposed task, the reconstruction of special basic situations, to see how they are capable of adapting and modifying their performance depending on the answer of their mate. To fulfil this study we have used the observational methodology, recording the sessions with an only system of categories during the three years that lasts the school cycle. The analysis of dates we have used has been the technique of polar coordinates that allows us to establish the different relationships of activation or of inhibition that are given among the categories that configure the tool of register and codification. It makes possible the construction of conceptual maps that make clear the different relationships that are established between the two subjects, tutor and tutored, during the carrying out of the task. This analysis allows us the reduction of dates from the sequential analysis of delays using the statistical ZSUM introduced by Cochran (1954) and put into practice by Sackett (1980). The analysis of polar coordinates, allows the complementation of a diachronic perspective and another synchronic one, through the representation of the values obtained as modules and angles of vectors (polar coordinates). The module of vector (>1,96) gives to it the meaning, and the angle, depending on the quadrant where it is, the nature of the relationship (AU)