Document Type : Original research study
Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran
2 university of tabriz
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between fine and gross motor skills and academic achievement in 7 -year-old children. The relationship between fine and gross motor skills and academic achievement mediated by emotional intelligence was also tested in a mediating model. Participants of the study included 200 children (100 girls and 100 boys) aged 7 years' old who were selected as available study sample from children in Tehran Province, Iran. Fine and gross motor skills were evaluated using the Bruininks-Oseretsky-2 Test; emotional intelligence was assessed using the Schutte Self-Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), and academic achievement was measured by the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II (WIAT II). Results showed that, fine and gross motor skills, emotional intelligence, and academic achievement were positively correlated with each other. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis showed that, fine and gross motor skills had a positive effect on academic achievement through an indirect path via emotional intelligence. These results highlight critical importance of emphasis on fine and gross motor skills for academic achievement in the children studying in the elementary school.
Keywords
Main Subjects
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2. Abdoli, B., Farsi, A., Radi, A. A., & Malekshahi, M. (2012). The Relationship between Self- efficacy and Emotional Intelligence with Performance in Goalball Men’s of Premiership. Sport Psychology Studies, 1(2): 93–104. (In persian)
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6. Bruininks, R. H. (2005). Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, (BOT-2). Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessment.
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8. Cahn, J. W. (2019). An Application of the Two-Stage Model of Motor Learning to Speech Motor Control. Sine Sport, 62 (1): 1002-12.
9. Cameron, C. E., Cottone, E. A., Murrah, W. M., & Grissmer, D. W. (2016). How are motor skills linked to children’s school performance and academic achievement? Child Development Perspectives, 10(2): 93–98.
10. Chang, M., & Gu, X. (2018). The role of executive function in linking fundamental motor skills and reading proficiency in socioeconomically disadvantaged kindergarteners. Learning and Individual Differences, 61 (1): 250–255.
11. da Silva Pacheco, S. C., Gabbard, C., Ries, L. G. K., & Bobbio, T. G. (2016). Interlimb coordination and academic performance in elementary school children. Pediatrics International, 58(10): 967–973.
12. Davies, S., Janus, M., Duku, E., & Gaskin, A. (2016). Using the Early Development Instrument to examine cognitive and non-cognitive school readiness and elementary student achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 35 (3): 63–75.
13. De Bruijn, A. G. M., Hartman, E., Kostons, D., Visscher, C., & Bosker, R. J. (2018). Exploring the relations among physical fitness, executive functioning, and low academic achievement. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 167(2): 204–221.
14. de Bruijn, A. G. M., Kostons, D., van der Fels, I. M. J., Visscher, C., Oosterlaan, J., Hartman, E., & Bosker, R. J. (2019). Importance of aerobic fitness and fundamental motor skills for academic achievement. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43(2): 200–209.
15. de Waal, E. (2019). Fundamental Movement Skills and Academic Performance of 5-to 6-Year-Old Preschoolers . Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(4): 455–464.
16. Davis and Diamond, A. (2010). The evidence base for improving school outcomes by addressing the whole child and by addressing skills and attitudes, not just content. Early Education and Development, 21(5): 780–793.
17. Ebrahimi, M. R., Khoshsima, H., & Zare-Behtash, E. (2018). The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence Enhancement on Iranian Intermediate EFL learners Writing Skill . International Journal of Instruction, 11(1): 437–452.
18. Eranıl, A. K., & Özcan, M. (2019). Investigation of Emotional Intelligence Levels of Students in the Faculty of Education. Journal of Kırşehir Education Faculty, 20(1): 119–138.
19. Ericsson, I., & Karlsson, M. K. (2014). Motor skills and school performance in children with daily physical education in school–a 9‐year intervention study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(2): 273–278.
20. Ferguson, E., James, D., & Madeley, L. (2002). Factors associated with success in medical school: systematic review of the literature. Bmj, 324(7343): 952–957.
21. Fernandes, V. R., Ribeiro, M. L. S., Melo, T., de Tarso Maciel-Pinheiro, P., Guimarães, T. T., Araújo, N. B., Deslandes, A. C. (2016). Motor coordination correlates with academic achievement and cognitive function in children. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(3): 318-323.
22. Goodway, J. D., Ozmun, J. C., & Gallahue, D. L. (2019). Understanding motor development: Infants, children, adolescents, adults. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. P: 1-100.
23. Grissmer, D., Grimm, K. J., Aiyer, S. M., Murrah, W. M., & Steele, J. S. (2010). Fine motor skills and early comprehension of the world: two new school readiness indicators. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), 1008-14.
24. Hulteen, R. M., Morgan, P. J., Barnett, L. M., Stodden, D. F., & Lubans, D. R. (2018). Development of foundational movement skills: A conceptual model for physical activity across the lifespan. Sports Medicine, 48(7): 1533–1540.
25. Karimi, L., Leggat, S. G., Bartram, T., & Rada, J. (2020). The effects of emotional intelligence training on the job performance of Australian aged care workers. Health Care Management Review, 45(1): 41–51. (In persian).
26. Kim, H., Duran, C. A. K., Cameron, C. E., & Grissmer, D. (2018). Developmental relations among motor and cognitive processes and mathematics skills. Child Development, 89(2): 476–494.
27. Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications.
28. Konter. (2010). Nonverbal intelligence of soccer players according to their level of play. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2): 1114–1120.
29. Krabben, K., Orth, D., & van der Kamp, J. (2019). Combat as an interpersonal synergy: an ecological dynamics approach to combat sports. Sports Medicine,4(2): 1–12.
30. Libertus, K., & Hauf, P. (2017). Motor skills and their foundational role for perceptual, social, and cognitive development. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1): 301-312.
31. Liu, Y.-T., Chuang, K.-L., & Newell, K. M. (2019). Mapping collective variable and synergy dynamics to task outcome in a perceptual-motor skill. Psychology of sport, 14(4): 0215-460.
32. Lopes, L., Santos, R., Pereira, B., & Lopes, V. P. (2013). Associations between gross motor coordination and academic achievement in elementary school children. Human Movement Science, 32(1): 9–20.
33. Mohammadi Orangi, B., Aghdasi, M. T., & Ya’ali, R. (2017). The Relationship between Motor Proficiency and Intelligence quotient at diffirent age catagories. Sport Psychology Studies, 21 (7): 77–88. (In persian)
34. Naik, D., & Kiran, A. D. (2018). Emotional intelligence and achievement motivation among college students. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 9(1): 86–88.
35. Needham, A., & Libertus, K. (2011). Embodiment in early development. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2(1): 117–123.
36. Olivier, S. (2017). Understanding and developing emotional intelligence. Singapore: In Knowledge Solutions.P:1-76.
37. Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child (M. Cook, Trans.). New York, :Basic Books. http://dx. doi. org/10.1037/11168-000.
38. Pienaar, A. E., Barhorst, R., & Twisk, J. W. R. (2014). Relationships between academic performance, SES school type and perceptual‐motor skills in first grade S outh A frican learners: NW‐CHILD study. Child: Care, Health and Development, 40(3): 370–378.
39. Pitchford, N. J., Papini, C., Outhwaite, L. A., & Gulliford, A. (2016). Fine motor skills predict maths ability better than they predict reading ability in the early primary school years. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(1): 783-796.
40. Raiola, G. (2017). Motor learning and teaching method. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 17(8): 2239–2243.
41. Rigoli, D., Piek, J. P., Kane, R., & Oosterlaan, J. (2012). An examination of the relationship between motor coordination and executive functions in adolescents. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 54(11): 1025–1031.
42. Robinson, L. E., Stodden, D. F., Barnett, L. M., Lopes, V. P., Logan, S. W., Rodrigues, L. P., & D’Hondt, E. (2015). Motor competence and its effect on positive developmental trajectories of health. Sports Medicine, 45(9): 1273–1284.
43. Rodrigues, L. P., Stodden, D. F., & Lopes, V. P. (2016). Developmental pathways of change in fitness and motor competence are related to overweight and obesity status at the end of primary school. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 19(1): 87–92.
44. Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., & Dornheim, L. (1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. Personality and individual differences , 2 (25): 167-177.
45. SehedAmeri, H., Saidi, S., & Manafi, F. (2013). The relationship between emotional intelligence and achievement of team sports athletes in the 11th student Olympiad across the country. Sport Psychology Studies, 2(4): 47–56 .(In persian)
46. Shah, C. J., Sanisara, M., Mehta, H. B., & Vaghela, H. M. (2018). The relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement in medical undergraduates. Int J Res Med Sci, 2(1): 59–61.
47. Sigmundsson, H., Englund, K., & Haga, M. (2017). Associations of Physical Fitness and Motor Competence With Reading Skills in 9-and 12-Year-Old Children: A Longitudinal Study. Sport sience, 7(2):1112-24.
48. Son, S.-H., & Meisels, S. J. (2006). The relationship of young children’s motor skills to later reading and math achievement. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly19 (82): 755–778.
49. Usán Supervía, P., & Salavera Bordás, C. (2019). Academic Performance, Emotional Intelligence and Academic Engagement in Adolescents. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 17(47): 5–26.
50. Wechsler, D. (2013). Wechsler individual achievement test. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation. P: 1-25
2. Abdoli, B., Farsi, A., Radi, A. A., & Malekshahi, M. (2012). The Relationship between Self- efficacy and Emotional Intelligence with Performance in Goalball Men’s of Premiership. Sport Psychology Studies, 1(2): 93–104. (In persian)
3. Adolph, K. E., & Franchak, J. M. (2017). The development of motor behavior. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 8(1–2): 1430-1437.
4. Bailey, R. (2017). Sport, physical activity and educational achievement–towards an explanatory model. Sport in Society, 20(7): 768–788.
5. Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., & Suwalsky, J. T. D. (2013). Physically developed and exploratory young infants contribute to their own long-term academic achievement. Psychological Science, 24(10): 1906–1917.
6. Bruininks, R. H. (2005). Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, (BOT-2). Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessment.
7. Cadoret, G., Bigras, N., Duval, S., Lemay, L., Tremblay, T., & Lemire, J. (2018). The mediating role of cognitive ability on the relationship between motor proficiency and early academic achievement in children. Human Movement Science, 57 (1): 149–157.
8. Cahn, J. W. (2019). An Application of the Two-Stage Model of Motor Learning to Speech Motor Control. Sine Sport, 62 (1): 1002-12.
9. Cameron, C. E., Cottone, E. A., Murrah, W. M., & Grissmer, D. W. (2016). How are motor skills linked to children’s school performance and academic achievement? Child Development Perspectives, 10(2): 93–98.
10. Chang, M., & Gu, X. (2018). The role of executive function in linking fundamental motor skills and reading proficiency in socioeconomically disadvantaged kindergarteners. Learning and Individual Differences, 61 (1): 250–255.
11. da Silva Pacheco, S. C., Gabbard, C., Ries, L. G. K., & Bobbio, T. G. (2016). Interlimb coordination and academic performance in elementary school children. Pediatrics International, 58(10): 967–973.
12. Davies, S., Janus, M., Duku, E., & Gaskin, A. (2016). Using the Early Development Instrument to examine cognitive and non-cognitive school readiness and elementary student achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 35 (3): 63–75.
13. De Bruijn, A. G. M., Hartman, E., Kostons, D., Visscher, C., & Bosker, R. J. (2018). Exploring the relations among physical fitness, executive functioning, and low academic achievement. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 167(2): 204–221.
14. de Bruijn, A. G. M., Kostons, D., van der Fels, I. M. J., Visscher, C., Oosterlaan, J., Hartman, E., & Bosker, R. J. (2019). Importance of aerobic fitness and fundamental motor skills for academic achievement. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43(2): 200–209.
15. de Waal, E. (2019). Fundamental Movement Skills and Academic Performance of 5-to 6-Year-Old Preschoolers . Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(4): 455–464.
16. Davis and Diamond, A. (2010). The evidence base for improving school outcomes by addressing the whole child and by addressing skills and attitudes, not just content. Early Education and Development, 21(5): 780–793.
17. Ebrahimi, M. R., Khoshsima, H., & Zare-Behtash, E. (2018). The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence Enhancement on Iranian Intermediate EFL learners Writing Skill . International Journal of Instruction, 11(1): 437–452.
18. Eranıl, A. K., & Özcan, M. (2019). Investigation of Emotional Intelligence Levels of Students in the Faculty of Education. Journal of Kırşehir Education Faculty, 20(1): 119–138.
19. Ericsson, I., & Karlsson, M. K. (2014). Motor skills and school performance in children with daily physical education in school–a 9‐year intervention study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(2): 273–278.
20. Ferguson, E., James, D., & Madeley, L. (2002). Factors associated with success in medical school: systematic review of the literature. Bmj, 324(7343): 952–957.
21. Fernandes, V. R., Ribeiro, M. L. S., Melo, T., de Tarso Maciel-Pinheiro, P., Guimarães, T. T., Araújo, N. B., Deslandes, A. C. (2016). Motor coordination correlates with academic achievement and cognitive function in children. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(3): 318-323.
22. Goodway, J. D., Ozmun, J. C., & Gallahue, D. L. (2019). Understanding motor development: Infants, children, adolescents, adults. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. P: 1-100.
23. Grissmer, D., Grimm, K. J., Aiyer, S. M., Murrah, W. M., & Steele, J. S. (2010). Fine motor skills and early comprehension of the world: two new school readiness indicators. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), 1008-14.
24. Hulteen, R. M., Morgan, P. J., Barnett, L. M., Stodden, D. F., & Lubans, D. R. (2018). Development of foundational movement skills: A conceptual model for physical activity across the lifespan. Sports Medicine, 48(7): 1533–1540.
25. Karimi, L., Leggat, S. G., Bartram, T., & Rada, J. (2020). The effects of emotional intelligence training on the job performance of Australian aged care workers. Health Care Management Review, 45(1): 41–51. (In persian).
26. Kim, H., Duran, C. A. K., Cameron, C. E., & Grissmer, D. (2018). Developmental relations among motor and cognitive processes and mathematics skills. Child Development, 89(2): 476–494.
27. Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications.
28. Konter. (2010). Nonverbal intelligence of soccer players according to their level of play. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2): 1114–1120.
29. Krabben, K., Orth, D., & van der Kamp, J. (2019). Combat as an interpersonal synergy: an ecological dynamics approach to combat sports. Sports Medicine,4(2): 1–12.
30. Libertus, K., & Hauf, P. (2017). Motor skills and their foundational role for perceptual, social, and cognitive development. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1): 301-312.
31. Liu, Y.-T., Chuang, K.-L., & Newell, K. M. (2019). Mapping collective variable and synergy dynamics to task outcome in a perceptual-motor skill. Psychology of sport, 14(4): 0215-460.
32. Lopes, L., Santos, R., Pereira, B., & Lopes, V. P. (2013). Associations between gross motor coordination and academic achievement in elementary school children. Human Movement Science, 32(1): 9–20.
33. Mohammadi Orangi, B., Aghdasi, M. T., & Ya’ali, R. (2017). The Relationship between Motor Proficiency and Intelligence quotient at diffirent age catagories. Sport Psychology Studies, 21 (7): 77–88. (In persian)
34. Naik, D., & Kiran, A. D. (2018). Emotional intelligence and achievement motivation among college students. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 9(1): 86–88.
35. Needham, A., & Libertus, K. (2011). Embodiment in early development. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2(1): 117–123.
36. Olivier, S. (2017). Understanding and developing emotional intelligence. Singapore: In Knowledge Solutions.P:1-76.
37. Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child (M. Cook, Trans.). New York, :Basic Books. http://dx. doi. org/10.1037/11168-000.
38. Pienaar, A. E., Barhorst, R., & Twisk, J. W. R. (2014). Relationships between academic performance, SES school type and perceptual‐motor skills in first grade S outh A frican learners: NW‐CHILD study. Child: Care, Health and Development, 40(3): 370–378.
39. Pitchford, N. J., Papini, C., Outhwaite, L. A., & Gulliford, A. (2016). Fine motor skills predict maths ability better than they predict reading ability in the early primary school years. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(1): 783-796.
40. Raiola, G. (2017). Motor learning and teaching method. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 17(8): 2239–2243.
41. Rigoli, D., Piek, J. P., Kane, R., & Oosterlaan, J. (2012). An examination of the relationship between motor coordination and executive functions in adolescents. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 54(11): 1025–1031.
42. Robinson, L. E., Stodden, D. F., Barnett, L. M., Lopes, V. P., Logan, S. W., Rodrigues, L. P., & D’Hondt, E. (2015). Motor competence and its effect on positive developmental trajectories of health. Sports Medicine, 45(9): 1273–1284.
43. Rodrigues, L. P., Stodden, D. F., & Lopes, V. P. (2016). Developmental pathways of change in fitness and motor competence are related to overweight and obesity status at the end of primary school. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 19(1): 87–92.
44. Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., & Dornheim, L. (1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. Personality and individual differences , 2 (25): 167-177.
45. SehedAmeri, H., Saidi, S., & Manafi, F. (2013). The relationship between emotional intelligence and achievement of team sports athletes in the 11th student Olympiad across the country. Sport Psychology Studies, 2(4): 47–56 .(In persian)
46. Shah, C. J., Sanisara, M., Mehta, H. B., & Vaghela, H. M. (2018). The relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement in medical undergraduates. Int J Res Med Sci, 2(1): 59–61.
47. Sigmundsson, H., Englund, K., & Haga, M. (2017). Associations of Physical Fitness and Motor Competence With Reading Skills in 9-and 12-Year-Old Children: A Longitudinal Study. Sport sience, 7(2):1112-24.
48. Son, S.-H., & Meisels, S. J. (2006). The relationship of young children’s motor skills to later reading and math achievement. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly19 (82): 755–778.
49. Usán Supervía, P., & Salavera Bordás, C. (2019). Academic Performance, Emotional Intelligence and Academic Engagement in Adolescents. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 17(47): 5–26.
50. Wechsler, D. (2013). Wechsler individual achievement test. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation. P: 1-25
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