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Using Process- and Product-oriented Measures to Evaluate Changes in Motor Skills across an Intervention

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to: (1) determine if process- and product-oriented measures similarly evaluate changes in motor skills across an intervention and (2) examine the relationship between preschoolers’ motor skills when assessed using process-oriented and product-oriented measures before (pretest) and after (posttest) the intervention. Preschoolers (n = 65, Mage = 4.6 ± 0.42 years) completed both process- and product-oriented measures of six FMS – run, hop, jump, catch, throw, and kick, before and after a high-autonomy motor skill intervention. Aggregate total, locomotor, and ball skills, as well as each individual skill, were examined. Children demonstrated improvements in process-oriented (p < .01) skills, but only improved on the product hop, throw, and kick (p < .001) after the intervention. Children’s ranks on process- and product-oriented measures were correlated at pretest (rs = 0.28–0.72) and posttest (rs = 0.39–0.68). Therefore, process- and product-oriented measures assess different aspects of motor competence and do not equally evaluate intervention efficacy.

Source: Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science

DOI: 10.1080/1091367x.2021.1876069

Authors: Kara K. Palmer, David F. Stodden, Dale A. Ulrich, Leah E. Robinson

Institutions: University of Michigan, University of South Carolina

Language: English

Topic: Children's Physical and Motor Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Quality education

Open Access status: green

Funders: North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, National Institutes of Health, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, University of Michigan, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute