Research Article: Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN.
Introduction:
In children, the physiological and psychosocial benefits of achieving sufficient levels of physical activity have been well documented [1]. However, in Wales, United Kingdom (UK), only 14% to 22% of children achieve the recommended levels of physical activity [2]. This is of particular concern given the positive association between physical activity and motor competence [3], defined as ‘a person’s ability to execute a wide range of motor acts in a proficient manner, including coordination of fine and gross motor…
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