Examining the relationship between self-reported physical literacy and performance-based motor skills in school-aged children.
Olivia Valentine, Ted Brown, Mong-Lin Yu
Self-reported physical literacy scores did not predict performance on a standardised motor skills test.
The one link found: children who scored well on balance and coordination tasks tended to rank physical activity as more important than reading or math.
Key findings
1Across all correlations tested between two self-reported physical literacy questionnaires and a standardised motor skills test, only one reached the study's significance threshold.
2That single correlation was moderate and positive (rho = 0.41, p < 0.05) between the BOT-2 Body Coordination composite and the PLAYself subscale asking children to rank the importance of physical activity relative to reading and math.
3No subscale of either self-report questionnaire correlated with any fine motor, manual coordination, or strength and agility BOT-2 score.
Still to come
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was 28 children, one below the 29 the authors calculated as needed for adequate power, and they were all recruited from three schools in one region of Victoria, Australia, sharing similar socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. All participants were neurotypical with no known physical, mental or developmental disabilities, so the findings say nothing about children with motor skill challenges such as developmental coordination disorder. The design is cross-sectional and correlational, so no causal or predictive claims can be made from the one significant correlation. Self-report questionnaires are subject to social desirability bias, and the authors note that children's ability to accurately self-report motor competencies is limited and improves with age.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the one significant correlation as evidence that a self-report physical literacy score can predict a child's motor skill performance. It was the only significant result out of dozens of correlations tested in 28 children, and it linked body coordination to how much a child values physical activity, not to their overall motor ability.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →