The effectiness of structured play on fundamental movement skills, physical fitness, and motivation of young children in Jiangxi, China

Abstract

China is seeing rising rates of overweight and obesity, primarily due to insufficient physical activity participation. Higher physical literacy, which encompasses Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) and motivation, is associated with higher participation in physical activity. Early childhood is a critical period for developing FMS, and the best way to foster motivation is through play. However, research on developing physical literacy through play via preschool PE lessons in China is limited. Therefore, this study aims to develop and evaluate a 12-week structured play program to improve FMS and motivation, and to explore its impact on children’s physical fitness (PF). Study 1 is a cross-sectional study, with a total of 772 children (397 boys, 375 girls) aged 3–6 years recruited from Jiangxi Province. FMS was assessed using Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition (TGMD-3), while PF was gathered using the National Physical Fitness Standard Manual. Motivation was collected via the Preschool Physical Literacy Assessment questionnaire completed by teachers. Study 2 is a randomized controlled trial with repeated measure. A total of 132 children aged 5–6 years were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (N = 65; 30 boys, 35 girls) or control group (N = 67; 36 boys, 31 girls). The 12-week intervention consisted of three sessions per week, 35 minutes per session. The intervention group (IG) received structured play interventions, while the control group (CG) continued regular activities. A three-round Delphi method and a two-week pilot study with 10 children. Pre-test and post-test included FMS、PF and motivation. Study 1 found low FMS and PF levels in 3-6-year-olds, with the 56.74% of locomotor skills (LS) and 66.58% of ball skills (BS) below age equivalent, and in PF, 30.31% failed, only 5.57% were good, and 0.26% were excellent. There was a significant age difference across all variables: as age increased, FMS scale scores decreased, PF failures rose, excellence declined, and motivation improved. There have significant correlations between all of the variables. Therefore, Study 2 focused on 5-6-year-olds. In Study 2, comparing pre-and post-test results, significant improvements were observed only in the IG for BS, strength, flexibility, coordination (p=0.05), and motivation. Both the IG and CG showed significant gains in LS (p<0.001, p=0.017), power (p<0.001, p<0.001), agility (p<0.001, p=0.04), and balance (p<0.001, p<0.001). However, neither group improved BMI significantly. Comparison between IG and CG in the post-test, IG showed significantly better results in LS (p<0.001), BS (p<0.001), power (p=0.016), flexibility (p=0.018), agility (p<0.001), and balance (p=0.005). However, there were no significant differences between IG and CG in BMI, strength, or coordination. There is significant correlation between FMS, PF and motivation post intervention. The study shows that a well-structured play-based PE program can improve FMS, physical fitness, and motivation in young children, and offers teachers a practical approach to enhance physical literacy in early childhood.