THE ECOLOGY OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN COASTAL SCHOOL CHILDREN OF BRAZIL NORTHEAST

Resumen

Background: The prevalence of motor delays (MD) in schoolchildren is an intercultural phenomenon which is particularly present among socio-economically disadvantaged children. Objective: to describe and explain the proximal processes for the development of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in schoolchildren from an elementary school (ES) in a coastal city in the Northeast of Brazil. the objective of this study was to describe and explain the proximal processes for the development of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in schoolchildren from an elementary school (ES) in a coastal city in the Northeast of Brazil. Methods: This was a quali-quantitative study. The quantitative aspect was characterized by the use of the Test of Gross Motor Development Edition 2 to evaluate the fundamental motor skills of 104 children from 7 to 10 years old, 56 boys (8.2±1.0 years) and 48 girls (8.3 ± 0.9 years). Regarding the qualitative aspect, the researcher ecologically placed himself in the context and used non-systematic and non-participant observations and interviews with 7 parents, representing the parents-board of the school, 7 Physical Education teachers and 11 classroom teachers from different schools. Data analysis: the qualitative data were organized using the content analysis synthesis. The quantitative data were treated using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, distribution and frequencies) and inferential statistics (Student t-test). Results: The results revealed that 95.1% of children present MD in locomotor skills and 81.7% in object control skills; girls showed poorer performance compared to boys (p < 0.001). Considering the Bioecological model the MD can be explained by the absence of physical infrastructures and material resources, lack of opportunities and poor teacher training. However, the main explanation was the absence of a pedagogical program to foster MP in schools and youth sports programs. Yet, the Bioecological model allowed us to establish that the MP interferes the way that children interact with the context. Conclusions: It can be inferred that part of the solution to the problem lies in the coordination of exosystem actions (Municipal Department of Education) and in changes to the macrosystem (educational legislation) which guarantee the microsystems (schools and social sports projects) the means to promote MP in children.