The Effect of Execution Surface on the Accuracy of Children's Perceived Motor Competence in Locomotor Skills: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors
Younes Mosadegh 1
Shahab Parvinpour 2
Abbas Bahram 3
Mohsen Shafizadeh 4
1 PhD, Department of Physical Education, Technical and Vocational University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
4 Associate Professor, Department of Health and Wellbeing, College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom
10.48305/jrrs.2026.45632.1123
Abstract
Introduction: Self-concept is a structured set of perceptions an individual holds about themselves, which undergoes significant changes during the transition from childhood to adolescence. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of execution level on the accuracy of children's perceived motor competence in locomotor skills.
Materials and Methods: This research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest structure. The statistical population consisted of children from the city of Bandar Anzali, Iran. A sample of 64 children aged 6 to 8 years was selected via cluster sampling from local kindergartens and schools. Children's perceived motor competence was assessed using the Almeida maximum performance estimation method, and their actual competence was evaluated through the performance of locomotor skills, including horizontal jump, hopping, and skipping, on two surfaces: concrete and artificial grass. Statistical analyses were conducted using mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc tests in SPSS software with a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The results from the mixed ANOVA for the within-group effects across all three tasks, horizontal jump (P < 0.001), hopping (P < 0.001), and skipping (P = 0.020), showed that the main effect of task was significant. However, the interactive effects of task and age (P = 0.250), task and gender (P = 0.320), and the three-way interaction of task, age, and gender (P = 0.750) in horizontal jump skill were not significant. Similarly, for the hopping skill, the interactions of task and age (P = 0.830), task and gender (P = 0.310), and all three factors combined (P = 0.370) were not significant. For skipping, the interactions of task with gender (P = 0.450), and the combined effect of all three factors (P = 0.51) were also not significant. The only significant interactive effect was between task and age in skipping (P < 0.001). Between-group comparisons revealed significant main effects of age and gender only in the horizontal jump task.
Conclusion: Children were unable to perceive changes in their performance level while executing motor tasks. The findings indicated that the perceptual ability was influenced by age and gender, only in the horizontal jump task, underscoring the importance of considering this factor in studies of locomotor skills in children.

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