IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i14p8318-d858129.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender Differences in Fundamental Motor Skills Proficiency in Children Aged 3–6 Years: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Yunfei Zheng

    (College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China)

  • Weibing Ye

    (Institute of Human Movement and Sports Engineering, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China)

  • Mallikarjuna Korivi

    (Institute of Human Movement and Sports Engineering, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China)

  • Yubo Liu

    (Institute of Human Movement and Sports Engineering, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China)

  • Feng Hong

    (Department of Sports Operation and Management, Jinhua Polytechnic, Jinhua 321007, China)

Abstract

The age range of 3–6 years is considered as a critical period in developing and learning fundamental motor skills (FMS). To make the formulation of future FMS guidance programs more targeted, we examined gender differences in children’s FMS proficiency using a meta-analysis. Structured electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically searched using key terms, and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) was used to assess the quality of included literature. Finally, 38 articles (39 studies) met the pre-specified inclusion criteria. The results showed that boys had higher proficiency in total FMS and object control skills than girls (SMD = 0.17 (95% CI 0.03, 0.31), p = 0.02; SMD = 0.48 (95% CI 0.38, 0.58), p < 0.00001), and gender differences in locomotor skill proficiency approached significance, trending in favor of girls (SMD = −0.07 (95 % CI −0.15, 0.01), p = 0.09, I 2 = 66%). Meta-regression shows that age is associated with gender differences in object control skills ( p < 0.05). In addition, through subgroup analysis, we found that boys’ advantage in object control skills increased with age (3 years: SMD = 0.27 (95% CI 0.00, 0.54), p < 0.00001; 4 years: SMD = 0.58 (95% CI 0.38, 0.77), p < 0.00001; 5 years: SMD = 0.59 (95% CI 0.31, 0.88), p < 0.00001; 6 years: SMD = 0.81 (95% CI 0.61, 1.01), p < 0.00001). In this meta-analysis, we found gender differences in FMS levels in children aged 3–6 years. Notably, gender differences in skill proficiency in object control were influenced by age. We recommend focusing on and developing girls’ object control skills starting at age 3.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunfei Zheng & Weibing Ye & Mallikarjuna Korivi & Yubo Liu & Feng Hong, 2022. "Gender Differences in Fundamental Motor Skills Proficiency in Children Aged 3–6 Years: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:14:p:8318-:d:858129
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8318/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8318/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peggy Cheung & Li Zhang, 2020. "Environment for Preschool Children to Learn Fundamental Motor Skills: The Role of Teaching Venue and Class Size," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-10, November.
    2. Guangxu Wang & Yahua Zi & Bo Li & Shan Su & Lei Sun & Fei Wang & Chener Ren & Yang Liu, 2022. "The Effect of Physical Exercise on Fundamental Movement Skills and Physical Fitness among Preschool Children: Study Protocol for a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Donna Niemistö & Taija Finni & Marja Cantell & Elisa Korhonen & Arja Sääkslahti, 2020. "Individual, Family, and Environmental Correlates of Motor Competence in Young Children: Regression Model Analysis of Data Obtained from Two Motor Tests," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-17, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pim Koolwijk & Ester de Jonge & Remo Mombarg & Teun Remmers & Dave Van Kann & Ingrid van Aart & Geert Savelsbergh & Sanne de Vries, 2024. "Characteristics of Children with an Undesirable Motor Competence Development During the Transition from Early to Middle Childhood: Results of a 2-Year Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(11), pages 1-14, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chunshan Zhou & Dahao Zhang & Xiong He, 2021. "Transportation Accessibility Evaluation of Educational Institutions Conducting Field Environmental Education Activities in Ecological Protection Areas: A Case Study of Zhuhai City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Guangxu Wang & Dan Zeng & Shikun Zhang & Yingying Hao & Danqing Zhang & Yang Liu, 2023. "The Effect of Different Physical Exercise Programs on Physical Fitness among Preschool Children: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Patrizia Tortella & Antonella Quinto & Guido Francesco Fumagalli & Mario Lipoma & David Stodden & Francesco Sgrò, 2023. "Effects of Different Teaching Approaches on Proxy Measures of Physical Fitness of Italian Kindergarten Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-12, May.
    4. Ilir Gllareva & Nebojša Trajković & Draženka Mačak & Tijana Šćepanović & Anja Kostić Zobenica & Aleksandar Pajić & Besim Halilaj & Florim Gallopeni & Dejan M. Madić, 2020. "Anthropometric and Motor Competence Classifiers of Swimming Ability in Preschool Children—A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Silvia Arribas-Galarraga & Izaskun Luis-de Cos & Gurutze Luis-de Cos & Saioa Urrutia-Gutierrez, 2020. "Mediation Effect of Perceived Fitness on the Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Sport Practice in Spanish Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-8, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:14:p:8318-:d:858129. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.