The importance of motor skills for the development of cognitive abilities in younger school children

Irena Plevová

 Assoc. Prof. Department of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc, CZECH REPUBLIC, email: irena.plevova@post.cz

Abstract

The close relationship between motor development and cognitive abilities is apparent in children from birth. Motor skills need to be developed continually because their level is related not only to the level of diverse school activities (such as writing, drawing, reading), but also significantly to the development of speech. The aim of the presented research is a more detailed analysis of the relationship of motor skills of a younger school age child to selected areas of cognitive processes and the level of verbal expression. The research group consisted of 200 pupils of the first grade of primary school, the age of 9.87 ± 0.65 years. The Ethics Committee approval was granted for research. Data were obtained using the Cognitive Capability Test (TKS), which maps the verbal component (speech), nonverbal (spatial orientation, symbols) and quantitative (numerical and symbolic) (R. L. Thorndike, E. Hagen, N. France, 2013). The research was carried out as part of the GF_PdF_2019_0003 project. According to the results of the research, significant correlations between the development of cognitive abilities and the level of motor skills of younger school children can be confirmed. The results of the survey are significant in terms of possible pedagogical interventions in the primary school environment.

Keywords: Cognitive process, Motor skills, Primary school children