Improving Support for Children's Fundamental Movement Skill Development in the Early Years.

已知情况：在英格兰，只有不到一半的儿童每天进行60分钟的体育锻炼，这是世界卫生组织推荐的运动量(Sports England，2022)。参与PA的一个关键基础是发展基本运动技能(FMS)，这是基本的“积木”运动技能，对于儿童在以后的生活中发展更多特定于运动的技能至关重要。FMS包括运动(如奔跑)、物体操纵(如投掷)和稳定(如平衡)技能(Rudd等人，2015)。早期(安年；3-5岁)是FMS发展的一个特别重要的时期，因为这是学习这些技能的关键窗口(Lingam等人，2012年)。这就要求将FMS发展作为EYs教育的一个特别优先事项。为早期从业者(EYP；在私立、自愿和独立的EYs部门与0-5岁儿童一起工作的成年人)提供识别和支持发展的工具至关重要，因为EYs中FMS发展不佳会产生重大的后续后果，包括对儿童的教育、健康和福祉结果的负面影响(Barnett等人，2021年；Li，Kawn&Kevin ney，2019；Macdonald等人，2018年)。因此，确保最初的FMS学习是有效的至关重要，因为它提供了最好的机会来避免长期负担和以后补救干预的需要。在英国，也确实存在对FMS能力的担忧，因为研究表明，学龄儿童没有达到运动技能期望集(Duncombe and Preddy，2021年；Duncan等人，2022a；Haynes，2016)，而新冠肺炎的流行可能会进一步恶化这一趋势(Guan等人，2020年)。尚不清楚的是：缺乏对FMS早期评估和干预的障碍和促进者的研究，以及缺乏可行的工具来监测学校和学龄前环境中的FMS水平。例如，据报告，工作人员缺乏培训和信心，无法帮助儿童发展他们的FMS(Duncan等人，2022b)，而且对FMS几乎没有理解(Duncan等人，2022b；Eddy等人，2021年)。尽管在5岁以下的后续教育中，对FMS的识别和支持更加循证，但EYP评估FMS发展的工具有限，支持FMS发展的循证方法也有限。例如，作为早期基础阶段简介(EYFSP)的一部分，教师只记录了一个单一的主观判断，即他们在正式上学的第一年是否觉得孩子的移动和处理技能高于、低于或低于预期(教育部，2018年)。因此，本博士学位旨在通过改进评估和支持，采取严格的、基于证据的方法来支持儿童在EYS中的FMS发展。这将通过以下提议的四项相互关联的研究来完成。研究1：系统地审查EY运动技能干预的证据基础，利用这些发现与行业合作伙伴合作(在5岁之前要做50件事)，以确保基于证据的实践被整合到他们的移动应用程序中，为儿童的父母在EY提供信息、指导和支持资源。研究2：通过与(教育部资助的)早期更强有力的实践中心的合作，将与早期从业者和家庭进行定性研究，以确定在EY中评估和支持FMS发展的障碍和促进者。研究3：适应免费的、以证据为依据的、以学校为基础的FMS评估工具(FUNMOVES)，并评估其在EYS环境中使用的有效性。这将使EYP能够更早地识别FMS困难的儿童。研究4：正式评估和修改(如果必要)改善EY中儿童FMS的干预措施，这在美国的试点研究中显示出初步的前景

What Is Known:Less than half of children in England are doing 60 minutes of physical activity (PA) a day, which is the WHO recommended amount (Sports England, 2022). A key foundation to engaging in PA is the development of fundamental movement skills (FMS), which are the foundational "building block" motor skills that are critical for children's development of more sport-specific skills in later life. FMS encompass locomotor (e.g., running), object manipulation (e.g., throwing) and stability (e.g., balance) skills (Rudd et al., 2015). The Early Years (EY; ages 3-5 years old) are a particularly important time for FMS development, as this is a key window for learning these skills (Lingam et al., 2012). This argues for making FMS development a particular priority within EYs education.Giving Early Years Practitioners (EYPs; adults working with children aged 0-5 years in the private, voluntary, and independent EYs sector) the tools to identify and support development is crucial, as there are major later consequences of poor FMS development in the EYs, including negative effects on a child's educational, health and wellbeing outcomes (Barnett et al., 2021; Li, Kawn & Cairney, 2019; Macdonald et al., 2018). Therefore, making sure initial FMS learning is effective first time around is vital because it gives the best chance of avoiding long-term burdens and the need for remedial interventions later. There are also real concerns about FMS ability in the UK, as studies have shown that school children are not meeting the motor skill expectations set (Duncombe and Preddy, 2021; Duncan et al., 2022a; Haynes, 2016), with the COVID-19 pandemic likely to have further worsened this trend (Guan et al., 2020).What Is Not Known:There is a lack of research into the barriers and facilitators to FMS assessment and intervention in the Early Years, as well as a lack of tools that are feasible for monitoring FMS levels in schools and pre-school settings. For example, a lack of staff training and confidence in helping children develop their FMS has been reported (Duncan et al., 2022b), along with little to no perceived understanding of FMS (Duncan et al., 2022b; Eddy et al., 2021). Although identification and support for FMS is more evidence-based in later education, below 5 years of age, EYPs have limited tools to assess FMS development, and evidence-based approaches for supporting FMS development are also limited. For example, as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP), teachers record only a single subjective judgment of whether they feel a child's 'moving and handling' skills are 'above', 'at', or 'below' expectation in their first year of formal schooling (Department for Education, 2018).Therefore, this PhD aims to take a rigorous, evidence-based approach to supporting children's FMS development in the EYs, via improving both assessment and support. This will be done via four, inter-linking studies, proposed below.Study 1: Systematically review the evidence base for EYs motor skill interventions, using these findings to work with an industry partner ('50 Things To Do Before You're 5') to ensure evidence-based practice is incorporated into their mobile app that provides information, guidance and supporting resources to parents of children in their EYs.Study 2: Through partnership with a (Department for Education funded) Early Years Stronger Practice hub, qualitative research will be undertaken with Early Years Practitioners and families to identify the barriers and facilitators to assessing and supporting FMS development in the EYs.Study 3: Adapt a free, evidence-informed, school-based FMS assessment tool (FUNMOVES) and evaluate its validity for use in EYs settings. This will empower EYPs to identify children with FMS difficulties earlier.Study 4: Formally evaluate and modify (if necessary) an intervention for improving children's FMS in the EYs, which has shown initial promise in pilot studies in the US