The purpose of this study was to analyze motor development of Spanish preschoolers, taking into account sex and age, being an only child, prematurity, and the practice of extracurricular activities. The sample was composed of 300 preschoolers (132 girls, 168 boys) ages 3 to 6 years. Preschoolers were tested on 12 fundamental motor skills (locomotor and object control) through the Test of Gross Motor Development—Second Edition (TGMD-2). Nonparametric analysis indicated that there are differences between girls and boys in locomotor and object control skills in the age range of 3–4 years. However, boys and girls scored similarly at the age of 5 years in locomotor development. There were not differences between only children and those who are not only children. Similarly, prematurity was not associated with locomotor and object control development. Nevertheless, those preschoolers who practice extracurricular physical activities scored significantly higher in comparison with those children do not. Further research is needed to shed light on the differences between boys and girls in object control. It may be explained by the types of extracurricular activities.

Scientific sport magazines, scientific phisical education magazines

The present research aimed to study the psycho-motor performance of five-year-old children with different body mass indices (BMI). A total of 694 pre-school children in the province of Albacete-Spain participated. Their performance in motor, perceptual, and social-emotional skills was analyzed using a standardized observation sheet (Checklist of Psychomotor Activities—CPA) and then compared according to their BMI using non-parametric statistical methods (Mann-Whitney test). Separate comparisons were made for girls and boys. Results indicated significant differences in performance amongst the groups of girls in all the motor and perceptual activities, and in the social relationships component of the social-emotional factor. These differences seemed to penalize motor activities, perceptual skills, and social relationships in overweight and obese girls compared to normal weight girls. In the case of boys, there were significant differences in laterality and visual-motor coordination (favoring overweight boys). Differences in respiratory control were also found, but in this case, penalizing obese boys compared to normal weight boys. Knowledge of possible psychomotor limitations in obese children could allow psychologists and healthcare professionals to design more focused interventions.

Within the psychological domain of emotional intelligence, experimentation on emotional education programmes in school contexts constitutes one of the most compelling research lines in recent years. On this basis, this study presents a review of forty-one programmes implemented in educational settings. The results obtained from the primary and secondary scrutinised sources show the need to integrate families into programme interventions and the importance of teacher training in socio-emotional competencies. Likewise, the importance of interconnecting natural educational settings with research activity is considered a fundamental aspect in designing, implementing, and evaluating such programmes. Thus, the present study aims to represent these programmes’ characteristics, evaluation, and results for the ulterior development of specific and contextualised proposals.

The purpose of this study was to see the effects of an appropriate behavior development program in relation to the improvement of fair play and social skills behaviors of elementary school children during the physical education class. The participants of this study were 204 students from 5th and 6th grade from seven different public schools in Castilla–La Mancha, Spain. Data was collected through a questionnaire to measure students’ pre and post appropriate behaviors when winning, appropriate behaviors when loosing, appropriate behaviors during the game, fair play skills and social skills, during the physical education class. Results from this study revealed that participants improved their behaviors with the implementation of the intervention (appropriate behavior program), generating positive changes in students’ attitudes and social skills during physical education class. In relation to children gender, girls had better scores than boys in relation to appropriate behaviors when losing. Further, when comparing students’ age, those from 10 to 11 years old scored higher in fair play behaviors and social skills. In conclusion, the intervention program was effective to improve the behaviors of the school children, generating positive changes in their attitudes and social skills during physical education.