Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the world.

Zusammenfassung: Im vorliegenden Diskussionsbeitrag wird der Forschungsstand zu Unterrichtsqualität für verschiedene Fachdidaktiken – naturwissenschaftliche Fächer, Sport und Geschichte – vor dem Hintergrund der allgemeinen empirischen Unterrichtsforschung vergleichend diskutiert. Als Vergleichsgrundlage wurde ein Framework mit den sieben Dimensionen Auswahl und Thematisierung von Inhalten und Fachmethoden, kognitive Aktivierung, Unterstützung des Übens, formatives Assessment, Unterstützung des Lernens aller Schülerinnen und Schüler, sozio-emotionale Unterstützung und Klassenführung genutzt (Praetorius und Charalambous 2018). Es zeigte sich, dass die Fachspezifität von der fokussierten Ebene abhing: Während eine Ergänzung des Frameworks auf Ebene der sieben Dimensionen nicht notwendig erschien, waren auf der Ebene der Subdimensionen und insbesondere der diesen Subdimensionen zugeordneten beobachtbaren Indikatoren fachspezifische Anpassungen und Ergänzungen erforderlich. Der Beitrag schließt mit einer Diskussion zentraler Herausforderungen für zukünftige Forschung.

A central aim of physical education is the promotion of basic motor competencies (in German: Motorische Basiskompetenzen; MOBAK), which are prerequisites for children's active participation in sports culture. This article introduces the MOBAK-1 test instrument for 6- to 8-year-old children and determines the construct validity of this test instrument. In addition, the relationship between MOBAK and motor ability (i.e., strength) as well as body mass index (BMI), sex, and age is investigated. We analyzed data of 923 first and second graders (422 girls, 501 boys, age = 6.80 ± 0.44 years). The children's basic motor competencies were assessed by the MOBAK-1 test instrument. Besides analyses of frequency, correlation, and variance, 3 confirmatory factor analyses with covariates were performed. We found 2 MOBAK factors consisting of 4 items each. The first factor, locomotion, included the items balancing, rolling, jumping, and side stepping; the second factor, object control, included the items throwing, catching, bouncing, and dribbling. The motor ability strength had a significant influence on the factors locomotion (β = 0.60) and object control (β = 0.50). Older pupils achieved better results than younger pupils on object control (β = 0.29). Boys performed better on object control (β = -0.44), whereas girls achieved better results in locomotion (β = 0.07). Pupils with a high BMI achieved lower performance only on the factor locomotion (β = -0.28). The MOBAK-1 test instrument developed for this study meets psychometric validity demands and is suitable to evaluate effects of sports and physical education.