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We aimed to calculate interrater reliability of the Test of Gross Motor Development--Third Edition (TGMD-3) after raters reached a consensus regarding measurement criteria. Three raters measured the fundamental movement skills of 25 children on the TGMD-3 at two different times: (a) once when simply following the measurement criteria in the TGMD-3 manual and (b) after a 9-month washout period, following the raters' consensus building for the measurement criteria for each skill. After calculating and comparing the interrater reliability of these three raters across these two rating times, we found improved interrater reliability after the raters' consensus-building discussions on ratings of both locomotor skills (moderate-to-good reliability on two of six skills initially and at least moderate-to-excellent on four of six skills following criteria consensus building) and ball skills (moderate-to-good reliability on one of seven skills initially and at least moderate-to-excellent reliability on four of seven skills following criteria consensus building). For subtest scores and overall test scores, raters achieved at least moderate-to-good reliability on their second, postconsensus-building ratings. Based on this improved reliability following consensus building, we recommend that researchers include rater consensus building before assessing children's fundamental movement skills or guiding curriculum interventions in physical education from TGMD-3 data.

Background: Motor skill assessment is time-consuming and some difficulties are inherent in the administration of motor tests, especially in children with neurodevelopment disorders. Purpose: This study aimed to develop and investigate the face, content, and criterion validity of a Motor Skills Sequential Pictures (MSSP) for the Test of Gross Motor Development -- 3 (TGMD-3) to be animated and used in a mobile application (App). Methods: The MSSP was created representing each of the 13 TGMD-3 skills, performance criteria and accuracy was assessed by 23 experts, 52 undergraduate students, and 66 children (range 3-10 years; n = 48 with neurotypical development, n = 18 with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD). We conducted two rounds of MSSP expert evaluations to improve the MSSP accuracy. Content validity was conducted with the experts' results using percentage of agreement, content validity coefficient (CVC), kappa, and Chi[superscript 2] tests for the first and final version of the MSSP. University students participated in the face validity evaluation of the MSSP final version using percentage of agreement. Further content validity was conducted with experts and university students' scores using Chi[superscript 2]. Children participated in the last phase of the study and were requested to identify and perform the skills, and if unsuccessful, they received verbal support based on the motor performance criteria. Results: For content validity results associated with the experts' agreement, scores were high and increased from the first to the second round (CVC from 87.0% to 96.1%; Kappa coefficient >0.60, p > 0.0001). High agreement was obtained for the face validity of all skills (range 94.1-100%). Further, significant associations were found for experts and university students scores for the MSSP final version (p [less than or equal to] 0.002), providing further evidence for the MSSP content validity. The results for children with neurotypical development showed that children aged 3-4 had more difficulties in identifying the skills compared to older children. Developmental criterion validity was found for several skills (hop, jump, slide, one-hand strike, two-hand strike; p values from <0.0001 to .050); the MSSP was a more robust support as children age. In the ASD group, identifying skills was difficult for all ages, but mainly in locomotor skills. Furthermore, an inverse trend was found for the developmental validity criteria for children with ASD for several skills (sSkip, jump, slide, catch, kick; p values from .016 to .050), younger children relied more on the MSSP support to identify the skills. Conclusion: The MSSP, mainly ball skills, proved to be valid to illustrate the TGMD-3 motor performance criteria and may be useful as a visual pedagogical support for children to facilitate skill understanding. Future directions will be to evaluate whether the MSSP animation, in an app-based program, will improve children's motor skill performance.

Background: The Test of Gross Motor Development--3 (TGMD-3) is used to assess locomotor (LOCS) and ball (BS) skills in children. This test provides relevant information for evaluating learning and determining teaching efficacy. However, conducting and coding the test is time consuming. A screening form may improve its usage in specific settings and populations. Purpose: This study aimed to develop a screening form for the TGMD-3-SF and examine its validity and reliability. Method: We assessed 1,192 3-to-10-year-old children; 772 children completed the TGMD-3 and 420 the TGMD-3-SF; 114 children were retested for temporal stability and 300 for criterion validity. Results: We found appropriate results for the two-factors model, LOCS (gallop, hop, and skip) and BS (one-hand strike, kick, and overhand throw), RMSEA = 0.025, comparative-fit index = 0.99, and Tukey--Lewis index = 0.99; internal consistency (LOCS, [alpha] = 0.60; BS, [alpha] = 0.71); item validity (LOCS, r = 0.43, p < 0.001; BS, r = 0.47, p < 0.001); interrater (ICC = 0.86-0.99), intrarater (ICC = 0.61-0.92), test-retest (LOCS, ICC = 0.87; BS, ICC = 0.78) reliability, and concurrent validity (LOCS, r = 0.89, p < 0.01; BS, r = 0.90, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The TGMD-3-SF is valid and reliable for assessing children's gross motor development.

This study aimed to translate the Pictorial Scale of Physical Self-Concept for Brazilian Children (PSPPS-BR) into the Brazilian-Portuguese language, conduct a transcultural adaptation of it, and investigate its validity. Method: The authors adopted the reverse translation procedures to obtain the PSPPS-BR's Brazilian-Portuguese version. Three motor behavior experts assessed the scale items' clarity and pertinence. Ten professionals participated in the face validity study. Children (N = 300; 150 girls and 150 boys; 8-10 years old; M[subscript age] = 9.0, SD = 0.81) were randomly selected from six schools in Brazil and assessed using the PSPPS-BR, the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence, and the Self-Perception Profile for Children. The children (N = 100) were reassessed for test-retest reliability. Results: High clarity and pertinence agreement among experts (content validity coefficient from 98.4% to 100%; Gwet's agreement coefficient from 0.85 to 1.00, p < 0.001) and among professionals (content validity coefficient clarity: 83-100%, relevance: 90-100%) were obtained. The confirmatory factorial analysis showed adequate model fits (root mean square error of approximation = 0.067; comparative fit index = 0.968; Tukey-Lewis index = 0.949). Polychoric correlations showed an adequate internal consistency for total scale ([alpha] = 0.78) and items (alpha from 0.73 to 0.78). The intraclass coefficient correlation shown strong test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.95). Conclusion: The PSPPS-BR showed adequate validity and reliability for Brazilian children.

Background: This study applied the Person-Process-Context-Time model based on Bioecological theory to investigate the sociocultural influences on motor skill development. Purpose: The objectives of the present study were: (a) to assess the personal resources associated with the development of motor skills of children from three different geographic regions located in Northeastern Brazil; and, (b) to identify the factors in the microsystems (i.e. schools and in the state-funded sports programs) and mesosystems (i.e. interrelations between contexts) that contribute to the development of motor skills in children, and how more distal systems, the exosystems (i.e. department of education and sports) and macrosystem (i.e. school funding; public educational policy; legislation; regional culture) influence this process in each geographic region. Research design: The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 was used to assess the motor performance of 274 economically underprivileged children from three different geographic regions, semiarid (n = 66), mountainous (n = 104), and coastal (n = 104) regions of Brazil. The principal investigator of this study conducted non-participant observations, the interviews with the physical education (n = 15) and classroom (n = 17) teachers, and the children's assessments. The Collective Subject Speech method was used to analyze the teachers' interviews. Data collection and analysis: Teachers and children were interviewed and assessed, respectively, at the schools. Researcher ecological insertion was adopted to understand contextual factors further. Qualitative data was obtained through observation and interviews. Data reduction for the interviews was obtained using the Key Expression, Central Ideas, and Anchorages. Children's motor scores were analyzed using a three-way ANOVA (sex (boys and girls) x geographic regions (semiarid, mountainous, and coastal) × microsystem) for locomotor and object control skills. To follow up the significant interactions, post hoc tests using simple effects (One-Way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc) followed by appropriate cell-to-cell comparisons (Independent T-Test) were conducted. Results: The results indicate a prevalence of delays in the total sample (percentile < 5 at the TGMD-2). Higher motor scores were observed for children enrolled in sports compared to physical education programs. Girls had limited opportunities to learn sports skills and consequently, demonstrated poorer motor scores within the microsystems from the three regions. The interviews revealed that teachers did not feel adequately trained, had limited resources and facilities, and scarcely met the children's developmental needs. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the educational policies and the teachers' lack of training were the primary restrictions related to promoting opportunities for children to learn motor skills within the investigated regions.

There is some, albeit inconsistent, evidence supporting sex differences in preschoolers' motor competence (MC), with these observations not uniform when analyzed by age, and cultural groups. Thus, this study examined sex differences across ages in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children's MC. A cross‐country pooled sample of 6241 children aged 3–5 years (49.6% girls) was assessed for MC using the Test of Gross Motor Development—2nd/3rd edition, and children were categorized into groups of age in months. Multiple linear regression models and predictive margins were calculated to explore how sex and age in months affect scores of MC (i.e., locomotor and ball skills), with adjustments for country and BMI. The Chow's Test was used to test for the presence of a structural break in the data. Significant differences in favor of girls were seen at 57–59 and 66–68 months of age for locomotor skills; boys performed better in ball skills in all age periods, except for 42–44 and 45–47 months of age. The higher marginal effects were observed for the period between 45–47 and 48–50 months for locomotor skills (F = 30.21; and F = 25.90 for girls and boys, respectively), and ball skills (F = 19.01; and F = 42.11 for girls and boys, respectively). A significantly positive break point was seen at 45–47 months, highlighting the age interval where children's MC drastically improved. The identification of this breakpoint provides an evidence‐based metric for when we might expect MC to rapidly increase, and an indicator of early delay when change does not occur at that age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the content, face, and sensitive validity, and test-retest reliability of a volleyball overhand serve accuracy-test. Four experts -- university professors evaluated the content validity; 50 volleyball coaches, teachers, and athletes were enrolled in the face validity. Thirty-three undergraduate students (18 experienced and 15 novices) participated in the study to assess the test capability to detect different performance levels. The sensitive validity was examined by comparing differences in the serving accuracy among experience levels using the t-test for independent samples. A cluster analysis (hierarchical cluster) was conducted using the between-groups linkage method and the Euclidean quadratic distance measure. The test-retest reliability was analysed using intraclass correlation coefficients and the standard error. Satisfactory results were found for experts' agreement regarding the test's accuracy and content validity. Face validity was adequate regarding clarity, pertinence, and applicability (78% to 86% of agreement). A high degree of test-retest reliability was observed for both novices (ICC = 0.81) and experienced (ICC = 0.84) participants; experienced group (p = .001) had higher means. The volleyball serve accuracy-test is a viable alternative to assess beginners' performance in a teaching-learning context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fundamental motor skill proficiency is essential for engagement in sports and physical play and in the development of a healthy lifestyle. Children with motor delays (with and without disabilities) lack the motor skills necessary to participate in games and physical activity, and tend to spend more time as onlookers than do their peers. As such, intervention programs are crucial in promoting motor skill development of children with motor delays. While mastery climate (MC) interventions have shown to positively impact children's motor performance, what is unknown is the impact of cognitive strategies used by children within these climates. Furthermore, although vigorous play seems to be related to the development of gross motor skills, it is still unknown if children with and without disabilities would benefit from exercise play (EP) interventions. Purpose: This study examined the effects of MC and EP interventions on the motor skill development and verbal recall (VR) of children with motor delays. The sample included children with and without disabilities. Research designs: One hundred and thirty-eight children from 27 urban public schools were referred to the present study. Children were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development second edition (TGMD-2) and a VR checklist. Sixty-four children (18 with disabilities and 46 without) met the inclusion criteria, which was a score less than the fifth percentile on the TGMD-2. Participants were randomly assigned to the MC or EP 14-week interventions emphasizing gross motor skill practice. Data collection and analysis: Children were assessed at pre- and postintervention. A 2 (groups) × 2 (disability) × 2 (time) analyses of variance with repeated measures on the last factor was conducted. Change scores, t-test comparisons on the delta scores and Cohen's D were also calculated. Results: The MC group demonstrated significant and positive changes over the intervention period. Further, the MC group showed superior locomotor and object control performance and higher recall of verbal cues (p = .05) at post-intervention compared to the EP group. Children with and without disabilities within the MC showed similar patterns of improvement. The EP intervention did not demonstrate significant improvements. Conclusion: Children with and without disabilities showed improvements in motor skills and VR when exposed to an MC, incorporating the six TARGET structures. These structures included (a) providing feedback and encouragement, providing opportunities for decision-making and establishing personal goals, (b) including parents in the recognition of children's achievements, (c) creating opportunities to experience leadership and self-pacing, (d) guiding children to use verbal cues and modeling when practicing gross motor skills, and (e) providing demonstrations and teaching children to self-monitor their performance. Instruction is therefore seen as critical to learning gross motor skills, as demonstrated from the findings. Although there were opportunities for vigorous play within the EP intervention, the children did not show improvements in motor performance or VR. These findings suggest that new trends in teacher education physical education to prioritize physical activity over good motor skill instruction may not be advantageous for children in the early years, and should be reconsidered.

Purpose: Research indicates that delayed motor development observed in the first years of life can be prevented through compensatory intervention programmes that provide proper care during this critical period of child development. Method: This study analysed the impact of a 12-week compensatory motor intervention programme on 32 babies with atypical motor development, characterising and correlating risk factors for developmental delays between the ages of 6 and 8 months. We conducted play activities that involved muscle stretching, improving muscle tone, sight and sound tracking, posture control in different situations, handling objects and movement. The aim was to allow babies to experience new movement situations and overcome challenges. Results: The results showed significant improvements in motor performance, reinforcing the positive effects of a contextualised approach that addresses the needs of developing children, as opposed to focusing solely on acquiring specific skills in early childhood.

The Aquatic Readiness Assessment (ARA) is an assessment instrument for measuring children's aquatic readiness. The objective of the study was to translate the English version into Portuguese and to investigate the content, construct, and criterion validity as well as the reliability and rater objectivity of the ARA for Brazilian children. Twenty-three professionals and 464 children, newborn to 13 years-old participated in the study. We found strong content (94% to 100% of judges’ agreement) and criterion validity, internal consistency (α from .96 to .97), and inter-rater objectivity (ICC from .81 to .98), and test-retest reliability (ICC from .94 to .98). Appropriate fit indices were observed for the model (CFI = .99; TLI = .99; RMSEA .08, CI 90% = .67 to .10); the model was invariant for boys and girls (CFI = .99; RMSEA = .080; ΔCFI = .009; Δ RMSEA = .015) but not for age groups (CFI = .87, RMSEA = .160). The ARA presented adequate validity and reliability for evaluating the swimming performance of Brazilian children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become increasingly apparent that publishing research on child development from certain countries is especially challenging. These countries have been referred to collectively as the Majority World, the Global South, non‐WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic), or low‐ and middle‐income countries. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to these persistent challenges, and provide constructive recommendations to contribute to better representation of children from these countries in child development research. In this paper, we outline the history of publication bias in developmental science, and issues of generalization of research from these countries and hence where it 'fits' in terms of publishing. The importance of explaining context is highlighted, including for research on measurement child development outcomes, and attention is drawn to the vicious publication‐funding cycle that further exacerbates the challenges of publishing this research. Specific recommendations are made to assist child development journals achieve their stated goals of creating a more inclusive, equitable, diverse, and global field of child development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to calculate interrater reliability of the Test of Gross Motor Development—Third Edition (TGMD-3) after raters reached a consensus regarding measurement criteria. Three raters measured the fundamental movement skills of 25 children on the TGMD-3 at two different times: (a) once when simply following the measurement criteria in the TGMD-3 manual and (b) after a 9-month washout period, following the raters' consensus building for the measurement criteria for each skill. After calculating and comparing the interrater reliability of these three raters across these two rating times, we found improved interrater reliability after the raters' consensus-building discussions on ratings of both locomotor skills (moderate-to-good reliability on two of six skills initially and at least moderate-to-excellent on four of six skills following criteria consensus building) and ball skills (moderate-to-good reliability on one of seven skills initially and at least moderate-to-excellent reliability on four of seven skills following criteria consensus building). For subtest scores and overall test scores, raters achieved at least moderate-to-good reliability on their second, postconsensus-building ratings. Based on this improved reliability following consensus building, we recommend that researchers include rater consensus building before assessing children's fundamental movement skills or guiding curriculum interventions in physical education from TGMD-3 data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim was to investigate the validity of evidence of the Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System second edition for Brazilian children. Methods: 258 children participated, both sexes (n = 133 girls; 51.6%), 5 to 9 years old (total sample Mage = 7.1, SD = 1.4), from four regions of Brazil. The Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System - second edition, was used. Results: Experts showed agreement about the high clarity and practical pertinence of the items (content validity coefficient from 98.4 to 100%; Gwet's agreement coefficient from 0.85 to 1.00, p < 0.001). Confirmatory factorial analysis showed adequate adjustment indexes (RMSEA [0.048, 90% C.I. = 0.043 to 0.053], SRMR [0.243], CFI [0.91], RNI [0.91], TLI [0.91], χ²/df [1.962]). The multigroup analysis showed configural, metric and scalar invariance of two models for gender (CFI = 0.97; RMSEA, [90%C.I.] = 0.05 [0.03 to 0.07]; metric: ΔRMSEA = 0.001; scalar: ΔRMSEA = -0.004) and age band (5-7 years-old and 8-9 years-old; CFI = 0.94; RMSEA, [90%C.I.] = 0.05 [0.03 to 0.07]; metric: ΔRMSEA = 0.002; scalar: ΔRMSEA = 0.010). The Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio test showed adequate discriminant validity among three dimensions (self-care and productivity [value = 0.76]; self-care and leisure [value = 0.57], productivity and leisure [value = 0.76]). Alpha for polychoric correlations showed an adequate internal consistency for all items and total scale (all a values >0.70). Composite reliability (Self-care = 0.8; Productivity = 0.81; Leisure = 0.8) reinforce evidence about reliability. Percentage agreement showed adequate item-level test-retest reliability (values between 76 and 92%). Conclusion: This scale showed adequate content and internal structure validity evidence to assess the perceived self-efficacy for Brazilian children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]