The level of motor skill development of preschool children provided a physical education program and preschool children provided with free play environments

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if preschool children who received motor skill instruction on specific fundamental motor skills would demonstrate higher levels of skill development when compared to preschool children who were offered free play opportunities. The study tested five skills: run, hop, one foot balance, kick, and catch. Time devoted to instruction of each skill was equated with time children practiced the skills during free play. The study was designed to address two secondary purposes which provided in-depth analyses of skill level development for the experimental group and the comparison group independently. The researcher included independent analysis of the comparison group to determine if play environment would affect skill level development. Analysis of the experimental group was included to identify where motor skill level developmental changes occurred during the four testing periods.;Three findings were determined through data analysis of motor skill data. Significant differences were found between subjects who received skill instruction during physical education and subjects who participated in free play. The results indicated that skill instruction was a discriminating factor in skill level development on specific motor skills. Subjects in the physical education program demonstrated significantly greater motor skill level development for the run and one foot balance than subjects who received free play opportunities. Play environment was not identified as a discriminating factor for motor skill level development because no significant differences in skill level were found between subjects involved in free play activities on three different play environments across the four test periods. Skill level development within the experimental group was significantly affected by instruction in three of the five motor skills tested. Significant differences in motor skill level development were found in the experimental group for run, hop, and one foot balance. The significant differences found represented skill level improvement for running, hopping, and one foot balancing, but not for kicking.