| The purpose of this study was to investigate whether children with cognitive delays such as mental retardation would improve standing long jump skills better through a program of physical education instruction or through natural growth. The participants consisted of 34 children from 3 to 7 years of age with cognitive delays as classified by the ABILITIES Index (Simeonsson & Bailey, 1991) from two schools that serve preschool children with disabilities. The experimental group from School A received play-oriented instruction, while the control group at School B did not receive any instruction. The Test of Gross Motor Development (Ulrich, 1998) and Fundamental Motor Skill Stage Characteristics from the Motor Performance Study at Michigan State University (Seefeldt & Haubenstricker, 1976) were the instruments used to assess the motor skill selected for this study, namely the standing long jump. This study was conducted during the course of a 9-week period. The statistical tests (independent t test and paired-sample t test) were performed at the.05 alpha level. The results of this study indicated that the motor skill improvement in jumping was more attributed to the intervention than to natural growth. This suggests that instructional programs for children with cognitive delays should be designed to improve other fundamental motor skills in addition to jumping. |
