Abstract

This study is aimed at determining the effects of an intervention program on the developmental level of locomotor skills, object control skills, and gross motor skills of ten-year-old urban children. The design of this study was quasi-experimental pre- and post-test for a balanced group. Stratified random sampling and simple random sampling were used to select a total of 60 Year 4 students in the urban school category. The treatment group used an intervention program based on fundamental motor skills, while the controlled group used a regular physical education program. Data on locomotor skills, object control skills, and gross motor skill development were obtained from video recordings using the Test of Gross Motor Development Second Edition (TGMD-2) instrument. Results of the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) showed that there was no significant difference for the mean of gross motor developmental quotient (GMDQ) for the pre-test, while the post-test reported a significant difference for the mean of GMDQ between the treatment and controlled groups. The analysis revealed that there were significant differences for the three dependent variables during the post-test, namely GMDQ, age equivalent locomotor (AEL), and age equivalent manipulative (AEM). Pairwise comparison analysis showed that the mean of the treatment group significantly exceeded the mean of the controlled group in GMDQ, AEL, and AEM scores. The intervention program based on fundamental motor skills contributed 38% in improvement in the developmental level of gross motor skills of the treated children. The intervention programs as a reference source for teachers to improve the development of children’s gross motor skills.