The Effect of Motor Skills Development on Self-Esteem and Physical Activity Level of First Grade Elementary School Students

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of motor skills development on self-esteem and physical activity.

This research is a semi-experimental method and has an applied purpose. The statistical population of this research was made up of all male students aged 7 to 10 in the elementary school of Mazandaran province in the academic year of 2021-2022, and a simple random sampling method was used to determine the sample size. In this study, 30 students were selected in two groups of 15 control and  experimental group. Data collection tools included the Cooper Smith Self-Esteem Questionnaire - Short Form (1967) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (IPAQ). The experimental group was trained for 36 sessions and each session lasted 30-45 minutes with the selected training program. Descriptive statistics and two-way analysis of variance were used to covariance.

The results showed that the development of movement skills had an effect on the self-esteem and the amount of physical activity of the students, but the research groups in the pre-test had lower scores in the variable of self-esteem compared to the post-test, but no significant difference was observed between the groups (05 P < 0.00) and this effect was not significant on the variable of physical activity (P < 0.05).

The authorities in charge of education and school administrators must strive to design guidelines for creating a healthy and suitable environment for education and developing health-oriented programs.