Effectiveness of An Eight-Week Fundamental Skills Intervention Programme on the Motor Skills of Children with Visual Impairment in Nairobi County, Kenya
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Date
2023
Authors
Githinji, Judy Muthoni
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
kenyatta university
Abstract
Physical activity has been included in early intervention programmes involving fundamental motor skills among children with differing abilities. Though research has documented improved motor skills performance generally, few have focused on intervention programmes as a means towards improving motor skill performance in children with visual impairment. This study sought to bridge this gap by determining the effectiveness of an eight-week fundamental skills intervention programme on motor skills among children with visual impairment in Nairobi County, Kenya. The variables investigated included hopping, running, leaping, horizontal jumping, sliding, kicking, stationary dribbling, catching, overhand throwing, and underhand rolling. The study utilised one group pre and post-test quasi-experimental design. The study targeted children aged six to 11 years with visual impairment. Kilimani Primary School was purposively selected because it has an exclusive special unit for children with visual impairment. Purposive sampling was done in grades one and two because most children aged between six to 11 years are in these grades. Twelve out of the 20 targeted children with visual impairment in grade one and two met the inclusion criteria representing a sample size of 60%. Out of these, twelve children (100%) successfully completed the eight-week fundamental motor skill intervention programme. A pre-test was conducted to determine the base motor skill performance levels of the group. A post-test was administered after the eight-week intervention programme to determine the effects. The TGMD2 (Test of Gross Motor Development) tool was used as the main instrument for data collection. A reliability index of 0.78 was obtained using Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha. Data collected was cleaned and coded for analysis using Statistics Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the measures of central tendency, variability and frequency of the score. Paired sample t-test was used to determine the influence of the intervention programme, independent t-test was used to compare group means and Spearman’s rank correlation was utilised to determine relation between visual acuity and motor skills. The significance level was set at 0.05. The results revealed significant difference in locomotor skills t (11) =5.40, p<0.01 and object control skills t (11) = 5.38 p<0.01 after intervention. Independent t-test showed no statistically significant difference in performance of motor skills between boys and girls in locomotor skills at t (10) = -1.5343 p=0.156; and in object control skills at t (10) =0.1656, p=0.872. Among the children with visual impairment in both, locomotor skills t (10) =0.810 p = 0.437 and object control skills, t (10) =0.810, p= 0.764. There was no significant difference in performance of motor skills among younger children aged 9 years and below and older children aged 10 years and above. At t (10) = -2.82 p< 0.017. There was no significant relationship between motor skill performance and visual acuity in both, locomotor and object control rs (10) = -0.470, p=0.123 and rs (10) =0.074, p=0.820 respectively. It was concluded that the fundamental motor skills intervention programme improved the motor skills of children with visual impairment. It is strongly recommended that fundamental motor skill intervention be started early enough for children with visual impairment in school setting. The study, therefore, recommends development of more motor skills intervention programmes among children with visual impairment.
Description
A Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment for the Award of Degree of Masters of Science (Physical Education) in the School Of Health Sciences of Kenyatta University
Keywords
Motor Skills, Visual Impairment, Nairobi County, Kenya