Children’s motor skills 1974–2024: A survey study on changes in school pupils’ motor competence

Aim: To highlight teachers’ estimations of how children’s motor skills have changed over the past 10–20 years.

Method: Swedish physical education teachers who have taught in preschool classes and/or grades 1–6 for at least 10 years were invited to give their views of changes in children’s motor abilities in a survey study. Eleven motor skills and one open-ended question were chosen as measurement instruments, and these were compiled into the MUGIH motor assessment (MI-M11). Of 59 expressions of interest, 46 teachers participated in the survey.

Results: Both qualitative and quantitative data show a significant decline in motor competence over the past 10–20 years in all eleven skills estimated by teachers. A large negative change is noted in both preschool–grade 3 and grades 4–6. The results suggest that the group of children with low motor competence has increased from 15 to over 30 percent among younger children (preschool–grade 3) over the past 15–20 years. In grades 4–6, the increase is from 10 to 23 percent during the same period.

Conclusion: The reported decline in motor skills is alarming because motor competence is crucial for children’s participation in physical play and sports, as well as for a healthy lifelong lifestyle. Observations at the start of school could be a valuable strategy for the early identification of students in need of additional motor support. Increased scheduled physical education, structured motor observations, and tailored motor support could help slow down the negative trend and potentially restore the lowered motor competence levels among children.

INGEGERD ERICSSON is an Associate Professor in sports science and holds a PhD in pedagogy. She is trained as a physical education teacher and special needs educator, and also has teacher education in English and Swedish as a second language. Ingegerd has 25 years of experience teaching all grade levels in primary school and has taught and researched for nearly as many years at Kristianstad University and Malmö University. She started Motor Development as a Foundation for Learning (MUGI) and created the MUGI observation schema as a pedagogical tool for the early identification of children in need of additional motor support.

ANNA TIDÉN is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Science at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH). She has been a dedicated teacher at GIH since 1995, primarily focusing on pedagogy in ball games and outdoor education. Anna is a member of the research group Research in Education & Movement Culture – REMO. Her dissertation, Assessments of Young People’s Movement Skills, examines students’ motor skills and movement abilities from various perspectives. Prior to joining GIH, Anna worked as a teacher in Physical Education and Health at primary and secondary schools as well as in adult education (Komvux) from 1984 to 1995.

EVA ANDERSSON is an Associate Professor, physical education teacher, and medical doctor, employed at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), and belongs also to The Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institute. She is involved in research, for example about different fitness tests of aerobic fitness and strength in various muscle groups in physical exercise interventions for children and older adults. She teaches at GIH and externally among other things about emergency medical care as well as physical activity as prevention and treatment of various common diseases, e.g. depression and anxiety syndrome and different somatic diseases.