Author(s): IIDA, M., OGISO, K., Institution: AOYAMA GAKUIN UNIVERSITY, Country: JAPAN, Abstract-ID: 650

Experiencing a variety of movements in infancy is crucial for acquiring and refining diverse movements skills. This suggests that exposing infants to a greater range of movements is important, and the involvement of preschool teachers significantly contributes to this exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the impact of preschool teachers intervention on physical movements observed during childrens play in kindergarten varies depending on three types of movements—balancing, locomotor, and manipulative—that occur with different frequencies during daily play. The study focused 24 four-year-old children in a kindergarten class, with a preschool teacher documenting weather conditions, play locations, types of play, and childrens activities. She also rated the frequency and proportion of children engaging in 45 categorized physical movements on a five-point scale. The observed physical movements were categorized into locomotor, manipulative, and balancing movements. The frequency of occurrence and changes in the number of participants were compared between intervention and non-intervention periods. The intervention by preschool teachers, aimed at exposing children to less frequently occurring manipulative movements in daily play, increased in both the frequency and the number of participants engaging in these movements during spontaneous play. However, this impact decreased over time when the intervention was discontinued. In contrast, frequent locomotor movements observed during daily play did not show a noteworthy increase in frequency and number of participants with preschool teacher intervention. Furthermore, there was no noteworthy decrease when the intervention was discontinued. To conclude, the impact of preschool teacher intervention in physical movements observed during childrens play seemed to depend on the frequency of the childrens movements occurred during daily play. The intervention significantly increased less frequently occurring movements during daily play; however, the effects did not persist once the intervention was discontinued.