Motor Tests in Primary and Secondary School: Exploring Basic Motor Skills in Children

The foundations for an adult’s authentic and durable dedication in sport or in any kind of motor activity are laid by providing a good quality physical education. This means that the choice of learning experiences to be imparted to the child throughout his or her school curriculum, starting from kindergarten, is important and must be not only planned, inclusive and progressive but also, in some way, personalised. In other words, lessons must respond to the children’s needs in order to enhance their motor skills and abilities and their social skills and to give an input on how to lead a physically active life, thus keeping basic motor skills alive. The research involved the administration of the Mobak 5-6 Test on a convenience sample of 31 children (f = 12, m = 19), aged 10-12 years, in order to analyse the basic motor skills of a group of young athletes. An individual qualitative and quantitative motor repertoire must therefore be built, allowing the child to be able to take the opportunities offered to him or her in both curricular and extracurricular scholastic field. These motor skills, with which the child is provided, will also be useful for cultivating correct physical activity habits in later life and must be formed through systematic evaluation of the development of his or her motor skills.