Effects of a school-based motor coordination program on KTK performance in 8-9 year old children

Introduction: Motor coordination skills reflect how effectively a child integrates information received from the senses-such as visual-spatial orientation, vestibular input, and proprioceptive feedback-to control movement. Objective: The present study aimed to examine the effect of a structured 12-week program designed to develop coordination skills by stimulating sensory-perceptual processes in children aged 8-9 years. Methodology: Included 146 children from three public nine-year schools in the urban area of Shkodra (75 boys and 71 girls), divided into an experimental group (n = 77) and a control group (n = 69). Motor coordination was assessed using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK), which consists of four subtests. Results: The results showed that the experimental group improved from pre to post-test across all subtests (all p < 0.001), with large within-group effects (Cohen’s dz = 0.91-1.62). At post-test, the experimental group performed better than the control group on every subtest (all p < 0.001), with moderate to large effects (Cohen’s d = 0.74-1.17). Improvements in the experimental group were consistently greater than those in the control group across all subtests (all p < 0.001), with large effects (Cohen’s d = 1.08-2.07), supporting a clear program effect beyond normal maturation. Discussion: The obtained findings align with established literature regarding motor development in early childhood. Using the KTK as a validated instrument for gross motor coordination ensures that these results can be interpreted with high confidence. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a structured coordinative, sensory-perceptual program significantly improves gross motor coordination in children aged 8-9 years.