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Can a simple movement game predict early school success?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
A child's performance on the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task, a movement game measuring behavioral self-regulation, significantly predicts their early academic growth, particularly in mathematics.
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Core components of executive functioning, particularly working memory and cognitive flexibility, reliably predict early reading and mathematical achievements in childhood.
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Study at a glance
- Design
- Cohort — Preschool-to-kindergarten waves: HTKS behavioral regulation plus EF tasks predicting math and literacy growth
- N
- N=208 · 50% male; recruited from 16 Pacific Northwest preschools; 204 in wave 1
- Population
- US preschoolers followed into kindergarten
- Outcome
- Early academic growth, especially mathematics, predicted by Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders scores
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Can a simple movement game predict early school success?
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208 children in the sample
The sample included 208 children (50% male) who participated in at least one wave of data collection (see Table ).
204 children participating during wave 1
Of the 208 children, 204 participated during wave 1; four children were not tested during wave 1 because they either refused testing sessions ( n = 3) or parents asked for their child to be included during later waves ( n = 1; see Table for total sample size by assessment and wave).
Key findings
Children who scored higher on the movement game also performed better on traditional cognitive tests, though the specific mental skills most closely linked to the game shifted as the children aged. When analyzing academic progress, the different statistical approaches revealed that improvements on the movement game and individual cognitive tasks predicted greater growth in mathematics. The movement game was also a consistent predictor of academic achievement in kindergarten, particularly for literacy and vocabulary.
Methodology
The researchers tracked a group of young children across several time points spanning from the autumn of preschool to the spring of kindergarten. At each wave, the researchers assessed the children's cognitive skills using traditional laboratory tasks alongside the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders movement game, and evaluated their math, reading, and vocabulary abilities using standardized tests. They analyzed this data using different statistical modeling approaches to test how well the movement game predicted changes in academic learning over time.
Limitations
The study cannot establish a direct causal link, meaning we cannot prove that improving self-regulation directly causes better academic scores. The sample was also primarily White, meaning the findings might not apply equally to more diverse populations. Furthermore, some children dropped out over the course of the study, and those from lower-income backgrounds or with younger ages were more likely to leave, which could bias the long-term results.
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