The effects of teacher-led and teacher-guided interventions on preschool children’s motor competency

Marinšek, Miha (author), Bedenik, Klemen (author), Kovač, Marjeta (author)

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are critical for children’s overall development, yet inconsistencies in early childhood education curricula often hinder systematic skill acquisition. This study examined the effects of two instructional approaches – teacher-led and teacher-guided interventions – on the development of FMS in Slovenian kindergarten children aged 4–6 years. A total of 94 children were randomly assigned to teacher-led, teacher-guided, or control groups. Over a 13-week intervention, locomotor and ball skills were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and retention phases. Results revealed that teacher-led interventions significantly improved ball skills, such as throwing, dribbling, and striking, underscoring the importance of structured instruction and targeted feedback for tasks requiring technical precision. Teacher-guided interventions, by contrast, showed comparable success in enhancing locomotor skills, which benefit from autonomy-supportive, exploratory learning environments. The control group demonstrated minimal progress, highlighting the necessity of intentional FMS instruction. These findings reflect the unique socio-cultural emphasis on child-centred learning within the Slovenian educational framework, while reinforcing the global importance of aligning instructional strategies with developmental needs. A hybrid approach combining structured guidance for complex skills with exploratory methods for simpler tasks is proposed to optimise FMS development and promote motor competency in early childhood.

• Language: English
• Keywords: fundamental movement skills, pedagogical approach, TGMD-3, movement quality, early childhood
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 274–290
• Numbering: Vol. 34, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-182237
• UDC: 373.2:796
• ISSN on article: 1752-1807
• DOI: 10.1080/1350293X.2025.2507258
• COBISS.SI-ID: 237695747
• Publication date in RUL: 05.05.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: European early childhood education research journal
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, European Early Childhood Education Research Association
• ISSN: 1752-1807
• COBISS.SI-ID: 518785817

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Projects

• Funder: Republic of Slovenia, Sports Foundation
• Project number: D5-RR-1-24-001