The Motor-Proficiency-Test for children between 4 and 6 years of age (MOT 4-6): an investigation of its suitability in Greece.
The MOT 4-6 motor test is reliable for Greek preschoolers, so you can use German norms without adjustment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave the MOT 4-6 motor test to Greek preschoolers. They wanted to know if the German-made test works the same way in Greece.
Kids were between 4 and 6 years old. The study checked if scores stay the same when you test again and if the test really measures motor skills.
What they found
The MOT 4-6 showed excellent reliability. Greek children scored the same way German children did.
No need to make new Greek norms. You can use the original German tables to judge if a child needs help.
How this fits with other research
Reus et al. (2013) tested Portuguese preschoolers with a different motor test. They found culture does matter. Portuguese kids beat US norms on fine-motor tasks but fell behind on running and throwing.
Storch et al. (2012) and Reus et al. (2013) seem to clash. One says keep foreign norms, the other says build local ones. The gap is in the test, not the kids. MOT 4-6 tasks are simple games that look the same in most cultures. PDMS-2 tasks include sports like baseball that Portuguese children rarely play.
Parmar et al. (2014) tried to screen motor delays with a parent form and failed. The MOT 4-6 hands-on format works better than paper checklists for 4- to 6-year-olds.
Why it matters
If you work with Greek preschoolers, you can grab the MOT 4-6 today and trust the German manual. No extra norming project needed. When you test children from other cultures, first ask if the tasks feel familiar. If the test includes culture-specific games, do what Linda et al. did and collect local scores before you label a child delayed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Given the negative influence of motor difficulties on people's quality of life their early identification seems to be crucial and consequently the information provided by a sound assessment tool is of great importance. The aim of this study was to examine the suitability of the MOT 4-6 (Zimmer & Volkamer, 1987) for use with preschoolers in Greece. Seven hundred and seventy-eight Greek children aged 48-71 months participated in the study. The two-way ANOVA used on total MOT performance revealed significant differences among the age groups formed in preschool age within Greeks, while boys' and girls' scores were quite similar. From the comparisons of Greeks' scores with the German standardization sample's ones, statistically significant differences were found in two age groups. However according to the Cohen's d effect size they were not of great importance. The distribution of Greeks' scores according to the test cut-offs, revealed that the MOT can differentiate all levels of performance, although a slight deviation from the distribution of Germans' scores was noticed. Finally, both the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the test were found to be excellent. The MOT 4-6 seems to be a valuable motor assessment tool for Greek preschoolers. Regarding its norms, despite the minor differences that were noticed between the motor development of Greek and German preschoolers, their adjustment was thought to be unnecessary. Instead of lowering the norms, efforts for preventing the motor performance decline should be enhanced.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.04.002