Efecto de un programa de ejercicio físico con desafíos cognitivos y cooperativos en la autorregulación y las conductas prosocialesel programa ACTIVAMotricidad en infantil

Resumen

Introduction Practicing exercise has been related with multiple benefits, for physical and mental health. There is a correlation between high levels of physical activity and more cognitive control. The type of physical exercise could influence in the effect of the Executive Functions, which are the basis of self-regulation, a necessary ability for social, emotional and academic success. There are investigations that support the early development differences of self-regulation through interventions that improve the executive functions. The practice of physical activity during elementary school stages, seems to be an adequate and validated proposal to improve self-regulation abilities. The positive effect of physical activity in self-regulation could depend on cognitive demands attached to the structure of attractive exercise and directed to objectives, and the cognitive compromise required to execute complex motor movements. The general goal of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of the program ACTIVAmotricidad, composed of: active breaks, motor story and active recess, on self-regulation and interpersonal problem-solving, on 5 to 6 years old children. Method A three-week pre-post intervention was carried out in a school with a counterbalanced intrasubject design. The three classes that participated in the study were randomly assigned to two conditions: experimental and control. Two groups performed an AB sequence (experimental / control) while the other group performed a BA sequence (control / experimental), obtaining a crossover trial in which all participants went through all the conditions. The sample consisted of 68 Kindergarten children aged 5 and 6 years. Before and after the intervention program, the participants&apos; behavioral self-regulation was assessed using the HTKS and their interpersonal problem-solving skills using the TREPI. The study was carried out according to the Declaration of Helsinki (2013) and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Murcia (D: 2884/2020). A qualitative action research methodology was used. After the implementation of the program, we reflected on what happened to rethink the initial action based on the results of various measurement instruments Results El ANOVA of repetitive measurements said that, in both, experimental condition and control condition there were improvements on self-regulation, even though on the experimental condition improves significantly more than the control condition (F = 14.782, p < 0.001, ?p² = 0.181). In the case of TREPI, the same way, the experimental condition produces a significant improvement (F = 55.180, p < 0.001, ?p² = 0.452), whereas the control condition doesn&apos;t make changes. According to the teacher&apos;s evaluation about the learning environments, the results said that 7 of the 8 environments where adequate. The teacher&apos;s journal about the active breaks program, allowed to collect essential observations and take notes about each one of them. The motor story sessions, showed that items 1 and 3 get the highest score of the three groups. In relation with the children&apos;s evaluation, the motor story results on the three sessions, showed that the activity number 2 of each session was the most valued. The satisfaction of the active breaks sessions demonstrated that sessions dedicated to games and motor circuits with cognitive and cooperative challenges were more positively valuated, than mindfulness technique sessions. Conclusions The current approach represents an integrated and low-cost alternative to which different resources and activities can be applied in a flexible way with cognitive and cooperative challenges and mindfulness tasks. The qualitative analysis of the intervention allows us to affirm that it is feasible to put into practice formative and shared evaluation systems in the second cycle of Early Childhood Education.