Effects of a structured handwriting readiness program on the fine motor skills of children in head start

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a structured handwriting readiness program on improving fine motor skills of preschool children attending a rural Head Start. Pre- and post-testing of an experimental classroom and a control classroom was completed using the Fine Manual Control and Manual Coordination composites of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT-2). The experimental classroom was exposed to the Fine Motor and Early Writing curriculum during center time in approximately four, 5-10 minute increments, twice a week for 16 weeks. Data analysis indicated that the experimental class had an increase greater than the control class in mean total point scores between pre-test and post-test in the Fine Motor Integration and Manual Dexterity subtests. The data also supported the use of the Fine Motor and Early Writing curriculum with preschool students with the largest deficit in fine motor skills by indicating an increase in scores for the lower quadrant of scores for the Fine Motor Control, Fine Motor Integration, Manual Dexterity and Upper-Limb Coordination subtests. Overall, data analysis suggests that the Fine Motor and Early Writing curriculum has a positive effect on the development of fine motor integration and manual dexterity skills in preschool children, and an even greater effect on the students with greater fine motor delay.