Recreational Activities and Basic Motor Skills in Elementary School Physical Education Students: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59614/acief62026314Keywords:
Recreational activities, motor development, physical education, primary education, basic motor skillsAbstract
The objective of this systematic review was to analyze the available scientific evidence on the relationship between recreational activities and basic motor skills in elementary school students, within the context of physical education. The search was conducted in Scopus, Google Scholar, Redalyc, Dialnet, and SciELO, considering publications in Spanish and English from 2021 to 2025. The selection process followed the phases outlined in the PRISMA 2020 statement and began with 633 identified records, of which 20 studies were included. The information was organized using a data extraction matrix and analyzed through a narrative and descriptive synthesis, without conducting a meta-analysis. Intervention studies reported favorable outcomes in skills related to locomotion, coordination, balance, and object and body control. Meanwhile, descriptive studies and teaching proposals provided information on the observed motor difficulties and the play-based strategies proposed to address them. Among the main limitations identified were methodological heterogeneity, differences in sample size and intervention duration, as well as the diversity of assessment instruments. It is concluded that the reviewed evidence suggests potential benefits of play-based activities for the development of basic motor skills in elementary school students; however, methodological differences among the studies prevent the establishment of an overall effect size.
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International Academic Journal of Physical Education, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source is credited.
