Linking motor development in infancy and early childhood to later school learning
This is an overview of research published by Dr Jane Williams and Patricia Holley about the link between motor development in infancy and early childhood to later school learning, in the Australian Journal of Child and Family Health Nursing, Issue 10, no. 1, Pages 15-21 (June, 2013). For a complete copy of the publication for research, teaching or private study purposes please write to: or
The link between motor development in the early years and a child’s later cognitive ability at school has been the subject of intense debate for the past 30 years. The Millennium Cohort Study undertaken in the United Kingdom (Hansen, Joshi, & Dex 2010) supports a relationship between the two, finding that the delayed achievement of key motor milestones at just nine months of age is significantly associated with poorer cognitive development at five years of age. The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) (2012) reports that nearly one quarter of children starting school are ‘at risk’ in their physical and cognitive development. Significantly, the AEDI has been found to predict children’s literacy and numeracy outcomes throughout their primary school years (Brinkman et al., 2013). The following discussion presents new research in the area of motor development and cognition, focusing on the influence that motor experiences in infancy and early childhood may have on subsequent higher level cognitive abilities necessary for academic achievement in school.
The paper includes the following:
1. Australia school student statistics that show up to 25% of children are not developmentally ready for the challenges of academic learning at school.
2. An overview of the past research that links motor development in the early years to later learning at school, including a discussion on the key relationship between physical and cognitive development.
3. Report on the research by Holley (Masters Thesis, School of Education, Melbourne University) that investigated “Why do some children learn more easily than others? What physical factors influence effective learning?” Holley reports on findings that show a statistically significant number of children with learning difficulties have motor development immaturities and the presence of primitive motor reflexes usually confined to infancy.
4. Reports of results from a pilot study, “No child should fail”, into the efficacy of a speech and sensory-motor program devised by GymbaROO and implemented in a school district in Victoria where a large proportion of children do not compete 12 years of schooling. After running the movement and speech program for a year, children identified with learning difficulties at the beginning of the study gained statistically significant improvements in reading comprehension when compared to their “normally achieving” classmates.
5. Results of a sensory-motor-perceptual program developed by GymbaROO (based on the feedback of the “No child should fail” pilot study), “Unlocking Potential”, trialled in Year One classrooms in a primary school. Children were assessed for developmental readiness for learning with the “draw a person” test at the beginning and again at the end of the year after undertaking the movement program three times a week for the duration of the school year. Pre and post-test comparisons reveal a significant shift in the number of children who performed below their ability for age at the pre-test (60%) and at the post-test (16%). Teachers also reported improvements in many classroom behaviours including concentration, attention and behaviour.
6. The discussion overviews the findings and recommends that children should be given every opportunity to engage in important developmental movement opportunities before school begins, as well as once they start school.
Williams, J. & Holley, P.A. (2013). Linking motor development in infancy and early childhood to later school learning, Australian Journal of Child and Family Health Nursing, 10(1), 15-21.
For a complete copy of the publication for research, teaching or private study purposes: please write to: or