Assessment of Gross and Fine Motor Skills in Children from Canindé, Ceará, Brazil: A look at Psychomotor Education

Psychomotor development, especially the psychomotor factors of Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills, is of fundamental importance for human development, as it is based on the natural maturation process of the individual, in a free and enjoyable way, providing the basis for the evolution of motor, cognitive, affective and social functions. The aim of the research was to assess the development of Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills in children aged 6 to 8 who began participating in the Mais Educação (More Education) programme. Within the specific objective, we compared the level of development of Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills between genders. The study was longitudinal and quantitative-qualitative in nature. The students were assessed at the beginning of the project and reassessed after a period of three months. We used Prof. Dr. Vitor da Fonseca's Psychomotor Battery (BPM) (1995) to assess Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills, using only the tests corresponding to the factors of Gross Motor Skills (6 tests) and Fine Motor Skills (4 tests). The data were tabulated in Microsoft Office Excel 2010. This study found a percentage improvement in the two factors assessed after three months.