Evidences of construct validity, criteria and validation of the motor competence assessment batery of tests in preschoolers

Abstract

The literature has evidenced the need for validation studies of motor tests to assess motor competence (MC). Luz et al (2016) proposed a battery of tests, that is, the Motor Competence Assessment (MCA) to evaluate MC in Portuguese children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the evidences of this MCA validity in a sample of Brazilian preschoolers, in addition to assess the correlation between the MC results obtained through MCA and the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2). 251 male and female preschool-age children from six reference Centers in Early Childhood Education in the city of João Pessoa-PB participated in study. Data were collected by using MCA and TGMD-2. The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) showed two models, one of them with appropriate adjustment indexes. The interclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.77 and 0.96, which indicates an excellent reliability; the correlation between MCA and TGMD-2 was significant with a moderate magnitude (r = 0.57, p <0.01). The structure of three latent variables of the MC construct in the MCA was confirmed by the CFA. However, a two-dimensional model is suggested. MCA and TGMD-2 seemed to measure similar aspects of MC. Reliability enabled us to conclude that the MCA protocol applied to preschoolers maintains temporal stability.