Teaching and learning of fundamental movement skills in Hong Kong junior primary school children

Fundamental movement has received a great deal of attention since the 80's (Gallahue & Meador 1985, Wickstrom 1983) as it forms the foundation for more complex sports skills. The lack of opportunities to learn and practice fundamental movements may leave many children with low levels of proficiency in motor skills. Most experts (Gallahue 1996, Wall & Murray 1994) agreed that children should develop the fundamental movement skills during the age of 2-7 because this is the critical period for development. In Hong Kong, teaching fundamental movements at the junior primary levels was first addressed in 1987. Unfortunately little concern is placed on including fundamental movement into the PE syllabus, strong emphasis were still placed on sport skills and activities learning. Recently PE inspectors, curriculum development officers and lecturers at institutes of education remarked that emphasis on teaching and learning fundamental movement skills should be revisited. This study aims to: (1) design and carry out a series of six pilot lessons to teach fundamental movement skill to primary one children; (2) investigate the effectiveness of teaching and learning of fundamental movement skills on the pilot lessons; (3) examine the constraints and problem of implementing the program in Hong Kong; (4) provide ideas and practical experience in teaching and learning fundamental movement skills for junior primary school children.