Children in schools are facing many academic challenges. Moreover, there is constant pressure on children and parents to maximize academic achievement. We aimed to determine the relationship between motor competence, physical fitness, and academic achievement in young school-aged children. Participants were 130 elementary school children ( mean ± SD 8.60 ± 0.61 years; 51 boys and 79 girls) from Serbia. The KTK (Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder) battery of tests was used to assess the motor competence in children; children’ physical fitness was assessed using the EUROFIT battery of tests, while academic achievement was assessed based on the children’s GPA (grade point average) scores at the end of the school year. Pearson’s r showed the weak to moderate relationships between the GPA and motor competence and physical fitness measures. The GPA correlates positively and significantly with almost all motor competence and physical fitness measures, but negatively with BMI ( p ≤ 0.05 ). However, the hierarchical linear regression indicated only the plate tapping and sit and reach as the significant predictors of the GPA. Although both tests positively affect the GPA, the plate tapping ( B = − 0.22 , p = 0.02 ) tends to influence the GPA more than the sit and reach test ( B = 0.18 , p = 0.04 ) after adjusting for effects of motor competence ( B = 0.19 , p = 0.03 ), age ( B = − 0.01 , p = 0.89 ), and BMI ( B = − 0.19 , p = 0.03 ). This study provides evidence demonstrating that academic achievement is generally associated with physical fitness and motor competence in children. However, plate taping and sit and reach were accounted as the most important predictors for academic achievement.

The aim of this paper is to examine the differences in the overall level of motor coordination between groups of children with different nutritional status. In total, 418 participants of both sexes, aged 7-9, took part in the study. The participants were classified based on their nutritional status into one of four groups: underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese, according to the International Obesity Task Force. The motor coordination of the participants was assessed using the KTK (Körpercoordination test für Kinder) battery of tests and total point scores were calculated for each age category. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to examine the differences in the overall motor coordination between groups of participants. Statistical significance was set at the p≤.05 level. The results revealed statistically significant differences in the overall level of motor coordination between all the examined groups of boys with different nutritional status aged 7, 8 and 9. The results of the Mann-Whitney test showed statistically significant differences between all three age groups of boys (7-, 8- and 9-year-olds) in favor of the normal weight groups. The Kruskal-Wallis test revealed no statistically significant differences in the case of the girls. The results of the Mann-Whitney test revealed statistically significant differences between all three age groups of girls (7-, 8- and 9-year-olds) in favor of the normal weight groups. The obtained results showed statistically significantly poorer motor coordination in boys and girls with higher values of body mass index compared to boys and girls with normal body weight across all age groups.

Motor status is an important predictor of physical activity participation among prepubescent aged children. The aim of the present study was to present gender differences in the level of motor abilities among children of prepubescent age. In that regard a reduced "Eurofit" test battery was carried out (Committee of Experts on sports Research, 1988), which consisted of 5 motor tests: hand tap, standing broad jump, running cone drill 10x5m, sit-and-reach and sit-ups for 30 seconds. 420 students of both genders ages 7-9 years participated in this research study. The results of this research indicate that boys have achieved statistically significant better results in the following tests: standing broad jump and running cone drill 10x5m, whilst the girls have achieved better results in sit-and-reach test. No statistically significant differences between genders have been observed in the remaining variables that represent the level of motor ability.

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A good understanding of potential differences in motor coordination and weight status in children from rural and urban areas may advance targeted measures implemented by experts in the field of sports and physical education. This research study is focused on investigating differences in the total motor coordination score and weight status in 70 children aged (7 to 8) living in different residential areas within the territory of the city of Šabac, Republic of Serbia (35 urban and 35 rural areas). The Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder battery of tests was used for the assessment of the overall motor coordination. By application of t-test for independent samples, the obtained results indicate that there are statistically significant differences in the majority of the applied motor tests (walking backward, p=0.000; hop for height on one leg, p=0.033; side jumps, p=0.002), as well as in the total motor coordination scores (p=0.000) in favor of the children from rural environments. The weight status of children indicates no statistically significant differences between the two groups (p=0.376).