How Can We Make Our Assessment of Motor AbilityRelevant Cross-Culturally?

Abstract

The assessment of motor abilities is important to identify atypical development, to measure progress obtained with intervention, and for research. Motor assessment usually is based on the use of standardized tests, on which children are expected to perform specific tasks that are deemed common. As the majority of the motor development tests were created by researchers from European and North American countries, concepts from these cultures are embedded in the tasks, materials, and format of the instruments. This raises the question as to whether these instruments can be used internationally, with the perhaps misguided assumption that motor skill development is the same across different countries. Is it necessary to adapt standardized motor ability tests for cross-cultural use? This paper discusses the relationship between culture and motor development and points out some aspects that should be considered to make our assessment of motor ability more relevant cross-culturally.

Cross‐cultural validity of standardized motor development screening and assessment tools: a systematic review

“…Studies meeting the following criteria were included: (1) sample consisted of children with typical and atypical development, birth to 2 years of age, born at term (≥37wks gestational age) or preterm (<37wks gestational age); (2) investigated the cross-cultural validity and/or proposed cultural adaptations of a motor development screening or assessment tool; and (3) the standardized motor development screening or assessment tool was developed in the USA and/or Canada. We excluded studies which: (1) did not provide motor data specific to children aged 0 to 2 years; (2) examined older editions of the standardized motor development assessments; (3) were not available in English; and (4) consisted of dissertations, presentations, or other 'grey materials'.…”

“…49,50,59 Rural Cameroonian Nso children, compared with middle-class German children, were also less skilled with stairs and this was attributed to the absence of stairs in their environment. 66 In another literature review, de Castro Magalhães et al 1 discussed the relationship between culture and motor development, and provided recommendations on how to make the assessment of motor development more relevant cross-culturally. Mayson et al 66 examined the similarities and differences in gross motor development of Asian and European children under 18 years as assessed with the Denver Developmental Screening Test, Movement Assessment of Infants, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children.…”

“…In addition, the review was limited to the older versions of the tests, which are no longer used in clinical practice (DDST and BSID-2). 66 In another literature review, de Castro Magalhães et al 1 discussed the relationship between culture and motor development, and provided recommendations on how to make the assessment of motor development more relevant cross-culturally. These two reviews provided a qualitative summary of potential contributions of culture to motor development, hypothesized reasons for differences observed between motor development in groups outside the norm reference of motor assessment tests, and proposed solutions for making assessment of motor abilities more relevant cross-culturally.…”

“…1 This systematic review specifically addresses the clinical question of whether the current standardized motor development screening and assessment tools used to evaluate the motor abilities of children aged 0 to 2 years are valid in cultures other than those in which the normative samples were established. The most widely used motor assessments have been developed and normed in Canada and the USA, but are used in other countries under the assumption that the tests are valid and the standardized norms are similar across cultures.…”

“…The most widely used motor assessments have been developed and normed in Canada and the USA, but are used in other countries under the assumption that the tests are valid and the standardized norms are similar across cultures. 1 This systematic review specifically addresses the clinical question of whether the current standardized motor development screening and assessment tools used to evaluate the motor abilities of children aged 0 to 2 years are valid in cultures other than those in which the normative samples were established.…”