The Use of Exergames in Motor Education Processes for School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review and Epistemic Diagnosis

Abstract

This study aimed to diagnose the current state of knowledge about the use of exergames in the motor education processes of school-aged children. We conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA recommendations. Web of Science, MedLine (via PubMed), ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases were searched in December 2020 with the terms “exergames”, “motor education”, and “children”. We used the Jadad scale and the Systematization for Research Approaches in Sports Sciences instrument to evaluate the surveyed material. Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria. We observed that: 1) the use of exergames by children can increase the motor skills of locomotion and control of objects, in addition to the levels of physical fitness, but the magnitude and duration of these increments remain inconclusive; 2) the articles exhibited theoretical and methodological weaknesses; 3) empirical-experimental investigations centered on intervention studies are hegemonic; 4) the theories of Sports Training, Didactics, and Human Movement underlie the studies, referring to an interdisciplinary crossing between Sport Psychology, Sport Pedagogy, Sport and Performance, and Sport and Health; 4) researches with alternative designs are necessary; 5) we recommend to approach this issue according to other perspectives, such as Biomechanics applied to Sport, Sports Medicine, Sociology of Sport, and Philosophy of Sport.