Development of junior high school students' fundamental movement skills and physical activity in a naturalistic physical education setting

Background: There is evidence showing that fundamental movement skills and physical activity are related with each other. The ability to perform a variety of fundamental movement skills increases the likelihood of children participating in different physical activities throughout their lives. However, no fundamental movement skill interventions implemented with junior high school students have yet been reported. Purpose: To investigate the changes in students' locomotor, manipulative, and balance skills and their level of self-reported physical activity during the specific intervention program aiming to increase students' fundamental movement skills in Finnish junior high school physical ed…