Psychomotor Profile of Prescholars from Public and Private Education Systems City of João Pessoa – State of Paraíba – Brazil

Abstract

SUMMARY Objective: To evaluate psychomotor coordination in nursery school and kindergarten age children, from public and private schools, through psychomotor tests aimed at each age group. Material and Methods: An ex-post-facto study was carried out with a random sample of 331 children from 2 to 5 years of age of both sexes from ten public and private schools in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. They were evaluated using the Picq e Vayer Psycomotor Exam for Early Childhood The data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Science software, where the Chi-square test was applied. Results: Forty-one point seven percent (41.7%) of the total number of children evaluated presented alterations in their psychomotor coordination (p>0.05), of which a major prominence was noted in the psychomotor variables Perceptive Organization and Postural Control. In the private education system, 43.7% of the children evaluated presented some type of alteration, while in the public system this index was 40.8%, however there is no significant statistical difference in the number of children with psychomotor breadkdown between public and private schools (p>0.05). Conclusion: The results showed that there are a significant number of preschool children with psychomotor alterations in the public and private schools evaluated, however there is no significant index when these alterations are compared among the educational systems. DESCRIPTORS Psychomotor performance. Infantile development. Preschool.