The theoretical-methodological preparation of the Community Physical Activity teacher who serves the Educa tu Hijo Program enables better guidance for the families of Early Childhood children based on their comprehensive training, based on all the dimensions of the curriculum, including the procedure of motor skills, of which the teacher lacks ways to integrate based on the correct selection and use of the motor content for work. The objective of the study was to design a methodological alternative to prepare the Community Physical Activity teacher to stimulate motor competence. Likewise, the contents were identified through which the basic nuclei, key ideas, and the development of skills, abilities and attitudes are required based on what this teacher has to know how to do, in relation to motor skills as a premise for motor competence. . To characterize the current situation of teacher preparation, an exploratory study began with the use of different scientific methods, including documentary analysis, survey, interview, pedagogical test and methodological triangulation. As a result, it was possible to raise the level of preparation of the Community Physical Activity teacher for the successful fulfillment of his function in the Educate your child Program based on the preparation actions developed, which influenced the quality of the children's learning.
Keywords: Community Physical Activity, motor competence, motor skills, preparation.
At a global level, higher education is involved in maintaining a modern, humanistic, scientific, technological, innovative university, integrated into the society it represents, and deeply committed to building prosperous and sustainable development. To do this, it praises one of its main functions: the ongoing training of professionals. In this sense, teacher preparation is of vital importance, since it involves an interaction between the subject and the object, an attitude of constant learning committed to processes of improvement of knowledge, skills, attitudes, capacities and qualities. It is not limited to theoretical acquisitions, but the application to practical activity has a high connotation. (Mazó and Cruz, 2019)
In scientific pedagogical literature, in relation to the teacher preparation process, two of its directions are frequently referred to: theoretical preparation and methodological preparation. These are expressed in the development of theoretical knowledge in the first case, and skills, methods, procedures in the second, although in the context of preparing the Community Physical Activity (CPA) teacher they are conceived as dialectically related, the study focuses in skills, methods and procedures of the aforementioned professional.
Among the authors who have addressed the issue of the methodological preparation of the AFC teacher to stimulate motor competence, who have defended their criteria in educational scientific scenarios and have provided points of convergence in this study, we find: Barrientos, A., Pericacho, F and Sánchez, R. (2020); Bequer (2020); Zayas, Valcárcel and Vento (2019); Bermudez (2022).
In international literature, motor skills in the childhood stage are given an indisputable value; For these authors, this sphere constitutes the object of educational attention, due to the easy acquisition of new motor skills, the enrichment of the quantity and quality of movements, and its integrative nature that allows us to perceive the behavior of the rest of the systems and spheres of the personality. through movement.
Motor competence is a topic that affects the comprehensive training of the child, which is in agreement with Ruíz (2013), since it is appreciated in a subject from his posture, intentional movements, to the resolution of the motor problems that arise. dan. One of the first observations that can be made is that learning sessions in Physical Education are essentially sessions for the acquisition and consolidation of motor skills and abilities, where coordination and competition are clear expressions; of the ability to adjust movement patterns to changing environmental circumstances. (p. 63).
From the analysis of the previous ideas, it is inferred that children begin to be competent from a motor point of view, when they learn to better interpret situations that require effective motor performance and when they develop the necessary resources to respond appropriately, to the demands of the situation.
In this order of ideas, one of the contents of the preparation is necessarily attention to the children's motor skills, together with the family whom the CPA teacher must guide and prepare to influence this process, and to make it possible, its theoretical and methodological preparation is unavoidable. Although it is known that a vast theoretical preparation allows the teacher to defend criteria, express himself correctly, recognize the
level of updating or misinformation he has, be more critical and self-critical, favor the analysis of theoretical-practical aspects linked to his educational work.
Among the authors who have ventured into Methodological Preparation in early childhood as a result of the bibliographic search were Echemendía; Wichi and Rivero (2018); Rosselló, Hidalgo and Montero (2020). The first affirm that the continuous training of professionals who prepare for early childhood educational care in Cuba begins in the undergraduate degree and is perfected with professional development through preparation for employment in educational institutions and communities. and postgraduate training. These three stages support greater articulation between undergraduate and postgraduate.
In correspondence with the above, the methodological preparation of the early childhood teacher, according to Rosselló, Hidalgo and Montero (2020), requires the development of scientific research that singles out the process. The constant preparation of this determines the elevation of the quality of work in the different spheres of action, therefore, it constitutes one of the most important and necessary aspects to guarantee a competent professional.
A reconceptualization that allows defining the management of the methodological preparation of the Early Childhood teacher was issued by the aforementioned authors, who characterized it as a systemic, systematic and flexible process of training and continuous development, which goes through three essential moments: design, execution and evaluation, and is conceived in correspondence with the preparation needs and training levels of teachers.
In this sense, what has been expressed so far highlights the importance of participation in the preparation of all CPA professionals, once they are inserted in early childhood care that has the social responsibility of comprehensively educating children. However, educational practice has shown that motor skills are subordinated to the rest of the dimensions of development in the childhood stage, limiting physical activity through basic motor skills and physical abilities that contribute to the comprehensive development of children of the aforementioned stage.
Taking these elements into account, it can be stated that in order to achieve a quality educational process at an early age, it must have a developmental character; and to achieve this, the scientific preparation of the teacher regarding his methodological procedure is needed.
In correspondence with everything stated, the objective of the work was: Design a methodological alternative to prepare the Community Physical Activity teacher to stimulate motor competence.
The research was developed in six Sports Complexes of the Santa Clara municipality, in one of the essential processes that are deployed in this context: “Community Physical Activity” and within it, attention to the Educate your Child Program. The population was made up of 19 teachers from the (CPA) and four Early Childhood methodologists.
Methods and techniques such as document analysis, survey, scientific observation, and methodological triangulation were used to investigate the teacher's preparation in motor content. Likewise, the experiment is used in its pre-experiment variant, so the study went through the pretest stage; intervention stage, and post-test stage.
Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the processing of the information, in the latter the non-parametric Wilcoxon assigned rank test to compare the two range measurements and determine the statistical significance of the difference.
From the basic nuclei of motor skills and motor competence, taking into account their dimensions such as motor skills, motor development, physical condition, motor play, posture, physical abilities, and body and movement techniques, we proceed to operationalization process of the variable under investigation, this allows determining the dimension and indicators to facilitate its measurement process.
In this study the dimension is declared: procedural. Consequently, this dimension for preparation includes the practical references that teachers who attend the Educate your Child Program must master in relation to motor content as a premise for motor competence.
At the same time, they constitute indicators to evaluate the behavior of the teachers investigated in the preparation process, so they were measured through observation, pedagogical test I and II, applied in the pretest and posttest. Among them: mastery of the family's preparation needs, their potential and the actions to be developed in them, which allow a more active social interrelation in the context of joint activity; mastery of the knowledge acquired based on the development of motor skills as a premise of motor competence, planning of basic motor skills based on achieving body and movement techniques in the child during joint activity; mastery of physical abilities as a natural component of physical condition in children, knowledge of joint activity with a playful-
motor approach, contribution to the development of creative thinking from motor actions, using methods, procedures and strategies to achieve participation active in joint activity.
Through methodological triangulation, the information from the documentary analysis, the survey of teachers and the interview with methodologists is contrasted, in order to find concurrent data that make it possible to issue regularities in the exploratory study, which are argued below:
The CPA teacher is conceived as an executor in the process of attention to motor
skills in early childhood and his methodological preparation in motor content is conceived from the INDER-MINED intersectorality.
The current state of the CPA teacher's preparation in motor content demands
methodological preparation for its development, as a premise of motor competence.
The organizational forms of preparation designed and implemented in the motor
content, both from the municipal and provincial levels and to the universities that train these teachers, do not conceive preparation taking into account the context in which it is performed; It is not based on a diagnosis of the real needs of teachers and does not prioritize motor skills as a premise of motor competence.
There are limitations in CPA teachers for early childhood care, due to the lack of procedures related to motor skills as a premise of motor competence, which is why the need for teacher preparation in motor content is recognized for the performance of their functions in the Educate your Child Program.
The results of the exploratory study reveal the limitations in the preparation of the CPA teacher and the need to design a Methodological Alternative for preparation of the CPA teacher in motor content as a premise for motor competence is fully justified.
Graph # 1. Methodological Alternative for the preparation of the CPA teacher, in motor content as a premise of motor competence
Based on the results obtained in the exploratory study, we proceed to implement organizational forms for the preparation of the CPA teacher in the Educate your Child Program.
The teachers in this stage received three preparation actions organized in a course, six workshops and self-preparation; which were part of the methodological plan, in correspondence with the new demands of the Cuban preschool curriculum in improvement.
The course was developed in the Faculty of Physical Culture of the Central University “Marta Abreu” of Las Villas, the workshops were held in three of the primary schools where they work, these places are the semi-boarding schools “Rubén Carrillo, José Martí, and Fernando Cuesta Pilot of the Santa Clara municipality, Villa Clara province; and self- preparation from the workplace. Among the conditions for the implementation of the actions, coordination was guaranteed with the highest officials of the National Institute of Sports and Recreation (INDER, because of its spanish acronyms), the Ministry of Education (MINED, because of its spanish acronyms ) and the Faculty of Physical Culture of Villa Clara, as entities involved in the planning, organization and control of preparation
actions, so that they correspond to the diagnosis of preparation needs of the 19 teachers under study.
Likewise, support materials developed for self-preparation were used and at least one form of evaluation of the results was included in the course. Once the course has concluded, the theoretical-methodological workshops are convened, which comprise four stages in their structure. A stage that contemplates the advance preparation of the teachers who will participate in the workshop, and they are offered methodological indications. Subsequently, the 2nd stage of execution of the workshop, subsequently the evaluation of the work carried out, and finally and the 4th stage, the assignment of deepening tasks. At the opening, the CPA teachers present their expectations regarding the topic to be discussed, they compare the program for the development of the workshops with their expectations, and the rules of group work are made known. In development, the exchange and confrontation of knowledge, experiences and experiences is carried out in a progressive socialization, which promotes and stimulates awareness, taking advantage of the strengths of the group to achieve changes and transformations. A dynamic is followed that goes from individual reflection to collaborative group reflection and then to individual reflection enriched by the contributions of the collective.
Simultaneously, the self-preparation program was developed, designed with the purpose of closing the preparation process. This is implemented through self-preparation guides. The first guide contributes to the self-management of learning by CPA teachers, in relation to the development of physical skills and abilities in the Early Childhood child based on the theoretical references of motor skills, the second guide promotes motor competence, as a necessity for comprehensive development and reflection on their own educational practice regarding the problems that arise in achieving the objectives proposed in the Educate your Child Program.
The third guide makes it possible to guide families in the motor development of their children and the development of a reflective and investigative attitude around the basic nuclei that support the educational teaching process in the Educate your Child Program; The fourth guide allows you to know the Importance of intersectorality in the educational process of the Educate your Child Program and its deepening of the need to improve work with the family and the community, given its value for the comprehensive care of the children who integrate; and guide number five specifies the development of innovative proposals and solutions related to educational practice in the comprehensive care of children of the Educate your Child Program in the community.
At the closing of each organizational form, the best proposals and innovative solutions are evaluated; The satisfaction of expectations is met and the activity is evaluated based on the estimation of the positive and negative aspects, supported by individual and group reflection. For the evaluation of the learning of CPA teachers who receive the designed organizational forms, systematic evaluation is proposed and continues during the development of the preparation forms, as well as the application of pedagogical tests and the completion of sentences. The completion of sentences, as an evaluative technique, allowed us to verify how the emotional bond is reflected with respect to the work of the executor of the Educate your Child Program, with the family.
Systematic observation of the joint activities and other methodological activities was also proposed, as well as the preparation process to verify the professional and personal progress of the CPA teachers regarding the comprehensive care of the children of the Educate your Child Program, which yielded the following results:
Table #1. Initial evaluation. Procedural dimension.
Total | A | % | M | % | B | % |
19 | 3 | 15.7 % | 5 | 26.3 % | 11 | 57. 8 % |
Source: own elaboration
Legend (A) High, (M) Medium, (B) Low
The teachers (3, 7 and 8) obtain a high level, since they manage to identify the preparation needs of the families, their potential and the actions to be developed with them, which allow the children to join the program and thereby favor their motor competence; Although they do not take into account the diagnosis of the families regarding their children, they systematize the skills and motor capacities in the joint activity in correspondence with the needs, potentials, principles and methodological steps as didactic resources. They plan motor skills and abilities in joint activity based on the relationship between psychomotor components (body, space, time and relationships) and present an intuition of motor competence. Once the organizational forms have been applied in the general analysis of the final results, it allows the 19 teachers to be located as follows:
Table, #2. Final evaluation. Procedural dimension
Total | A | % | M | % | B | % |
19 | 15 | 79 % | 4 | 21% | 0 | 0 |
Legend (A) High, (M) Medium, (B) Low
As can be seen, teachers obtained a High level (15), representing 79% of the population. They identified the preparation needs of families, their potential and the actions to be developed with them, to facilitate a more active social interaction in the environment. They applied the knowledge acquired based on the development of motor skills as a premise of motor competence reflected in each joint activity carried out. They plan the development of basic motor skills based on achieving body and movement techniques in the child in the educational process.
They recognized the development of physical abilities as a natural component of physical fitness in children, with a playful approach to each activity. They made suggestions when considering motor skills and abilities, as a result of the participation of cognitive references that must be represented for subsequent application, which are acquired as a consequence of practice. In this sense, teachers (3, 7 and 8) stood out, where their suggestions to families favored the development of creative thinking in children, using methods, procedures and strategies to achieve active participation and motor competence, in addition to forms evaluations that supported the child's success from various environments.
Four teachers reached the medium level, representing 21% of the population, who, although they project the development of basic motor skills, do not carry it out based on achieving body and movement techniques in the child during the joint activity, since who do not return to the skills acquired at home as an effective traditional act for development in life, as well as the physical and motor manifestations that represent an authentic social phenomenon and at the same time consolidate their development and become an object of learning. In the aforementioned dimension, the subjects evaluated demonstrated limited knowledge in the development of physical abilities as a natural component of the physical condition of children in some joint activities.
They conceive it with a playful-motor approach and its contribution to the development of creative thinking from motor actions, and the use of methods, procedures and strategies is limited. However, there were no teachers at the lower level. A comparative analysis of the results obtained in the dimension by its indicators in Pretest and Posttest was also carried out.
Graph # 2. Procedural dimension: results obtained and indicators in Pretest and Posttest
As a result of the comparison of the indices achieved by indicator in the pre-test and post- test, the graph shows that the main changes in the procedural dimension are concentrated in indicators 6 and 7; with indices greater than 0.9, which were manifested by the teachers in the systematization of motor skills and abilities during the joint activity, in the management of the principles and methodological steps as didactic resources and in the appropriate use of the didactic components, in planning the forms of evaluation that guarantee the success of the educational process.
Graph # 3. Procedural dimension: behavior by teacher in the pre-experiment dimension. Pretest and Posttest
In the dimension, great changes were reflected, between both stages, already after receiving the organizational forms, indices greater than 0.5 are reached and although the teachers (12, 14, 18, 19) do not reach the highest indices, they strive to perfect the planning of the development of motor skills and abilities, based on achieving body and movement techniques in the child during the joint activity, resuming the experiences acquired at home and transforming them into learning objects.
The preparation of CPA teachers who attend the Educate your Child Program in the Sports Combines, constitutes one of the essential functions to be taken into account for the improvement of professional and human performance, an action that becomes more important for them, as professionals who They attend to motor skills. This activity calls for establishing coordinated relationships with all social sectors, preschool teachers, the children's institution, the community and the family, based on preparation from a more specialized training, in line with the curricular changes that are already implemented. experimentally in early childhood and that contributes to the maximum comprehensive development of teachers.
Despite the importance for the child and the society in which they live of being competent in the motor field, there are limited scientific productions that clarify concepts, notions, methodologies and practices on how to achieve this important aspect in the lives of children. children. On the other hand, there is insufficient knowledge of the contents related to motor competence, in the pedagogical practices of the Community Physical Activity professional.
These results coincide with research carried out by Lara, L.M. and Núñez, M.D. (2021) who implemented a methodology for the evaluation of comprehensive development in the educational process of preschool childhood; and with the studies by Ramírez, Bermúdez and Lara (2022) who carried out strategies to evaluate comprehensive development in the educational process carried out in preschool childhood as an essential aspect for the comprehensive development of children of those ages.
Likewise, potentialities that distinguish the studied scenario are identified, which must be taken into account in the construction of any new proposal to be developed, as an alternative solution to the research problem.
The result of the exploratory study demonstrates that the preparation of the CPA teachers, who attend the Educate your Child Program, for the improvement of the direction of motor skills, in the municipality of Santa Clara, manifests difficulties that threaten the effectiveness of the educational process in preschool childhood, which have a negative impact on the comprehensive care of children.
The organizational forms contemplated in the Methodological Alternative for the preparation of Community Physical Activity teachers must have as their perspective the improvement of the quality of children's learning; through guidance to families in pursuit of building knowledge that is based on the problems of practice and the living conditions in the community where the methodological procedure and educational research are articulated.
In the organizational forms, the systemic integration of its components was conceived, from its objective based on the diagnosis, to the implementation of the methodological preparation alternative that guaranteed the updating, deepening, self-management and application of knowledge, skills and methods. of action in tune with the demands and functions of the Community Physical Activity teacher, in the context of the “Educate your Child” Program.
Barrientos, A., Pericacho, F and Sánchez, R. (2020). Social and emotional competencies of Early Childhood Education teachers and their relationship with classroom climate management. EDUCATION STUDIES Magazine / VOL. 38 / 2020 / 59-
78. https://revistas.unav.edu/index.php/estudios-sobre- educacion/article/view/36016/33982
Bermúdez, B., Lara, L.M., Núñez, M.D. (2021); Methodology for the evaluation of comprehensive development in the educational process of preschool children.
Bequer, G. (2020). Community physical activity project “for life”. Pre-convention course of the VI International Convention on Physical Activity and Sports. AFIDE. Havana,SPERNI.
Castillo, R., Ramírez, P. (2022). Early childhood teacher training processes from the integration of research to pedagogical practice ISSN 1659-331.
Echemendía A. E., Wichi M., & Rivero J. (2018). Challenges for teacher preparation in the dimension of education and development of communication. Conrado
Magazine, 14(63), 57-65. Retrieved from http://conrado.ucf.edu.cu/index.php/Conrado.
Ramírez Benítez, Y., Bermúdez Monteagudo, B., Lara Díaz, L.M. (2022). Evaluation of comprehensive development in the educational process of preschool childhood. MENDIVE Vol. 20 No. 3 (July-September). pp. 1070-1086 2022. SSN. 1815-7696
RNPS 2057 -- Available at: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?pid=S1815- 76962022000301070&script=sci_arttext
Ruiz, M. (2013). Motor competence. Elements to understand motor learning in school education.
Roselló, Y; Hidalgo, Y; Montero E. (2020) Methodology for managing the methodological preparation of the early childhood educator. Scientific-educational magazine of the Granma province. Volume 16 (2020). University.
Zayas R., Valcárcel, N.; Wind. J.C. (2019) “Characterization of training for preschool educators who direct Physical Education” p.421-436. Available at: http://mendive.upr.edu.cu/index.php/MendiveUPR/article/view/1552.