Playful Physical Activity for Executive Functions and School Readiness in Preschool Children (PPA-EF-SR)

Effects of a Cognitively Enriched Playful Physical Activity Program on Executive Functions and School Readiness in Preschool Children

Executive functions, such as attention, inhibition, working memory, and planning, are important for early learning and school readiness in preschool children. This completed randomized controlled trial evaluated whether an 8-week cognitively enriched playful physical activity program could support executive functions and school readiness in preschool children compared with the regular physical education curriculum.

Preschool children were assigned to either a playful physical activity intervention group or a control group receiving conventional physical education. The intervention included structured movement-based games designed to combine physical activity with cognitive challenges, including response inhibition, working memory, planning, rule following, and cooperative problem solving. Outcomes included measures of executive functions and school readiness domains, including mathematical, linguistic, and social competence.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: School Readiness; Executive Function (Cognition); Preschool Child Development
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Playful Physical Activities Intervention; Behavioral: Regular Physical Education Curriculum

Detailed Description

This study was designed as a completed, two-arm randomized controlled trial conducted in preschool children. The purpose of the study was to examine whether a cognitively enriched playful physical activity program could improve executive functions and school readiness compared with the regular physical education curriculum.

The experimental intervention consisted of an 8-week Playful Physical Activities program. The program included structured movement games designed to engage both motor and cognitive processes. Activities targeted gross and fine motor skills while incorporating executive-function demands such as selective attention, inhibitory control, working memory, planning, rule maintenance, and cooperative problem solving. Sessions included playful tasks related to language, mathematics, and social interaction, with the aim of supporting both cognitive development and school readiness in an age-appropriate educational setting.

Children in the control group continued to receive the conventional physical education curriculum over the same intervention period. The control condition involved regular age-appropriate physical education activities without the systematic integration of structured executive-function challenges or cognitive-motor dual-task components.

Participants were preschool children aged approximately 55 to 64 months. Eligible children were enrolled in participating preschool settings and were able to take part in physical activity sessions. Children with motor or mental disorders that could interfere with participation or outcome assessment were excluded.

The primary focus of the study was school readiness, including mathematical, linguistic, and social competence. Secondary outcomes included executive-function measures related to attention, inhibition, visuospatial memory, and planning/visuospatial organization. Assessments were conducted before and after the intervention period.

The study was conducted in accordance with ethical approval from the Local Research Ethics Committee at the High Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Ksar Said. The study has been completed.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 48
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Tunisia
  • Tunis, Tunisia, 1003
    • Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit UR18JS01, National Observatory of Sport

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Preschool children aged 55 to 64 months. Enrollment in one of the participating preschools. Ability to participate in age-appropriate physical activity sessions. Written informed consent provided by parents or legal guardians.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Motor or intellectual disabilities that could prevent participation in physical activity sessions.

Diagnosed neurological, psychiatric, or developmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder.

Uncorrected visual or auditory impairments that could affect test performance. Use of medication known to affect the central nervous system. Absence from post-intervention testing or failure to complete the study procedures.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Playful Physical Activities Intervention; Preschool children assigned to this group received the 8-week Playful Physical Activities intervention.	Behavioral: Playful Physical Activities Intervention; The 8-week Playful Physical Activities intervention consisted of structured movement-based games integrating executive function challenges, including response inhibition, working memory, attention, planning, and cooperative problem-solving. Sessions were delivered three times per week for 60 minutes per session.; Other Names: PPA; Behavioral: Regular Physical Education Curriculum; The control intervention consisted of the regular physical education curriculum delivered for 8 weeks, three times per week for 60 minutes per session. Sessions included traditional age-appropriate physical education activities without systematically embedded cognitive-motor executive function challenges.; Other Names: Conventional Physical Education
Active Comparator: Regular Physical Education Curriculum; Preschool children assigned to this group received the regular physical education curriculum for 8 weeks.	Behavioral: Playful Physical Activities Intervention; The 8-week Playful Physical Activities intervention consisted of structured movement-based games integrating executive function challenges, including response inhibition, working memory, attention, planning, and cooperative problem-solving. Sessions were delivered three times per week for 60 minutes per session.; Other Names: PPA; Behavioral: Regular Physical Education Curriculum; The control intervention consisted of the regular physical education curriculum delivered for 8 weeks, three times per week for 60 minutes per session. Sessions included traditional age-appropriate physical education activities without systematically embedded cognitive-motor executive function challenges.; Other Names: Conventional Physical Education

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in School Readiness Scores From Baseline to Post-intervention	School readiness was assessed using mathematical competence, linguistic competence, and social competence scores. Higher scores indicated better school readiness.	Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Go/No-Go Task Error Rate From Baseline to Post-intervention	Inhibitory control was assessed using the Go/No-Go task. The outcome was the number of commission errors, with lower scores indicating better inhibitory control.	Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention
Change in Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised Immediate Recall Score From Baseline to Post-intervention	Visuospatial memory was assessed using the BVMT-R immediate recall raw score. Higher scores indicated better visuospatial memory performance.	Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention
Change in Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised Delayed Recall Score From Baseline to Post-intervention	Delayed visuospatial recall was assessed using the BVMT-R delayed recall raw score. Higher scores indicated better delayed recall performance.	Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention
Change in Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test Copy Score From Baseline to Post-intervention	Visuospatial organization and planning were assessed using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test copy score. Higher scores indicated better visuospatial planning and organization.	Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Inonu University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 7, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 23, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): May 23, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 25, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 25, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 25, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Working memory; Preschool children; Executive functions; Planning; School readiness; Inhibitory control; Early childhood education; Playful physical activity; Cognitively enriched physical activity; Cognitive-motor intervention
• Other Study ID Numbers: PPA-EF-SR-2025; 41034 (Registry Identifier: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR); official trial number pending)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No