Psychomotricity: Development, Concepts, and Practice

Posted on Feb 15, 2025 in Physical Education

Unit 1: What is Psychomotricity?

Psychomotricity, based on a global vision of the human being, integrates cognitive, emotional, symbolic, and sensory-motor interactions related to a person’s way of being and expression in a psychosocial context.

Theoretical Perspectives on Psychomotricity

Wallon (1980) – Psychobiological Perception: Movement is the expression of a child’s psychic life, which forms their personality. Movements are essential for a child’s development, paving the way for conceptual thinking, relationships with others, character development, and the acquisition of basic notions.

Piaget (1985) – Cognitive Perception: Motor activity and psyche are interrelated. The coordination of movements and actions on objects leads to sensorial/motor knowledge of space and, subsequently, representative thinking.

Ajuriaguerra (1976) – Psychiatric and Re-educative Perception: Psychomotor education is a technique utilizing the body and movement. Its practice helps children feel better, preparing their bodies to confront space, time, and objects, and fostering harmonious relationships with others.

Picq and Vayer (1969) – Psycho-pedagogical Perspective: Application of psychomotricity for children with mental handicaps. Psychomotor education is a pedagogical and psychological action used through physical education to normalize and improve children’s behavior.

Development of Psychomotricity

In France:

  1. 1947: Re-education of psychomotricity by Prof. Ajuriaguerra.
  2. 1974: Official Diploma of the Psychoreeducator.
  3. 1985: Official Degree in Psychomotricity.

Principal aims are related to health, but thanks to other authors like Picq and Vayer, Le Bouch, Lapierre, and Aucouturier, this evolved into a more educational approach.

In Germany:

  1. 1955: European Forum of Psychomotricity – Arrival of the concept in Germany.
  2. 1976: First association of psychomotricity.
  3. 1983: Post-Degree in Motor Skills with studies of pedagogy, psychology, and medicine.

Scientific studies about motor skills related to education and rehabilitation, keeping in mind a physical education context.

In Spain:

  1. Studies began in the 1960s.
  2. Influenced by French psychologists, pedagogues, and teachers.
  3. A variety of courses and seminars started, explaining the functionality and benefits of psychomotor education.
  4. 1980: First International Congress in Madrid on Psychomotricity.

Two Great Precursors

Wallon

Psychobiological idea of human development.

Psyche + motor skills = unique biological concept in humans.

Three different directions of human movement:

  • Passive: Reflections of balance and gravity reactions.
  • Active movements: Locomotion and press skills.
  • Postural reactions: Expressed through corporal language like gestures, attitude, and mimicry.

These three types of movement are related through muscular contraction and the maintenance of balance and attitude.

Movements are an essential factor for the development of the psyche, influencing the behavior and temper of children.

Piaget

Cognitive organization depends on the dynamic of the action, which, through repetition, generalizes to new objects.

  • The action can vary, depending on the objects (accommodation).
  • This assimilation of accommodation creates a new reality of the world for a child.

Functional Perspective

  1. Objective: Treatment with exercises for the development of motor capacities.
  2. “Exercises” – pedagogical meaning.
  3. “Treatment” – medical meaning.

Content of these functional programs: skills development, coordination, rhythm, security, velocity, strength, resistance, and tonic control.

Exercises are structured in four levels:

  1. Functional level: Muscular strength to push or propel and stop through different games.
  2. Psychic level: Experience of sensations that create psychic stimuli.
  3. Pedagogic level: The child experiences self-control, increasing their capacity for responsibility.
  4. Social level: Mutual help and adaptation to others improve social behavior.

Purposes

Develop sensorial, perceptive, representative, communicative, and expressive capacities in an active interaction of the child’s body with the environment:

  1. Knowledge, comprehension, and self-control.
  2. Knowledge and comprehension of others.
  3. Knowledge and comprehension of the environment.
  4. Self-comprehension of the relationship between oneself, others, and the environment.

Three Categories of Contents

Motor and Psychomotor Contents: Structure of corporal scheme/ Tonicity. Strength. Breathing. Relaxation/ Visual and motor coordination/ Spatial perception/ Temporal perception/ Expressive activity.

Mental Contents: Voluntary attention. Listening capacity. / Short, medium, and long-term memory/ Self-reflection / Relation. Mental representation. Symbolism. Ideation./ Logic. Mental flexibility. Anticipation. Generalization./ Systematization/ Creativity.

Socio-affective Contents: Motivated and proactive to learn. Initiative and spontaneous. Improvisation. Persistent. Control over own emotions and mood. Self-esteem. Tolerant to frustration. Acceptance and respect for others. Capacity to wait in turns.

Designing a Game or Activity

Experience

  1. Mainly motor or sensorial.
  2. Experience of the body and its capacities.
  3. Discovery of the environment.
  4. Activities characterized by their significance, globality, pleasure, and imagination, with the child as the protagonist.
  5. Popular games and dances.

Interiorization

  1. Result of previous emotions and perceptions.
  2. Involves memory, symbolism, and thoughts.
  3. The child should express feelings, create perceptions, and become conscious.
  4. Express through projects that interiorize those experiences, like paintings, constructions, elaborate wall paintings, or decoration.

Class Interaction and Organization

  1. Between children.
  2. Between children and teacher.

Teacher’s important attitudes in their interaction with children:

  1. Transmit a feeling of confidence to the children.
  2. Be receptive, respectful, motivating, and show interest in what the children learn and discover.
  3. Be observational, patient, and a good listener to the actions and expressions of the children.
    1. The teacher should allow time for expression and initiative.
    2. Kids should be able to show something to others that could be new or original (they learn from others).
    3. Organizational strategies:
    4. Create a calm atmosphere for confidence.
    5. Promote group work.
    6. Organize space and materials.
    7. Allow enough time for the activities.
    8. Look for aspects that could be motivational.
    9. Provide a variety of activities.

Materials

Outdoor:

  • Fixed: Slides, climbing stairs or constructions, balance bars, sand areas, water features.
  • Unfixed: Ropes, balls, buckets, shovels, rakes, stilts, tricycles, jumping elastic bands, tires, plastic bags, water bottles.

Indoor:

Places to climb, jump, cross, go up and down.

  • Blocks of foam and mats.
  • Cones, hurdles, hoops, pikes.
  • Materials to throw and catch, like balloons and balls.
  • Materials that can be modeled: sand, clay, stickers, streamers.
  • Materials from the natural environment: stones, pine cones, leaves, shells.

Organization of Space

Important aspects to keep in mind: Good organization, wide spaces, furniture, and installations well distributed.

Playground:

  1. Sand zone.
  2. Water zone.
  3. Green/garden zone.
  4. Play area with swings, slides, houses.
  5. Free movement zone (paved or asphalted).
  6. Material room.

Classroom:

  1. Motor skill play area.
  2. Rest area.
  3. Symbolic play area.
  4. Expression play area.

Gym or Psychomotor Room:

  1. Dance area.
  2. Expression area.
  3. Big materials area (mats, wall bars, Swedish bench, vaulting box).

Addressing Difficulties in Activities:

  • Each child needs their own time for skills development.
  • Be patient and don’t evaluate only the time taken to finish, but also enthusiasm, pleasure, and involvement.
  • Give positive feedback to the children.
  • Analyze the motor rhythm, when they get tired or lose interest.
  • Create a dialog to understand how their learning rhythms are developing.

Organizing a Session

Time Organization

  1. First Part:
    • Start of the session.
    • Short and clear preparation of the students.
    • Usual rituals: warm-up, sensorial games, dance.
  2. Second Part:
    • Principal activities.
    • Longest part.
  3. Third Part:
    • Closure of activities.
    • Calm down.
    • Feedback.
    • Interiorization of the practice.

Observation Aspects for Our Survey (General):

  1. Abilities and skills (motor, neuromotor, psychomotor, social).
    1. Children’s behavior and attitudes.
    2. Proper use of materials and resources.
    3. Relationship: student-student, student-teacher, teacher-student.
    4. Achievement of milestones.
    5. Engagement.
    6. Enjoyment.
    7. Assimilation and application of rules.
    8. Display of values (group work, patience, respect, sharing, peace).
    9. Development of creativity.

Observation Tools:

  • Record the history of observed events.
  • Confirm pre-established facts.
  • Class diary.