The use of traditional games in improving the fine motor skills of grade 2 pupils

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the use of traditional games in improving the fine motor skills of Grade 2 pupils, specifically in terms of hand-eye coordination and finger control. The researchers used a pre-experimental, one group pretest and posttest procedure. The respondents of the study were the 20 Grade 2 pupils from a public elementary school in Iloilo City selected through purposive sampling. The research instrument used for the hand-eye coordination was based on the Philippine Physical Fitness Standards Department of Education (2019). On the other hand, the researchers developed a scale to measure the ability of finger control of the pupils. The collected data were gathered and processed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS). The statistical tools used were the frequency count, percentage, mean, standard deviation and the Wilcoxon signed –rank test. Results showed that before the introduction of traditional games, Grade 2 pupils exhibited generally low performance in both hand–eye coordination and finger control. After the intervention involving traditional games, the findings indicate notable improvements in both hand–eye coordination and finger control among the pupils, highlighting the positive impact of traditional games on fine motor skill development. The pupils’ low performance scores showed the need for interventions, such as the use of traditional games, to support the development of fine motor skills as the pupils’ scores increased after the intervention where the girls maintained higher scores than boys in both the pre-test and post-test.