DECEM BER, 1971 P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y Page 17 BOOK REVIEWS M O V E M E N T A C TIV ITIES, M O T O R ABILITY A N D T H E E D U C A T IO N O F C H IL D R E N . Bryant J. Cratty,. E d .D ., N am ik o Ikeda, P h .D ., Sister Margaret Mary' M artin, M .S ., Clair Jennett, P h .D ., Margaret M orris, Ph.D . Publisher: Charles C. T hom as, Springfield, Illinois, U .S .A . T his is a b ook in which D r. Cratty, his adm inistrative assistant and three p o st doctoral students present a r a tio n a l, approach to the understanding o f the role o f m ovem ent in the total learning process; and in so doing bring a breath o f fresh thinking and sou nd com m on sense to tne distorted view that m ovem ent p e r se can im prove either in telligen ce, or reading (academ ic) skills. D r. Cratty’s view is that “m ovem ent will aid intelligence to the extent to which the child is encouraged to think abou t the m ovem ents in which he is engaged”. R e p o rte d are fo u r research stu dies carried out in the P erceptual-M otor Learning Laboratory, U n i­ versity o f California at L os A ngeles. The b o o k com prises three parts, the first chapter present­ ing research studies dealing with self-concept o f children with co-ordination problem s. The concept that clumsiness affects ego-strength and personality developm ent is in itself thought provoking. The poin t is clearly m ade that activities must be com bined with academ ic processes such as reading in order for transfer to be effective. The im provem ent in I.Q. in retardates, in w hom self-concept is generally low , is due to positive shifts in self-concepts and perceived changes in physical capabilities. A criticism can be m ade o f the dem ands o f the questionnaire that required reading from five and six year olds, but the researcher was aware o f this difference so that m any o f the questionnaires relating to these age groups were, in fact, discarded and did not affect the research design. O ne wonders why they were ' included in the first instance. , The reviewer questions whether youn g children can be expected to rate them selves in the sam e way as the older child, the skills o f the youn g child being different and un­ developed. B od y concepts would a lso be influenced by growth changes at, or near, puberty. The effect o f em otion o n self awareness seem s also n o t to be given sufficient stress. The m ore dem ands m ade o f the older child give rise to a different self-evaluation as com pared to the younger child. The second chapter deals with gam e choices o f children with m ovem ent problem s and analyses the sex differences in determining choice. M otor problem s or clum siness influence the choice o f gam es. T he boys with m otor problems avoided vigorous participation and chose the more passive games enjoyed by normal girls. T he type o f em otion identification chosen by such b oys should be recognised by all who work with clum sy children. The research design would aid in designing sch ool program mes and playground activities to serve the em otion al and physical needs o f such children. The third chapter forces a reappraisal o f perceptual- motor training and qu estion s the research studies and claims o f its proponents o f success. T eaching tow ards the test is avoided and the im portance o f control groups in research studies is em phasised. T he interpretation o f per­ ceptual m otor m odel is questioned — the “ blurred” defini­ tion that has led to extravagant claim s that educational visual perceptual and personality deviations can be corrected with such programmes is questioned. Little or no transfer can be expected in fine m otor skills from gross m otor train­ ing and all such skills are m ore easily m odified in the early years o f life. Input and output are seen as separate entities and acknow ledgem ent is m ade o f the low level perceptual tasks given to the child. This chapter leaves the reviewer with the suspicion that what the child may respond to is a sim ple conditioning process and demand for performance often avoided by parents in the subconscious over-protection o f the subnorm al child. A gain in Chapter F ou r which deals with total body m ove­ ment as a Learning M odality, the question com es to m ind that in the sam ple o f children from culturally deprived hom es the responses m ay well be to the attention and care and concern rather than the specifics o f th e programme. D r. Cratty substantiates this view in an independent way o n page 146. O f all the chapters in the b ook , this one m ost seriously challenges the validity o f the various theories o f perceptual- m otor training. T he sam ple com prised children o f low I.Q. and introduces so m e dynam ic concepts in to current p ro­ grammes designed for these children, such as arousal and inhibition. T he reduction o f hyperactivity m ay be in itself the openin g o f the door to learning. The absence o f a proper control group w hilst deplored by the author seem s in n o way to detract from a valuable and thought provokin g treatise. T he reviewer would have liked to see a breakdow n o f the tasks into verbal and n o n ­ verbal. Chapter F ive deals with selected essays by D r. Cratty which provide sensible and stim ulating reading. D r. Cratty has a refreshingly critical and hon est attitude and the courage to qu estion seriously the validity o f those claim ing to raise children’s I.Q .s by exposing them to m ovem ent experiences. H e poin ts out that the variables such as atten tion (time) and personality m ay be m ore influential o f change than the programmes p e r se. R eaction time and m ovem ent speed are m ore im portant during the final stages o f learning than are m otor factors, and D r. Cratty confirm s the suspicion o f physical therapists w h o have worked with physically han di­ capped children that m ovem ent is n o t the basis for intellect. “T o ignore the role o f cognitive processes in the acquisition o f skills seems as naive as attem pting to im prove reading by walking balance beam s.” In his essay on m ovem ent activities, m otor ability and education he points ou t som e im portant factors in sch ool success, such as the extent o f physical passivity in static learning tasks, the adaptability required for activation and passive “ control” . Inhibition and fitness levels are related to frustration and m ovem ent needs. C onstant m otion may well be a factor to be avoided in training devices. In the last essay on “ R eading and the role o f m otor training,” D r. Cratty strongly attacks the “jargon ” em ployed by various “educationalists” purporting to remediate read­ ing problem s “ by em ployin g som e type o f perceptual- m otor panacea’?. Over the qu estion o f im proving reading by increasing speed o f eye m ovem ents he again reveals his understanding o f the ph ysiology o f the hum an nervous system and doubts that the involuntary m icro-saceadic m ovem ents can be im proved through visual or visual-m otor training, and goes o n to exam ine som e o f the factors involved in reading. H e takes the Kephart program m e to task and it gives reference from other research studies to confirm his hypotheses that it exerts no effect o n reading proficiency. This book com es at the right tim e before physical therapists (O .T .s and physiotherapists) are fallaciously carried away by the idea that perceptual m otor training is the panacea for learning ills and whilst, as a physical educationalist, Pro­ fessor Cratty clearly recognises the value o f physical-m otor training he has a w h olistic view o f learning that serves as a m odel for any therapist or teacher working with children with learning problems. T he b o o k is highly recom m ended to m edical, para­ m edical and educational personnel w orking with physically, intellectually and/or educationally handicapped children. Freda M uller. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )