Advanced Analysis of Motor Development

Advanced Analysis of Motor Development explores how research is conducted in testing major issues and questions in motor development. It also looks at the evolution of research in the field, its current status, and possible future directions. This text is one of the few to examine motor development models and theories analytically while providing a context for advanced students in motor development so they can understand current and classic research in the field.

Traditionally, graduate study in motor development has been approached through a compilation of readings from various sources. This text meets the need for in-depth study in a more cohesive manner by presenting parallels and highlighting relationships among research studies that independent readings might not provide. In addition, Advanced Analysis of Motor Development builds a foundation in the theories and approaches in the field and demonstrates how they drive contemporary research in motor development.

A valuable text for graduate students beginning their own research projects or making the transition from student to researcher, this text focuses on examining and interpreting research in the field. Respected researchers Haywood, Roberton, and Getchell explain the history and evolution of the field and articulate key research issues. As they examine each of the main models and theories that have influenced the field, they share how motor development research can be applied to the fields of physical education, special education, physical therapy, and rehabilitation sciences.

With its emphasis on critical inquiry, Advanced Analysis of Motor Development will help students examine important topics and questions in the field in a more sophisticated manner. They will learn to analyze research methods and results as they deepen their understanding of developmental phenomena. For each category of movement skills covered (posture and balance, foot locomotion, ballistic skills, and manipulative skills), the authors first offer a survey of the pertinent research and then present an in-depth discussion of the landmark studies. In analyzing these studies, students will come to appreciate the detail of research and begin to explore possibilities for their own future research. Throughout the text, special elements help students focus on analysis. Tips for Novice Researchers sidebars highlight issues and questions raised by research and offer suggestions for further exploration and study. Comparative tables detail the differences in the purpose, methods, and results of key studies to help students understand not only what the studies found but also the relevance of those findings.

With Advanced Analysis of Motor Development, readers will discover how research focusing on the major issues and central questions in motor development is produced and begin to conceptualize their own research. Readers will encounter the most important models and theories; dissect some of the seminal and recent articles that test these models and theories; and examine issues such as nature and nurture, discontinuity and continuity, and progression and regression. Advanced Analysis of Motor Development will guide students to a deeper understanding of research in life span motor development and enable them to examine how the complexities of motor development can be addressed in their respective professions.

Kathleen M. Haywood, PhD, is a professor and associate dean for graduate education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where she researches life span motor development and teaches courses in motor behavior and development, sport psychology, and biomechanics. She earned her PhD in motor behavior from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1976.

Haywood is a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology and the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). She has served as president of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity and as chairperson of the Motor Development Academy of AAHPERD. Haywood is also a recipient of AAHPERD’s Mabel Lee Award.

Haywood is also the coauthor of the first, second, and third editions of Archery: Steps to Success and Teaching Archery: Steps to Success and coauthor of Life Span Motor Development, also published by Human Kinetics. She resides in Saint Charles, Missouri. In her free time she enjoys fitness training, tennis, and dog training.

Mary Ann Roberton, PhD, is professor emeritus and past director of the School of Human Movement, Sport, and Leisure Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Roberton has been researching and writing about motor development for over 35 years and is well known for her study of developmental sequences in motor development and its application for physical education teachers and physical therapists. In addition to Advanced Analysis of Motor Development, Roberton has authored one scholarly book, several book chapters, numerous journal articles, and invited and refereed papers.

In 2011 Roberton received the Hall of Fame Award from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. She is a fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and was inducted as a fellow into the National Academy of Kinesiology in 2003.

A distinguished faculty member, Roberton was awarded the Faculty Mentor Award in 2000 from Bowling Green State University. Honoring her service to the university and the profession, the Mary Ann Roberton Outstanding Thesis Award and Mary Ann Roberton Outstanding Project Award were established in 1999 by the faculty of the School of Human Movement, Sport, and Leisure Studies at Bowling Green State University. Roberton resides in Madison, Wisconsin. Retired since 2005, she remains active in research and scholarship. In her free time she enjoys swimming, cycling, and reading.

Nancy Getchell, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Delaware in Newark. She has taught courses in motor development, motor control and learning, research methods, and women in sport. For nearly 20 years, Getchell has focused her research on motor development.

She is a fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). She is a member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, the International Society of Motor Control, and AAHPERD. Getchell also served as the section editor for the Growth and Motor Development section of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport from 2005 to 2009 and chairperson of the AAHPERD Motor Development aand Learning Academy.

In 2001, Getchell was the recipient of the Lolas E. Halverson Young Investigators Award in motor development. She earned a PhD in kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1996. Getchell resides in Wilmington, Delaware, where she enjoys hiking, playing soccer, and bicycling.