Fundamental movement skill interventions in youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis

School-age youth; 19 interventions, mostly primary school (field)

22 articles / 19 interventions: only 6 RCTs, 13 quasi-experimental, 3 pre-post. Almost all primary-school settings, delivered by PE specialists or highly trained classroom teachers. Outcomes are process-based FMS batteries (TGMD etc.) at immediate post-test; many studies scored poorly on risk-of-bias items.

Teaching fundamental movement skills demonstrably works ON THE TAUGHT SKILLS — large immediate effects, largest for locomotor, smaller for object control (the more coordination-loaded, more heritable class). But this is acquisition-phase evidence on the trained tasks, mostly from non-randomized designs with poor bias scores. Whether gains survive after the program ends, and whether they cascade to physical activity, is exactly what Barnett 2022 rates indeterminate. Skill moves; capacity and downstream behaviour do not follow automatically.

None controlled; comparison-group designs but no genetically informative arm and no test of aptitude x treatment interaction (who responds to FMS instruction).

Replicated in direction by later FMS meta-analyses (childcare/kindergarten 2017; school-based 2025), all flagging low-quality evidence and missing follow-up.