Playful Physical Activity for Executive Functions and School Readiness in Preschool Children

Executive functions, such as attention, inhibition, working memory, and planning, are important for early learning and school readiness in preschool children. This completed randomized controlled trial evaluated whether an 8-week cognitively enriched playful physical activity program could support executive functions and school readiness in preschool children compared with the regular physical education curriculum. Preschool children were assigned to either a playful physical activity intervention group or a control group receiving conventional physical education. The intervention included structured movement-based games designed to combine physical activity with cognitive challenges, including response inhibition, working memory, planning, rule following, and cooperative problem solving. Outcomes included measures of executive functions and school readiness domains, including mathematical, linguistic, and social competence.

NCT Number	NCT07678294
Lead Sponsor	Inonu University
Conditions	School Readiness, Executive Function (Cognition), Preschool Child Development
Enrollment	48 participants
Start Date	2025-04-07
Primary Completion	2025-05-23 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-05-23 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-02