MAST significantly improves language in four-to-five-year-old children (d = 0.2)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr2·q3·i1small
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i1 A 12-week whole-class combined movement and story-telling programme delivered by teachers produced a significant effect on language (d = 0.2) in first-year primary school children. → Cunningham 2025
Evidence¶
Cunningham 2025¶
Cunningham, Anna J.; Baikousi, Violeta; Eyre, Emma; Duncan, Michael; Crotti, Matteo; Martins, Ricardo; Wood, Clare. (2025). A movement and story-telling intervention improves language and fundamental movement skills and is feasible for delivery by teachers in the first year of school. LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION. https://hdl.handle.net/10446/299265
q3 · i1 · causal · r2
Cluster-randomised controlled trial in which 214 four-to-five-year-old children across nine primary schools (5 MAST, 4 control) were assessed at pre- and post-test. The article reports "a significant effect of MAST on language (d = 0.2)".
"There was a significant effect of MAST on language (d = 0.2) and fundamental movement skills (d = 0.65), but not effect on self-regulation."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- MAST significantly improves fundamental movement skills in four-to-five-year-old children (d = 0.65) — related
- MAST shows no effect on self-regulation in four-to-five-year-old children — related
- MAST is feasible for delivery by teachers, with four of five schools delivering all key components consistently — related
- Thematic analysis of teacher interviews identifies barriers to implementation and factors for success — related
- Eight weeks of embodied letter-sound teaching produced no transfer effect on word reading in 5–6-year-olds — related
- A 4-week embodied learning intervention with movement-phonemes improves grade 1 children's letter-sound knowledge more than regular classroom teaching — related
- Whole-body movement teaching improves 5–6-year-olds' letter-sound naming more than non-motor teaching, immediately and at 17–22-week retention — related
- An 11-week teacher-delivered phonological awareness intervention significantly improves kindergarten children's phoneme segmentation, letter knowledge, reading, and invented spelling — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
mast-improves-language-first-year-school |
title |
MAST significantly improves language in four-to-five-year-old children (d = 0.2) |
description |
MAST significantly improves language in four-to-five-year-old children (d = 0.2) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2025 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-23 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — cunningham-2025 |
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