Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of rhythmic movement training on the objective intelligence level of preschool children based on the brain flexibility approach. The participants in this study were 57 preschool children who were registered in the kindergarten of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in the academic year 2008-2009. The test used to assess objective intelligence was the well-known and valid Goodinoff Mannequin Test. Before rhythmic movement training, the children's objective intelligence level was assessed. Then, all participants were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group was exposed to a designed training program for 4 months, with two one-and-a-half hour sessions per week, using 60% of the child's heart rate. In these trainings, each subject in the experimental group benefited from a trainer. After completing the training period, the participants in both groups were re-evaluated in terms of their objective intelligence level. By performing a two-group analysis of covariance test to compare the post-test differences between the two groups with the pre-test control, the results show that rhythmic sports training had a significant effect on increasing the level of objective intelligence of preschool children (F(1,55)=28.699, p=0.00).
Keywords: preschool children, rhythmic sports, objective intelligence, brain flexibility