Assessment of Fundamental Motor Skills in Boys and Girls

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess gross motor skills between boys and girls of preschool and primary school age. The study included a total sample of 83 respondents (49.3% boys) with an average chronological age of 6.14 ± 2.25 years. The Test of Gross Motor Development–3rd Edition (TGMD-3) was used to verify the set research goal. Research data were analyzed by the method of parametrical statistics. To determine the differences in gross motor skills between boys and girls, t-test was used for an independent sample of respondents. Based on the obtained research results, it can be concluded that there are no statistically significant differences between boys and girls on the locomotor and “Ball skills” subtest. Although no statistically significant differences were recorded, generally, boys achieve better results on the subtest “Ball skills” compared to girls. It is suggested that intervention programs be designed to improve girls' performance in ball skills. Key words: Children, TGMD-3, Locomotor, Ball skills, Gender.

Gender Differences in Fundamental Motor Skills of Preschool Children From Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany

“…What determines characteristics of child's movements, such as nimble, fast and precise, are motor abilities (Starc et al, 2004). The research has shown that third period of motor development is the most delicate and it includes fundamental motor abilities that encompass preschool period and early school age of a child (Sabo 2002; Cvetković, Popović and Jakšić, 2007 cited in Mehmedinović et al, 2022). Fundamental motor skills are basic goal-directed movement patterns that are an integral part of advanced movement skills (Clark & Metcalfe 2022).…”