Motor Efficiency and Comparison of Children in Early Childhood from Greece Albania and Sweden

Abstract

Abstract:The purpose of this study was to observe record and compare the children's of early childhood performance of motor skills of different nationalities from Greece, Albania and Sweden. Additionally to investigate differences in motor performance between boys and girls and between age groups. The survey was conducted in the school years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, and took place in the frame of the student exchange program ERASMUS internships of Preschool Education, University of Ioannina. The sample consisted of 369 infants (187 boys, 182 girls) aged 66 ± 7 months. The sample was selected according to the access that the team had in nursery schools of Ioannina (N1 = 133), in Dervitsani (N2 = 131) Albania and Gothenburg (N2 = 105) of Sweden. The array of 18 different motor activities for children aged 4-6 years old was used to investigate the toddlers' degree of movement performance. They were used the manufacturer's instructions for the degree of movement performance and classification of the sample in different categories, while a descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (Three Way ANOVA) took place for sex factors, age and region of origin. The results showed that although there were differences in rates distributions and averages, there were no significant differences either between children from the three countries or between boys and girls, however, there were in the age groups with older children who achieved better rates.