A STUDY ABOUT COMPARISON OF COORDINATION ABILITIES BY GENDER AND AGE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN TIRANA

Kejsi TAFILI, Keida USHTELENCA, Juel JARANI

Abstract

A study about comparison of coordination abilities by gender and age in elementary school children in Tirana were performed in this research in the city of Tirana. In this study participated elementary school children as follow (1st= boys 70 and girls 58, 2nd = boys 61 and girls 71, 3rd =boys 51 and girls 66, 4th =boys 37 and girls 33 and 5th = boys 29 and girls 29) living in Tirana, Albania. We used two tests from Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder (KTK)- Moving Sideways (MS): moving one plate on sideways and the subjects stood on the other plate (25 cm x 25 cm x 5 cm) in 20 seconds. The plate had to be moved with two hands. The total amount of points was counted and summed over two trials. Walking Backwards (WB): walking backward three times along each of three balance beams (3 m length; 6, 4.5 and 3 cm width). A maximum of 24 steps (eight per trial) were counted for each balance beam, which comprises a maximum of 72 steps for this test. Data analyses for gender comparison show no statistical difference for walking backwards (F=0.002, Sig= 0.968) and moving sideways (F=0.289, Sig= 0.591). Also, when database where split by grade level statistical analysis using independent T test show no statistical significance. Results from this study show no difference in actual level of motor coordination by gender in the city of Tirana in elementary school children.

Pages: 108 - 119