Motor coordination: studying tracking in 6 to 10-year-old children in the Azores autonomous region, Portugal</b>

Abstract

Azores aged 6 to 10 years of age of both genders; and to estimate the stability of intra-individual changes in inter-individual differences over 4 years. The sample comprised 285 children (143 boys and 142 girls) from the mixed-longitudinal study of the Azores Autonomous Region. Motor coordination was assessed with the KTK test battery which comprises 4 tests: Backward balance, Jumping sideways, Hopping on one leg and Shifting platforms. Basic descriptive statistics, ANOVA II, and auto-correlations were calculated in SPSS 15. We used the of Foulkes and Davies to verify the proportion of children who maintained the same relative position. This calculation was performed using the software LDA. We found increases in mean values, in both genders, across the ages. ANOVA II showed significant differences in all tests over the 4 years, and a significant interaction between time and sex was only observed for the Backward balance. Auto-correlations presented moderate stability. Neither gender exhibited tracking in their performance in the Backward balance and the boys failed to do so in Hopping either, which demonstrates a strong heterogeneity in Motor Coordination development over the 4 years. These results show that children differ substantially along their motor development and calls for a clear understanding of its meaning in educational and didactic terms.