Gender-Related Peculiarities of 7-Year-Old Schoolchildren’s Motor Fitness

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify gender-related peculiarities of 7-year-old schoolchildren’s motor fitness.  Materials and methods. The study participants were 59 7-year-old schoolchildren (girls – 27, boys – 32). The children and their parents were informed about all the features of the study and gave their consent to participate in the experiment. The study used the following research methods: analysis of scientific and methodological literature, pedagogical observations, testing of motor fitness, probabilistic approach to assessing the learning process, methods of mathematical statistics. The study recorded the primary schoolchildren’s level of proficiency in gymnastic exercises. The coefficient was determined by the formula: p = (m/n)×100, where p is the level of proficiency, m is the number of successfully performed exercises, n is the total number of attempts to perform the exercise. In the experiment, the study controlled the level of proficiency in the following exercises: forward roll; backward roll; shoulderstand with bent legs. Results. The differences in the development level of movement coordination of individual parts of the body and vestibular stability are not statistically significant; in the 7-year-old girls and boys, there is a statistically significant difference in the development level of strength, speed strength, speed, endurance, and the level of proficiency in acrobatic exercises. Conclusions. A canonical discriminant function can be used to classify and identify the indicators that have the greatest weight in assessing gender-related peculiarities of 7-year-old schoolchildren’s motor fitness. In assessing gender-related peculiarities of 7-year-old schoolchildren’s motor fitness, these indicators include the level of proficiency in acrobatic exercises, the level of relative strength of shoulder flexors, endurance, and speed strength.