Antropomotoryka nr 55.indb - Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego w ...

E. Cieśla, E. Mleczko, M. Markowska, G. Nowak-Starz, H. Król, Z. Domagała, A. Przychodni, B. Zawadzka
scribed by their parents as physically inactive achieved
better parameters of abdominal muscles power, strength
of arms and running speed (Table 5).
The results in the group of girls are slightly different.
Four tests out of five (flexibility, explosive strength
of lower limbs, strength of arms and locomotor speed)
proved considerable differences, and the direction of
the changes confirmed the widespread and commonly
accepted opinion that higher level of physical activity
determines development of motor abilities (Table 6).
Discussion
Physical fitness is an integral part of child’s development
which facilitates active participation in everyday
life. Thanks to physical fitness a child receives and converts
external stimuli in a coordinated and deliberate way.
A young person also develops practical and sport skills.
Six-year old child is able to master various movement
combinations, such as jump and run, catch and throw,
as well as run and kick a ball [34, 35, 36]. Additionally,
dimorphic differences are visible in the types of physical
activities, and in various aspects of physical fitness [37].
The results of the research on 6-year-old children proved
this regularity. Girls in comparison with boys, similarly to
Sekita’s research [1988], achieved better average results
only in the flexibility test [38]. In relation to the research on
children living in rural areas of Kielecczyzna, they were
also better in the balance test [39]. In all-Poland research
over the physical condition of children and young people,
7-year-old girls achieved higher level of development in
both abilities discussed above than their peers. The results
of the research on 7-8-year-old children reveal that
boys have a clear advantage in the speed of run, throw
and jump, whereas girls are more flexible and have better
manual dexterity [35, 40]. The analysis of data obtained by
Surynt and Wójcik-Grzyb (2005) indicates that 6-year-old
girls are characterized by higher level of strength which
was assessed through standing broad jump, whereas
in the group of 7-year-old children higher level of development
in all the physical fitness tests was noticed [41].
Dimorphic differences in the level of motor competencies
tend to result not only from different physical activities undertaken
by children from the early childhood, but also
from some biological indicators. Despite the similar level
of most somatic traits in prepubertal children, some of the
traits, e.g. bigger arm muscle mass, as well as its size,
especially in case of boys may be significant for achieving
better results in physical activities which involve the
strength of arm, such as throwing a ball [42, 43, 44].
The end of pre-school period and the early school
period, due to variety of physical activities, relatively
high fluidity, flexibility, rhythmicality and harmony in their
performance determine dynamic development of all the
motor abilities [28, 29, 35]. Relating selected parameters
of motor abilities measured in 6-year-old children
to the results obtained in other authors’ research, it may
be claimed that both girls and boys achieved lower average
values in standing broad jump, compared to their
peers examined by Sekita [38] i Momola [45], but, at the
same time, close to the results achieved by children in
Gdańsk [14, 16]. The research over the children living
in the Świętokrzyski region proves that boys achieved
better results – on average by 6.2 cm, than girls. Sixyear-old
Polish boys were characterized by slightly lower
level of development in explosive strength of lower
limbs than their peers form Kielecczyzna. Comparative
analysis of the average values for running speed and
abdominal muscles power in relation to children from
rural areas of Kielecczyzna proves higher average level
of 6-year-old children in strength and lower average
level in speed [39].
Comparative analysis of the research results on motor
abilities of 6-year-old children living in different environments
(either urban or rural) and the results obtained by other authors
reveal certain similarities. Having researched children
from Podkarpacki region, Momola [45] noticed statistically
significant differences in locomotor speed and explosive
strength of upper limbs. In case of running speed, urban
children proved to be faster (F = 15,161, p < 0,05), whereas
their explosive strength was weaker (F = 3,118, p < 0,05).
According to Sekita [38], urban children are characterized
by higher level of strength than rural children what seems
to be associated with higher indicators of somatic development
in case of children living in urban areas. This has
been proved by the current research [46]. Taking physical
condition of prepubertal children (aged 7.5 – 9.5) into
consideration, a different phenomenon has been noticed
[30]. Rural children appeared to achieve better results in
speed and strength tests, including those assessing abdominal
muscles power, strength of arms, static hand grip
strength, as well as in the endurance tests. According to
the authors, „with age this situation changes and urban
youth gains advantage which increases after the period
of puberty.” It is clearly visible in case of rural girls who,
with age, are becoming significantly less fit, compared to
urban girls. This results from rural girls’ lifestyle, neglecting
physical activities, as well as the lack of proper preparation
within families and schools for independent care of physical
condition [30, p. 91].
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