Assessing gross motor skills of Kosovar preschool children

Abstract

In the light of the new developments in preschool education in Kosovo, this study attempts to carry out an assessment of the development of gross motor skills of preschool children attending institutional education. The emphasis is on creating a set of tests to measure the motor attainments of these children by conducting assessments of the achievements of 539 children aged 4 years ± 3 months to 6 years ± 3 months, of which 229 are girls and 310 are boys. As it had been expected, the results bespeak an increasing development of all gross motor skills, a development which is also age and growth related. In dexterity and strength, boys outperformed girls, while girls achieved more in areas of static balance and coordination. There were no statistically significant differences between boys and girls as far as dynamic balance is concerned. It has to be said that, generally, up to the age of five years, differences between genders and age groups are not significant, bearing in mind that dexterity and coordination develop after this age, while static balance skills become apparent at around four years of age.