Acta Gymnica 2018, 48(4):161-166 | DOI: 10.5507/ag.2018.020

Influence of familiarization on preschool children's motor tests results

Bojan Međedović, Romana Romanov, Violeta Zubanov, Dušan Perić, Dušan Stupar, Zlatko Ahmetović
Faculty of Sport and Tourism, Educons University, Novi Sad, Serbia

Background: Various field tests can be used to evaluate children's motor skills. Because of the complexity of their motor skills, which at their age are still in a very intensive stage of development, it is inadequate to use the same test protocol as in the adult population, as children receive and process information in a different way. Some evidence showed that familiarization with test protocols is important in children's motor skills evaluation process.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of familiarization on motor test results for the assessment of motor skills in preschool children population. A controlled research study design was conducted.

Methods: The sample included 40 children, 20 boys and 20 girls (age 5.89 ± 0.42 years). Subjects underwent two testing sessions with two weeks between the trials, performed 6 motor skills: leg power, flexibility, abdominal muscles endurance, shoulder muscles endurance, agility, and running speed. Before the second testing session, subjects underwent a period of familiarization with motor tasks in 3 sessions, with 3 trials every 3 days.

Results: Significantly better results in the second testing session were observed in countermovement jump (with both fixed and free arms), curl-ups, speed and agility test. The present study indicates that children significantly improved the results in the motor test of explosive strength, muscle endurance, speed and agility, being influenced by familiarization.

Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that familiarization with the test procedures prior to testing affect the results of the motor test, and represent an important part of the evaluation of motor skills of preschool children.

Keywords: motor test, evaluation, vertical jump, flexibility, endurance, agility

Received: March 29, 2018; Accepted: October 22, 2018; Prepublished online: November 12, 2018; Published: December 31, 2018  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Međedović, B., Romanov, R., Zubanov, V., Perić, D., Stupar, D., & Ahmetović, Z. (2018). Influence of familiarization on preschool children's motor tests results. Acta Gymnica, 48(4), 161-166. doi: 10.5507/ag.2018.020
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Ageberg, E., Zatterstrom, R., & Moritz, U. (1998). Stabilometry and one-leg hop test have high test-retest reliability. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 8, 198-202. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. American Academy of Pediatrics. (1992). Fitness, activity, and sports participation in the preschool child. Pediatrics, 90, 1002-1004. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    3. American College of Sports Medicine. (2010). ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
    4. Arteaga, R., Dorado, C., Chavarren, J., & Calbert, J. A. L. (2000). Reliability of jumping performance in active men and women under different stretch loading conditions. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 6, 26-34.
    5. Bala, G. (1999). Some problems and suggestions in measuring motor behavior of pre-school children. Kinesiologia Slovenica, 5(2), 5-10.
    6. Barfield, J. P., Sells, P. D., Rowe, D. A., & Hanningan-Downs, K. (2002). Practice effect of the Wingate anaerobic test. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 16, 472-473. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    7. Barnett, L. M., van Beurden, E., Morgan, P. J., Brooks, L. O., & Beard, J. R. (2008). Does childhood motor skill proficiency predict adolescent fitness? Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40, 2137-2144. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. Burton, A. W., & Miller, D. E. (1998). Movement skill assessment. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
    9. Bushnell, E. W., & Boudreau, J. P. (1993). Motor development and the mind: The potential role of motor abilities as a determinant of aspects of perceptual development. Child Development, 64, 1005-1021. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    10. Council of Europe. (1988). EUROFIT: Handbook for the EUROFIT tests of physical fitness. Rome, Italy: Author.
    11. Eston, R., & Reilly, T. (Eds.). (2001). Kinanthropometry and exercise physiology laboratory manual (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
    12. Etnyre, B. R., & Poindexter, H. B. W. (1995). Characteristics of motor performance, learning, warm-up decrement, and reminiscence during a balancing task. Perceptual Motor Skills, 80, 1027-1030. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. Fisher, A., Reilly, J. J., Kelly, L. A., Montgomery, C., Williamson, A., Paton, J. Y., & Grant, S. (2005). Fundamental movement skills and habitual physical activity in young children. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 37, 684-688. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    14. Glaister, M., Witmer, C., Clarke, D. W., Guers, J. J., Heller, J. L., & Moir, G. L. (2010). Familiarization, reliability, and evaluation of a multiple sprint running test using self-selected recovery periods. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24, 3296-3301. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. Gwynne, K., & Blick, B. (2004). Motor performance checklist for 5-year-olds: A tool for identifying children at risk of developmental co-ordination disorder. Journal of Paediatrics Child Health, 40, 369-373. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Hopkins, W. G. (2000). Measures of reliability in sports medicine and science. Sports Medicine, 30, 1-15. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. Malina, R. M., & Bouchard, C. (1991). Growth, maturation, and physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
    18. Minetti, A. E. (2002). On the mechanical power of joint extensions as affected by the change in muscle force (or cross-sectional area), ceteris paribus. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 86, 363-369. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    19. Moir, G., Button, C., Glaister, M., & Stone, M. H. (2004). Influence of familiarization on the reliability of vertical jump and acceleration sprinting performance in physically active men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18, 276-280. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    20. Moir, G., Sanders, R., Button, C., & Glaister, M. (2005). The influence of familiarization on the reliability of force variables measured during unloaded and loaded vertical jumps. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19, 140-145. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    21. Patterson, P., Bennington, J., & De La Rosa, T. (2001). Psychometrics properties of child- and teacher-reported curl-up scores in children ages 10-12 years. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 72, 117-124. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    22. Piek, J. P., Dawson, L., Smith, L. M., & Gasson N. (2008). The role of early fine and gross motor development on later motor and cognitive ability. Human Movement Science, 27, 668-681. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    23. Ploutz-Snyder, L., & Giamis, E. (2001). Orientation and familiarization of 1RM strength testing in old and young women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 1, 519-523. Go to original source...
    24. Sullivan, K. J., Kantak, S. S., & Burtner, P. A. (2008). Motor learning in children: Feedback effects on skill acquisition. Physical Therapy, 88, 720-732. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    25. Thomas, J. R., & Nelson, J. K. (1996). Research methods in physical activity (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
    26. Tomac, Z., & Hraski, Z. (2016). Influence of familiarization of preschool children with motor tests on test results and reliability coefficients. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 123, 717-736. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    27. Tomac, Z., Hraski, Z., & Sporis, G. (2012). The assessment of preschool children's motor skills after familiarization with motor tests. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26, 1792-1798. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    28. Tsigilis, N., & Theodosiou, A. (2008). The influence of multiple administration of a psychomotor test on performance and learning. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22, 1964-1968. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    29. Vrbik, I., Sporiš, G., Štefan, L., Madić, D., Trajković, N., Valantine, I., & Milanović, Z. (2016). The influence of familiarization on physical fitness test results in primary school-aged children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 29, 278-284. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    30. Yoon, D. Y., Scott, K., Hill, M. N., Levitt, N. S., & Lambert, E. V. (2006). Review of three tests of motor proficiency in children. Perceptual Motor Skills, 102, 543-551. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content