| dc.description.abstract | I. The problem end purpose of this research.
In the past various studies were undertaken to establish the existence of significant intellectual and physical differences between the races of mankind. Research has proved
sufficiently that there are significant differences between American Whites and American Negroes as well as between South
African Whites and the Bantu inhabitants of South Africa. This fact was also established in other African states, like Kenia, and Southern and Northern Rhodesia. Differences between the Caucasian and Negro races have already been ascertained in respect of their build of body, anthropometric measurements, colour, blood constitution, mental abilities, diseases contracted by them and their moral behaviour. Whether the above-mentioned differences are inherited or are the result of sociological and environmental influences is not a foregone conclusion yet. Scientific evidence, however, tend to point to the first possibility. The most important aim of this research was also to ascertain whether the South African White men and men of Bantu
descendance differ significantly in respect of physical abilities as established by scientific tests with regard to physical fitness. A secondary purpose was to determine whether chronological age has any influence on the physical achievement of White and
Bantu men after the age of nineteen up to the age of thirty five. A tertiary purpose was to construct a test battery by which the physical fitness of such adults can be tested.
II. The method of research. A preliminary test of 15 items was applied on 45 students
in the Physical Education Department of one South African University for Whiter. Out of these 15 items 6 items were selected by way of statistical methods. These 6 items had a
high correlation coefficient, viz 0.96 with the preliminary test battery. By using the data obtained by means of the preliminary test, achievement scales (T-scores) were constructed. These scales were to be used to transfer the raw points into scale points, i.e. percentage. The 6 item test battery was administered to 293 Bantu and 277 White men between the ages of 19 and 35. The 6 items of the test battery were back strength, standing broad jump, 60 yards shuttle run, shot put, pull-ups on the horizontal bar and
800 feet shuttle run. In addition the length and weight of the body of the test subjects were also recorded. The test subjects included persons from as many areas, professions and ethnological groups as possible. The selected data were statistically compiled and the achievement of the Whites and non-Whites were compared. For the purpose of comparison the test subjects of each race were divided into three age groups, viz: 19- to 24-, 25- tot 29- and 30- to 35 years. Because the White men were longer and had a greater body weight than the Bantu men, it was necessary to find a method or methods of comparing the two racial groups when the factors of body weight and length were eliminated. This was done by two methods: in the first instance by random sampling and in the second instance by computing a multiple regression equation. III. The results of the research.
The results of this research are to be found in tables I to LXXXIX, and also in graph 1 to graph 47. In the main the following results were established: 1. The White men are significantly heavier and longer than the nun-White men. The White men became heavier with an increase in chronological age while the body weight of the non-White men remained stationary. 2. The White men surpassed the non-White men in physical
achievement. 3. The non-White men were able to do more pull-ups than the White men, due to th8 greater body weight of the latter. 4. The physical achievement of the White men began to decline after the age of 24. The decline (retrogression) in the physical achievement at the non-Whites appeared after the 29th year. 5. The best achievement of the Whites was obtained in the shot put. On the other hand their poorest achievement was in the 60 yards shuttle run.
6. The non-Whites achieved their highest score in pull-ups, and their lowest score in the standing broad jump. 7. The physical differences between the two racial groups are inherited and cannot be attributed to environmental factors only. 8. The Negro overlap over the White arithmetical mean in
mental achievement varies between 10% to 31%. According to the findings of this research the overlap of the non-White men over the arithmetical mean of the White men
varies between 6.14% in the standing broad jump to 62.8% in pull-ups. The non-White overlap over the White in physical achievement was 22.5%. 9. A valid, objective, and reliable test battery for the measurement of general physical achievement was constructed as well as norms for the use of this test battery. | en_US |
