Strength and agility skills of grade 1-learners: North-West child study

Abstract

The aim of this study was firstly to determine the current profile of strength and agility skills of Grade 1-learners in the North-West Province and, secondly, to establish whether there were gender differences with regard to these skills. The study included 816 Grade 1-learners (419 boys and 397 girls). The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor-Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2) was used to evaluate the children s strength and agility skills. The results showed meaningful gender differences with respect to the strength skills of the learners, since boys performed better in the standing long jump (p=0.001) and push-ups (p=0.001) and girls did better in the wall-sit (p=0.044). Gender differences were found also when considering agility skills. Boys performed significantly better in the 15m-shuttle run (p=0.001) and the girls did significantly better in the sideways step over a balance beam, and one-legged and two-legged sideways hops. Grade 1-learners exhibit sufficient strength and agility skills while gender differences were noticeable in the strength and agility skills of these learners.