Abstract:

Introduction:
Physical education classes are essential for the development of fundamental gross motor behaviours during the first years of primary education. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of physical education classes, held twice per week, on the gross motor skills of 6-7 years old children.

Methodology:
Participants were 102 children (age 6-7 years old; 57 boys, 45 girls) enrolled at two public schools from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Anthropometric measurements were performed for all subjects and gross motor skills were assessed during physical education classes at the beginning of the 2018 school year, in the second semester of the 2018 school year, and at the beginning of the 2019 school year using the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2nd Edition (TGMD-2). An analysis of variance test with repeated measures was carried out to evaluate the effects of physical education on body mass index, body fat and TGMD-2 scores.

Results:
There were no statistically significant differences for body mass index. On the other hand, body fat values increased significantly over the course of twelve months, F(2, 198) = 8.33, p = 0.000. Statistically significant enhances were also observed for the locomotor subtest scores, F(2, 202) = 29.53, p = 0.000, as well as for the object control subtest scores, F(2, 202) = 37.51, p = 0.000.

Conclusions:
A physical education curricula with a frequency of two classes per week seems to be effective in developing gross motor skills in children (age 6-7 years).

Keywords:

Gross motor development, primary school children, physical education, assessment.