Effects of an accelerated physical education programme on certain physical and motor traits of children in grades one, three and four
Creators: name: Tihanyi, Jeno
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2011

description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an accelerated and a regular physical education programme on various physical and motor traits of grade one, three, and four children. Two hundred children of Sir Richard McBride Elementary School of Vancouver, British Columbia participated in the study. Two classes in each grade were selected for one experimental and one control group. All experimental classes were tested initially. Fifty-four students of the two hundred control and experimental participants were randomly selected and were tested at the end of the programme. The physical and motor development traits investigated were: 1. Physical Development: height, weight, lung capacity, arm and thigh girths, chronological age, skeletal age. 2. Motor Ability and Agility: standing broad jump, shuttle run. 3. Strength: left and right grips strength, flexed arm bar hang. 4. Cardiovascular Appraisal: submaximal work task. The subjects of the control groups followed the programme outlined by the Department of Education of British Columbia for physical education. The programme was administered by the respective classroom teachers. These groups met twice weekly, for forty minute periods. Exception to the above is grade four, who met three times per week. The subjects of the experimental groups followed a programme designed and administered by the investigator. These groups met three times per week, for forty minute periods. The programme for both experimental and control groups extended over a period of 15 weeks. Review of the final results indicates no statistically significant difference between the two groups, with the exception of the thigh girth for grade three control group. The t value was 2.66, significant beyond the .05 level. The subjects in grade three control group were taller and heavier. It is interesting to note that although the grade three control group was younger chronologically and skeletally, they surpassed the grade three experimental group in all test items, with the exception of standing broad jump. The final results of the experimental group indicate improvement in all variables. Significant improvements beyond the .01 level were demonstrated in standing broad jump (t = 7.78 for grade three, and t = 10.29 for grade four) ; flexed arm bar hang (t = 3.23 for grade four); thigh girth (t = 3.20 for grade three); at the .05 level in shuttle run (t = 2.39 for grade three) . The interpretation of the investigation shows only a marginal difference between the control and experimental groups, in favor of the latter. This difference, however, cannot be considered beyond the limitations of this study. However, this is not to deny the possibility that a more intensive physical education programme, such as administered by the investigator to the experimental groups, may enhance the physical and motor development of children. It seems that such a programme, on a long-term basis, can contribute to the improvement of the physical capacity of children.