The differences between gross motor performance amongst children according to ethnic and age chronology

Abstract Gross motor skills are important elements that are often associated with the activeness of children in sports and physical activity. The better motor performance level amongst children is reflected by the higher level of involvement in sports and physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the level of gross motor performance amongst children based on ethnic and chronological age. The subjects of the study consist of two different ethnic groups namely, Malays (n=38) and Indians (n=34), respectively. A total of 72 subjects aged between 8 and 9 years old (8.51 ± 50 years) volunteered for this study. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) is the instrument used in order to assess the gross motor performance amongst the children. Two gross motor components assessed were locomotor and object manipulation. The t-test analysis found that there was no significant difference on the level of motor performance between the ethnicities either in locomotor [t (70) = .31, p (.75)> .05] or object manipulation [t (70) = 1.65, p (.10)> .05]. Meanwhile, the results attained from the Gross Motor Quotient (GMQ) score demonstrated that all the participants regardless of their ethnicity, exhibited a lower level of gross motor performance compared to age equivalent standard score. In conclusion, ethnic differences do not affect the level of gross motor performance either in locomotor or object manipulation. Keywords: Children Motor Skills, TGMD-2, Gross Motor Performance, Locomotor Skills, Object Manipulation Skills, Ethnicity Abstrak Kemahiran motor kasar merupakan eleman penting yang berkaitan dengan tahap keaktifan seseorang individu dalam sukan dan aktiviti fizikal. Semakin tinggi tahap prestasi motor kasar kanak-kanak maka semakin tinggi juga tahap penglibatan mereka dalam sukan dan aktiviti fizikal. Oleh itu, tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk menilai tahap prestasi motor kasar dalam kalangan kanak-kanak berdasarkan perbezaan etnik dan umur kronologi. Subjek kajian terdiri daripada dua etnik yang berbeza iaitu etnik Melayu (38 orang) dan India (34 orang). Seramai 72 orang kanak-kanak yang berumur di antara 8 dan 9 tahun (8.51 ± .50 tahun) telah melibatkan diri secara sukarela dalam kajian ini. Instrumen yang digunakan untuk menilai tahap prestasi motor kasar kanak-kanak adalah menggunakan Ujian Perkembangan Motor Kasar (TGMD-2). Dua komponen motor kasar yang dinilai iaitu lokomotor dan manipulatif objek. Hasil analisis menggunakan ujian-t, didapati bahawa tidak terdapat perbezaan tahap prestasi motor antara etnik Melayu dan India sama ada secara lokomotor [t (70) = .31, p (.75) > .05] mahupun manipulatif objek [t (70) = 1.65, p (.10) > .05]. Bagi skor ‘Gross Motor Quotient” (GMQ) pula, didapati bahawa etnik Melayu dan India menunjukkan tahap prestasi motor kasar secara kesetaraan umur yang rendah. Kesimpulannya, perbezaan etnik tidak mempengaruhi tahap prestasi motor kanak-kanak sama ada secara lokomotor atau manipulatif objek.