The objective of the present study was to investigate the level of motor performance in
fundamental motor abilities and its relations with opportunities of motor experiences in
and out of a school context, with boys and girls ranging from six years and six months
to seven years and eleven months of age. The children were from two schools of he
public educational network of the district of Icoaraci/PA. A sample of 39 children, 16
girls and 23 boys, participated in this study. The instrument used to asses motor
development was the TGMD2 (Teste of Gross Motor Development). To evaluate school
context, it was used video footage of recess situations and Physical Education classes;
out of this context, a structured interview was done with the participants. For data
analyses, Variance Analyses (ANOVA) and a continuity test (Tukey HSD Post HOC
Test) were conducted in the mean chronological, locomotory and manipulative ages, the
development quotient, the gross scores in locomotory and manipulative subtests; for
gender and school analyses, Test t was applied in independent samples. To analyze the
children’s preference verbalizations towards play activity, locale, partners and offers of
recreational, sport or cultural activities, ANOVA was conducted. The results suggest
that 51,8% present an average motor development, 2,6% are above average, 28,2% are
below average, 12,8% are poor and 5,1% very poor. The analyses of motor behavior
demonstrated highly heterogeneous results, evidenced by a high standard deviation,
mainly on jump on one foot, lateral run, gallop (locomotory), and kick and hit
(manipulative). However, when gender is taken to analyses, statistically significant
differences were only observed in manipulative age, where results of the girls were
better than the ones of the boys. When abilities are taken to analyses, significant
differences were found in the abilities to kick and to throw, favoring the boys, and in
jumping, favoring the girls. When schools are taken into analyses, significant
differences passed in favor of school “A” and in hit in school “B” were observed. As for
the opportunities to play outside of school, playing ball was the preferred play activity
for children in both schools, the preferred locale is the backyard, and preferred partners
are both friends and brothers. When gender is taken to analyses, girls prefer to play wth
dolls, and boys to play ball. Both prefer the backyard and companies of friends together
with brothers. The recess analyses pointed out the most frequent play activities in both
schools are running, tag, figures exchange and talking. When gender is taken to
analyses, no differences were found in play activities; however, there were differences
in group formation. In school “A”, the groups were mostly just composed of boys, or
just of gils. As for school “B”, they were mostly mixed. In regards to participation in
recreational, sport or cultural activities, show that 100% of the sample don’t do these
activities outside of school context. The analyses of Physical Education classes pointed
to differences in structure and offer of material between schools, having the conditions
in school “B” being superior to the ones in school “A”. However, in regards to the
methodology used by the teachers, they are similar. The results demonstrate that the
opportunities of motor experiences in the school context are fundamental for motor
development in school children, for, in most cases, is the only opportunity to stimulate
theses activities.
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