Abstract
This study aimed to examine age difference of walking time within a frame and on the balance beam with and without obstacle in preschool girls. The study examined 162 preschool girls ages 4–6. The subjects walked to and fro twice on the course and the balance beam under three conditions: no, low, and high obstacles. Three-way ANOVA was used to ascertain the mean differences of each test, age, and obstacle condition for each walking time. A significant interaction was found between test–age factors and test–obstacle factors. Multiple comparisons showed that walking times were shorter on the course than on the balance beam for all age groups and obstacle conditions. Walking times for the course and balance beam tasks were shorter for 5- and 6-year-old girls than 4-year-old girls. Walking times on the balance beam with no obstacle (shortest) and a low obstacle were shorter than that with a high obstacle (longest). Walking times on the course were also shorter for 6-year-old girls than for 4.5-year-old girls. Walking times on the balance beam were shorter for the 6-year-old girls than the 5-year-olds, shorter for the 5-year- olds than the 4.5- and 5-year-olds, and shorter for the 4.5- and 5-year-olds than 4- to 4.5-year-olds. In conclusion, in-course walking is faster than balance beam walking regardless of age or the presence of an obstacle in girls. Furthermore, improvements in the ability to complete both of these walking tasks may differ with age in girls.
