2013 Volume 59 Issue 2 Pages 168-176
In this study, a least squares approximation polynomial was applied to the mean motor ability development distance of young girls and the changes with age were investigated. A least squares approximation polynomial was also applied to the standard deviation for each age group and a regression evaluation polynomial chart was made. The validity of evaluating motor ability development of young children with this method was then investigated. A motor ability test consisting of 6 items (25-m run, standing long jump, ball throw, two-leg consecutive jump, body support time, and ball catching.) was conducted with 1,714 girls aged 3 to 6 years as subjects. A regression polynomial evaluation chart for these 6 items was made, and the validity of development evaluations for each item was investigated. The following results were obtained. In all motor ability items, especially the 25-m run, standing long jump, and two-leg consecutive jump, the developmental characteristics were clearly seen from the second half of age 3 to the first half of age 5 in these young girls. The results suggest that, in the improvement in motor ability, play that involves motor activity leads to the acquisition of the various motor forms of running, jumping, throwing, and catching from an early stage of childhood. Therefore, since simultaneous comparison evaluations are possible in early childhood even for different ages, it is concluded that age changes in motor ability development can be ascertained more objectively with establishment of an evaluation method that considers the age change composition using least squares approximation polynomial for motor ability development in early childhood.
