MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER

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MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER João
Barreiros Faculty of Human Kinetics Technical
University of Lisbon
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This is where I come from
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CANADA
EUROPE
This is where I come from
AFRICA
ATLANTIC OCEAN
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This is where I come from
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This is where I come from
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This is where I come from
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5 key observations
1. Motor development is a set of changes. 2.
These changes reflect qualitative and
quantitative transformations in biological
systems. 3. Human development is not just a
biological process biological changes are
constrained by society, culture and physical
conditions. 4. Most developmental changes can
be described and measured. 5. Motor
development descriptions have the form of
curves
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4 conclusions
1. These differences become more intense with
time. 2. Small differences between boys and
girls in infancy and childhood are common.
3. Adolescent boys and girls are different in
many aspects. 4. Physical dimorphism and motor
competence go together.
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Just one question
Have things always been like that ? Are we
talking about a species characteristic ?
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• I was born in 1958,
• I went to scholl in 1965
• and I went to University in 1977
• Consider three movements
• Running
• Jumping
• Throwing
• and lets take a look at those moments

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• Boys and girls have improved their performance,
  but
• 1. girls have improved more than boys, and they
  became closer to them
• 2. the rate of improvement was not the same for
  all movements
• 3. throwing is a particular case
• Look again !!!!

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Of course, these are just quantitative
changes. But take a look at qualitative
transformations (development analysis stage).
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Mean Ages for development stages in three
movements (Payne Isaacs, 1995)
months
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Clearly, there is something different about
throwing
months
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Focus on throwing
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Throwing and gender facts and emerging questions.
Historical items Wild (1938) has identified
different developmental stages and has detected
gender differences in mean acquisition age of
all stages.
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Throwing and gender facts and emerging questions.
Historical items Wild (1938) has identified
different developmental stages and has detected
gender differences in mean acquisition age of
all stages. Keogh (1973) has detected
differences favouring boys in all ages and for
all criteria (pattern, distance, precision).
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Throwing and gender facts and emerging questions.
Historical items Wild (1938) has identified
different developmental stages and has detected
gender differences in mean acquisition age of
all stages. Keogh (1973) has detected
differences favouring boys in all ages and for
all criteria (pattern, distance,
precision). Eckert (1973) observed three
aspects - there is a correlation between
pattern and performance - morphological
variation cannot explain performance
differences - social and cultural factors may
influence mean performance in such a way that
sex differences in performance are magnified.
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As suggested by Malina (1973) two factors may be
taken into consideration - intrinsic factors
(family size, sibling effects, birth order,
social and economic background...) - extrinsic
factors (practice conditions, early
stimulation, available toys and educational
equipment ...)
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As suggested by Malina (1973) two factors may be
taken into consideration - intrinsic factors
(family size, sibling effects, birth order,
social and economic background...) - extrinsic
factors (practice conditions, early
stimulation, available toys and educational
equipment ...) Schnabel-Dickey (1977)
has looked at the parents attitudes and
behavior and has concluded that permissive
behavior at home was correlated with
higher throwing performance.
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As suggested by Malina (1973) two factors may be
taken into consideration - intrinsic factors
(family size, sibling effects, birth order,
social and economic background...) - extrinsic
factors (practice conditions, early
stimulation, available toys and educational
equipment ...) Schnabel-Dickey (1977)
has looked at the parents attitudes and
behavior and has concluded that permissive
behavior at home was correlated with
higher throwing performance. Halverson
and colleagues(1982) detected higher engagement
rates in throwing activities in boys, as
well as an extended memory for this kind of
actions.
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Girls poor performance may depend on very low
practice amount. What happens if that amount of
practice is intentionally increased ? Do the
differences disappear ?
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Do the differences disappear ? There are 3
research papers around this question (1)
Dusenberry (1952) and (2) Halverson, Roberton,
Safrit Roberts (1977) have trained girls in
throwing tasks, but gender differences were
not significantly reduced . (3) Halverson
Roberton (1978) observed a small positive
variation in the movement pattern, with no
effects upon performance.
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What are the reasons for these gender
differences ?
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East Hensley (1985) and Nelson, Thomas,
Nelson Abraham (1986)
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N280 Ages Kindergarten third
grade. Variables Throwing for
distance Family variables (Birth Order, Gender
of Older Brothers) Parents influence (Parents
educational status, Active/Non Active Parents
Play, Parents Sports activities) Influence of
Physical Activity (Preschool activities,
Diseases, Leisure time ocupation, Play
experiences in organized settings)
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Results The effects of social and cultural
variables are higher in younger
children. Mothers influence is progressively
replaced by Fathers influence. Girls tend to
be highly affected by the Fathers pattern of
activity The correlation between Performance
and Environment decreases significantly with
age. Motor performance in old adolescents is
independent of environmental factors.
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N100 Age5 years Variables Throwing
(distance, trunk rotation, foot
action) Morphology (Height, Weight, Body Mass
Index, Skinfolds, Lengths, Diameters and
Perimeters, Estimated Body Mass for Upper and
Lower Limbs, Somatotype) Environment
(Older Brothers and Sisters, Fathers presence at
home, Playing with Children)
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Results Boys Performance Prediction Estimated
Body Mass for Lower Limbs, Shoulder/Hip Ratio.
Accounted variance 18 Girls Performance
Prediction Estimated Body Mass for Upper
Limbs, Shoulder/Hip Ratio, Presence of Older
Brother, Playing with other children. Accounted
variance 48 Boys Girls Multiple Stepwise
Regression Joint diameters, Shoulder/Hip ratio,
Sum of Skinfolds, Play with other
children Accounted variance 41
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Results Characteristics on which Boys and Girls
differ significantly. (Discriminant
Analysis) Throwing Distance, Trunk Action, Foot
Action Morphology Joint Diameters, Sum
Skinfolds, Upper limb length,
Shoulder/Hip ratio Environment variables Play
with other children How to explain the
difference ? (Ancova) Morphological differences
can account for 12 of the differences between
boys and girls Environment variables can only
account for 4 of gender differences.
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A final question
Why this gender effect in throwing development
and performance ?
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Why this gender effect in throwing development
and performance ?
Four groups of variables (Gallahue, 1982)
Physical Growth
Maturation
Genetics
Environment
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Or, in a slightly modified version...
Physical Growth
maturation
genetics
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Or...
Physical growth
maturation
genetics
mass-media
Family influences
peers
Free Movement experiences
Organized Learning sets
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desenvolvimento físico
Daily routines
Teaching effects
Sports Success
Social pressing
Urban Structure and areas
maturação
Factores hereditários
Parents motor background
?
Cultural patterns
Facilities and Equipments
Modeling effects
Family budget
Neighborhood
Parents Educational Backgound
Parents Professional activity
mass-media
Family traditions
peers
Free Movement Experiences
Organized Learning sets
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