PHYSICAL LITERACY ASSESSMENTS FOR YEAR 4 STUDENTS

Gozo College Ghajnsielem Primary School

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

As part of the Erasmus+ Sports project, Inclusion and Gender Equality Through Softball, the Ghajnsielem Redcoats conducted a Physical Literacy Assessment of the students attending Year 4 at the Gozo College Ghajnsielem Primary School. The assessment was based on that which is conducted by the Canadian Sport For Life organisation to evaluate physical literacy of Canadian children and youth.

The Ghajnsielem Redcoats have been working to improve the physical literacy of the students at the school for the past three years conducting weekly sports sessions for the students of the school. Physical literacy is the motivation, the confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.

There were two parts to the assessment. During the first part which was conducted in the classroom, the students had to complete two questionnaires. The first one covered motivation and confidence, while the second one focused on knowledge, understanding and daily behaviour. This took about an hour to complete.

For the second part of the assessment, the students left their classroom and went to their playground to undergo three tests. The first one was an obstacle course which included hopping on two feet, sliding, catching a ball, throwing the ball to hit a target, skipping, hopping on one foot and kicking a ball. The students received points for their performance and were timed as well. The objective of this test was to assess the fundamental motor skills required for participation in physically active peer play in a format that simulates typical movement and skill variation. Measuring fundamental movement skills contributes towards a child’s physical competence to take part in active play.

The second assessment was a 20m Pacer Test. The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test, a maximal aerobic fitness test, is a variation of the Beep Test. During this test all the students were trying to keep up with the beeps of the recorded programme and their ability to stay on pace was tested while running 20m laps. Cardiorespiratory fitness contributes to knowing whether or not children have the necessary endurance to take part in active games. The final assessment was the Plank Assessment of Torso Strength to assess torso muscular endurance. The students were timed as they held the plank position. Torso endurance and strength are related to back health, the ability to stabilize the body, and the function of both the upper and lower limbs.

These tests will be repeated in October 2018 towards the end of the IGETS project when these students will be in Year 6. The physical literacy assessment is part of the various ways the Ghajnsielem Redcoats will try to measure the impact of IGETS in the community as well as the success of the project in achieving its objectives. Other measures include several surveys including a survey of the parents of boys and girls to assess the difference in attitudes and perceptions of parents towards their daughters as compared to that of parents towards their sons in terms of willingness to encourage them to participate in sports. Another survey is to assess the awareness of the members of our community of the gender imbalances which prevail in Gozo. These two surveys were distributed to the students of the school to take home for their parents to complete.

The Redcoats would like to thank the Head of School, Dame Marianne Zammit for her cooperation as well as Year 4 class teacher Charmaine Grech for helping out during the assessment along with LSA Janice Grech. The next important event for IGETS will take place next week when four club officials will travel to Haarlem on May 10 for the 2nd transnational meeting of the project which will include coaching clinics as well as workshops to strengthen the administration of the respective clubs of the three partners.ant for their respective organisations.

Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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