COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF COORDINATION ABILITIES IN 5- AND 6-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT AGE AND GENDER DIFFERENTIATION

Abstract

Negative challenges of today: prolonged pandemic, war, children’s forced stay at home in front of computer screens, only remote learning options, and a decrease in the volume and intensity of physical activity have led to increased emotional tension, significantly restricted movement, and reduced physical development in preschoolers. The development of coordination abilities is particularly crucial for preschool children as they contribute to the acquisition of most motor skills by children and play a role in motor control. Therefore, the comprehensive assessment of coordination abilities in 5- and 6-year-old children is an essential component of the educational and training process. The research employed the following materials and research methods: theoretical analysis and synthesis of scientific and methodological literature, pedagogical experiment, pedagogical testing, and methods of mathematical statistics. The pedagogical experiment involved studying and evaluating the development of coordination abilities in acrobats, considering age (5 and 6 years) and gender (girls and boys) differentiation, who have been facing the challenges of the prolonged pandemic and war. The pedagogical experiment was conducted at two children’s and youth sports schools in the Sumy region. In total, 40 acrobats from the initial training group participated in the pedagogical testing: 20 girls and 20 boys aged 5 and 6 years. According to the results of the pedagogical experiment, it can be noted that the majority of acrobats in the initial training group have a below-average and low level of development of coordination abilities. Therefore, it is necessary to create conditions in training sessions that would contribute to the improvement of the development of coordination abilities in acrobat athletes and, as a result, enhance their coordination preparedness.