Pilot study on the gross motor proficiency of Hong Kong preschoolers

Results from recent studies showed that the fitness levels of today's youth has declined over the past two decades (Ross and Pate 1987; Ignico 1990; Leung 1995). However, the issue on young children's gross motor performance levels has only started being discussed since the late 80's. This paper will present the findings from a test administered to investigate the gross motor proficiency of the young children in Hong Kong. The Bruiniks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency was used to test the gross motor proficiency of 179 children from aged 5 to 6 years. The gross motor proficiency of the young children were measured in terms of their performance on running speed and agility, balance, bilateral coordination and strength. This study is part of the pilot study of the investigator's Ph. D. study on the gross motor proficiency of preschool children in Hong Kong and is funded by the Hong Kong Institute of Education Research Grant.