MOBAK 1-2 : gender-based evaluation of motor competence in 6-8 year-old n. Macedonian primary school children

Andonovski, Martin (author), Nikovski, Goran (author), Majerič, Matej (author), Čuk, Ivan (author), Lüthy, Pascale (author), Popeska, Biljana (author), Kodzoman, Kostadin (author), Nikovski, Bojan (author)

Basic motor competencies (BMC) are crucial for enabling children to engage in physical activities and participate in sports, which are important for developing a healthy and active lifestyle. Motor competences are extremely dependent on the specific situational requirements of movement, play and sport (Herrmann et al., 2015). The purpose of this research is to analyze motor competence in children aged 6 to 8 years from first and second grade between genders. The cross-sectional study was conducted in one primary school from N. Macedonia. In this research, the MOBAK 1-2 instrument was used and adapted for testing and evaluating the basic motor competencies of first and second grade children. Basic motor competencies were assessed with the MOBAK 1-2 (Herrmann, 2018) for 6- to 8-year-old children with standardized equipment. MOBAK 1-2 covers two motor competence areas, object movement (OM) and self-movement (SM), each consisting of 4 motor qualifications. The sample is composed of a total of 110 respondents (boys n = 49, girls n = 61) from first and second grade (age: 6-8 years) during physical education classes. The Mann-Whitney Test was conducted, which examined differences between boys and girls in first and second grade in terms of BMC. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that, boys performed significantly better in OM while girls performed better in SM motor competence area. Both, OM and SM qualifications, showed differences between age, indicating that older children achieved higher levels of BMC compared to younger ones. This is consistent with previous research on BMC (Herrmann, 2018) as well as studies on general motor competence, aligning with our expectations. This research among children aged 6-8 has theoretical and practical significance and contributes to the understanding of motor competence and regular physical activity in children and the creation of strategies to promote a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age. The results of the same will make a significant contribution to a broader understanding of the influence of children's lifestyle on their motor development in the key years of childhood.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, basic motor competencies, primary school children, MOBAK 1-2, object movement, self-movement
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 127-131
• Numbering: Vol. 13, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-190404
• UDC: 796/799:37
• ISSN on article: 1857-8152
• DOI: 10.46733/PESH24131127a
• COBISS.SI-ID: 206538499

Copyright

Podatek o licenci CC BY 4.0 je naveden na spletni strani revije (https://journal.pesh.mk/pesh/open_access_policy). (Datum opombe: 5. 11. 2026)

• Publication date in RUL: 28.10.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Research in physical education, sport and health : international journal of scientific issues in physical education, sport and health
• Shortened title: Res phys educ sport health
• Publisher: Faculty of physical culture
• ISSN: 1857-8152
• COBISS.SI-ID: 91634698

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: šport, motorične sposobnosti, gibalna aktivnost, otroci, osnovnošolci, MOBAK 1-2, premikanje predmetov, samostojno gibanje