The significance of an environment encouraging motor abilities in the development of walking in a preschool child
The thesis is based on Delacato's theory of movement of parts of the body to confirm the significance of gradual development of walking according to the direction of movement. It also aims at determining the importance of an encouraging environment at home and in kindergarten while walking is developing.
We examined the gradual aspect of walking with regard to the direction of movement in space in the following order: on flat terrain, upstairs and downstairs. Moreover, an encouraging environment was considered as either primary or secondary and involved four factors: material, substantive, organisational and staff-related. We explored the impact of the sum of the factors in a certain environment on the development of walking, particularly whether children would progress more rapidly in a more encouraging environment than in a less encouraging one.
The sample consisted of 46 first age group children aged from 16 to 26 months, their parents and other adults taking care of the children when their parents are absent. A total of 7 groups from the following kindergartens took part in the research: Brezovica, Vrhnika, Kozarje, Borovnica and Žiri.
The result analysis indicated that walking in terms of the direction of movement develops the way we predicted. Children first walk on a flat terrain, upstairs and only then downstairs. The quality of walking was evaluated according to the movement of limbs (in line with Delacato's theory), i.e. changing weight, homolateral and cross-pattern walking.
The influence of an encouraging environment was explained through a model with a dependent variable called the development of walking. The variable is defined with 4 independent variables of the selected environment: material, staff-related, organisational and substantial factors. Multiple regression results suggest that children will reach new stages of development of walking faster if their parents provide them with better material, staff-related, organisational and substantial conditions when performing motor activities. The primary environment is statistically more significant in the development of walking than the secondary. This may be due to the number of adults per child and the fact that kindergartens usually take a relatively good care of the development of walking. It is vital, however, that parents cooperate in this respect.
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