Original scientific paper
Participation of preschool children in organized sports / physical activities in urban and rural area
Ivica Iveković
; Centar za odgoj, obrazovanje i rehabilitaciju Virovitica
Vesna Širić
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta J. J. Strossmayer Osijek
Sanja Šalaj
; Kineziološki fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
Previous research has provided very little information on participation and preferences for certain organized sports/physical activities (martial, non-martial, individual, team) preschool age boys and girls living in urban and rural areas in the Republic of Croatia. The research sought to determine how many children age up to 7 from urban and rural settlements are involved in certain organized sports/physical activities. A sample of respondents consisted of children up to the age of 7 (N=1291, 675 M and 616 F) who were involved in the work of an association or sports club operating in Virovitica and Osijek. The obtained results show that children up to the age of 7 are significantly more involved in organized sports/ physical activity in rural than in urban areas (42.3% vs 9.9%), and also that in rural than in urban settlement are significantly more involved boys (33.1RUR% vs 12.3URB%) and girls (51.9RUR% vs. 7.4URB%) in organized sport/physical activities. It was found that children up to the age of 7 from the rural settlement are statistically significantly more involved in football (5RUR% vs 3.2URB%), universal sport school (8.7RUR% vs 1.3URB%), swimming (8.3RUR% vs 0.06URB%), rhythmic gymnastics (4.7RUR% vs 0.8URB%), karate (5RUR% vs 0.5URB%), dance (2.1RUR% vs 0.4URB%) and tennis (1RUR% vs 0.1URB%) than from urban settlement, while children from urban settlement are statistically significantly more involved in athletics (0.9URB% vs 0.4RUR%) than from rural settlement. In rural settlement, girls up to the age of 7 statistically significantly were more involved in organized sports activities (60.2% vs. 39.8%), individual (61.6% vs. 38.4%), team (61.2% vs 38.8%) and no martial sports/physical activities (60.4% vs. 39.6%) than boys. In urban settlement, boys up to the age of 7 were statistically significantly more involved in organized sports/physical activity (63.4% vs. 36.6%), team (89.2% vs 10.8%), martial arts (62% vs 38%) and non-martial sports/physical activities (63.7% vs. 36.3%) than girls, while girls from boys (56.1% vs. 43.9%) are statistically significantly more involved in individual sports/body activities (56.1% vs 43.9%). In rural and urban areas children and boys and girls, up to the age of 7, are statistically significantly more involved in non martial arts than in martial sports/physical activities. In both areas of living (urban-rural settlement) children at the age of 7 are statistically significantly more involved in individual than in team sports/physical activity. Urban settlements compared to rural settlements more likely provide a much wider range of organized sports/physical activities in which preschool children can be involved, but this is not a guarantee that urban children will be more involved in organized sports/physical activities than children from rural settlements.
Keywords
martial - non martial activities; early and preschool children; individual-team activities, structured sports activities, urban-rural differences
Hrčak ID:
290975
URI
Publication date:
30.9.2022.
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