Atletismo como unidade didática e seus efeitos na coordenação motora e aptidão física nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental

Abstract

The present study aimed to analyze the effects of a systematized teaching unit on the Athletics content on motor coordination and sport-related physical fitness in 3rd grade elementary school students. This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre- and post test design and a control group. A total of 43 students from the 3rd grade of elementary school, aged between seven and nine years, participated in the study and were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Motor coordination (MC) was assessed using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) battery, composed of the tests: balance beam walking backward, hopping for height (one-leg hop), lateral jumping, and moving sideways. Physical fitness (PF) was evaluated through tests from the PROESP-BR battery, including speed (20 m sprint), agility (square test), upper limb strength (medicine ball throw), and lower limb strength (standing long jump), in addition to body composition assessment through body mass and height measurements. The pedagogical intervention consisted of a teaching unit on Athletics structured through Mini-Athletics activities, developed during regular Physical Education classes. The activities emphasized motor tasks related to the fundamental movement skills of running, jumping, and throwing, organized through circuits, games, and activity stations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics, applying the Student’s t-test for intra- and intergroup comparisons, adopting a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. The results indicated significant improvements in students’ global motor coordination, with a shift in the classification profile to higher categories in the post-test. Regarding physical fitness, the experimental group showed significant improvements in agility, upper limb strength, and lower limb strength, whereas the control group presented more modest changes. In the comparison between groups in the post-test, a significant difference was observed in the speed variable in favor of the experimental group. It can be concluded that the Athletics teaching unit based on Mini-Athletics proved to be an effective pedagogical strategy to promote improvements in motor coordination and components of physical fitness among students. These results reinforce the importance of the systematic teaching of Athletics in school Physical Education classes, expanding opportunities for motor practice and contributing to students’ motor and physical development.