Developing Fundamental Movement Skills of Elementary School
Students through Traditional Games
Gina Provitasari Aristha, Yudha M. Saputra, Agus Mahendra and Salman Salman
School of Postgraduate studies, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jln. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229 Bandung, Indonesia
ginaprovitasariaristha@student.upi.edu
Keywords: Galah asin traditional game, bébénténgan traditional game, boy-boyan traditional game, fundamental
movement skills, physical education games, test gross motor development-2.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of galah asin, bébénténgan, and boy-boyan traditional
games on elementary school students’ fundamental movement skills. To achieve this purpose, a true
experiment with pretest-posttest control group design with more than one experimental group was carried out.
The samples were 40 students; each group consisted of 10 students. The instrument used in this study was the
Test Gross Motor Development-2 (Ulrich, 2000). The data analysis was conducted by means of SPSS 16
using the significance level of 0.05. Based on the results of a paired sample t-Test, it was concluded that: (1)
the galah asin traditional game significantly influenced the development of students’ fundamental movement
skills, (2) the bébénténgan traditional game significantly influenced the development of students’ fundamental
movement skills, (3) The boy-boyan traditional game significantly influenced the development of students’
fundamental movement skills, and (4) physical education games significantly influenced the development of
students’ fundamental movement skills.
1 INTRODUCTION
Motor development takes place in an exact sequence,
and age norms are often used to measure the
development progress (Bayle, 2012). This shows that
along with the age, the motor development that one
possesses will be more complex and different than the
previous one. However, the previous motor skills are
the foundation of the following motor skills (JD,
Crowe, and Ward, 2003). In other words, the motor
of kindergarten, elementary and junior high school
students are different from each other, and the motor
in the kindergarten age is the foundation for the motor
development in Elementary School age, and the same
thing goes for the motor in Elementary School age is
the foundation for the motor development in Junior
High School age. For Elementary School aged kids,
the ability to move in sequence faces an improvement
from simple moves to more complex and coordinated
moves (Wang, 2004). Therefore, basically, the series
of motor development up to coordinated moves really
rely on the maturity and integration of nerves as well
as muscular skeletal system factors. This motor skill
is the one that will be the foundation to the following
skill (Goodway and Branta, 2003). This is really
needed to provide a strong support for the formation
of movement quality that is proportional to their age
(Fisher et al., 2005). To perform a good movement
task, a good fundamental movement skill is certainly
required. The basik movement skill is a motion
pattern that becomes the basic for a more complex
movement agility (Goodway and Branta, 2003). By
mastering that particular skill, it is expected that the
children will participate in physical activities, such as
sports so an active lifestyle can be achieved in order
to improve the kids’ quality of life (Bakhtiari,
Shafinia, and Ziaee, 2011) (Williams et al., 2008).
The fundamental movement skills are generally
divided into three movements, the locomotor
movements, the non locomotor movements and the
manipulative movements (Stodden et al., 2012). This
fundamental movement skill is the one needed by the
kids, particularly those who are in Elementary School
to support the kids’ next movement skills (Fisher et
al., 2005). If the basic motor skills are not as good,
then he will be less able to compete in his adult age
(Božanić, Ana (Faculty of Kinesiology, University of
Split and Bešlija, Tea (Karate Club “OBI”, Split,
2010). The movement skills are formed not only from
the result of practice, but also because of the heredity
70
Aristha, G., Saputra, Y., Mahendra, A. and Salman, S.
Developing Fundamental Movement Skills of Elementary School Students through Traditional Games.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education (ICSSHPE 2017) - Volume 2, pages 70-75
ISBN: 978-989-758-317-9
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
factor (genetic). Although this biological aspect
affects the ability in the movement skills, but to be
able to further develop to a more perfect direction
depends on the environment. As stated (Venetsanou
and Kambas, 2009) that “Environment Factors such
as (Mother, siblings, parents social and economic
status), school, socio-cultural and movement program
provision become the factors that affect the kids’
movement skills. “In the socio-cultural factor or the
parenting patterns (Victora, Victora, and Barros,
1990) stated that “The emphasis of Brazilians
parenting pattern is more spontaneous, informal, fun,
and physically active in activities such as running and
jumping.” Further, (Iivonen and Sääkslahti, 2014)
stated that “Kids playground is also a factor that
affects the kids’ motor skills.”
In Indonesia, the parents’ knowledge on the
movement skills are is still lacking so it is possible
that kids in Elementary School age have poor
movement skills. Not to mention the learning
programs that the students get fail to facilitate the kids
to move with a good intensity (Gao, Zhang, and
Podlog, 2014). Realizing the above-mentioned
condition, the curriculum of physical education in
Indonesia proposed an inclusion of local contents that
contains subject extension that can be used as
teaching materials for the students, including
traditional games. There are at least two goals from
the inclusion of the local contents into the curriculum,
the first one is to introduce the local culture heritage
to the next generation (Piech and Linski, 2007). The
second one is to revive both the interest and the
development of the traditional games in protecting the
local cultural traditions to the nation’s next generation
that if we dig deeper, will improve the students’
fundamental movement skills (Akbari et al., 2009).
The suggestion is triggered by the fact that lots of
Elementary and Junior High Schools students who are
not familiar with and interested in the traditional sport
games.
Traditional game is one of the folklore types in the
form of game that spreads orally amidst a certain
culture, in traditional forms, has rules that contains
noble values, performed through interactions and
inherited from generation to generation (Misbach,
2010). The folk games played in the ancient times are
a part of the local culture identity (Chepyator-
Thomson, 1990). The traditional games are also folk
games where the games are a part of an image or
character of the society (Society, Journal, and
Folklore, 2011). The traditional games are played by
the kids at a certain area that have been inherited from
one generation to the next ones. The kids in the past,
in their spare times, tend to spend their time to explore
the activities outside the house that make use of the
surrounding nature (Sutton-Smith, 1953). Today, it is
really possible that those games are no longer played
by the kids. In this globalization era where the
identity of a nation or a local culture are very
important, the traditional games can be one of the
most interesting and important factors that can help
protect and express the identity of an area (Agh,
2014). Games that are human’s creation in the past
have actually triggered the kids to have fun and had a
very meaningful impact on the kids’ individual
development.
Other than containing high cultural value,
traditional games are beneficial in improving the
psychomotor, cognitive and social skills (Ajila and
Olowu, 1992) (Gundani, Makaza, Amusa and Banda,
2011). In the psychomotor aspect, traditional games
can train the sensorimotor, flexibility, endurance,
gross motor, and fine motor skills. Besides,
traditional games are also more effective than daily
activities in improving kids’ fundamental movement
skills (Akbari et al., 2009). Furthermore, the cognitive
benefits are that traditional games can develop the
imagination, creativity, problem solving, strategy,
anticipation, and contextual understanding
(Chepyator-Thomson, 1990). While the social
benefits of traditional games can improve teamwork,
relation building and social maturity training with the
peers (Norgaard, 2009).
Traditional games have the characters that are
able to raise happiness as well as the participation of
the kids and to improve fundamental movement skills
since it has an element of play. Playing is the kids’
world (Mahendra, 2015). They play while they learn.
Playing is a spontaneous activity without any burden
and binding rules. While playing, the kids explore and
find the things that makes them proud. This becomes
a good facility for the kids to develop themselves,
whether in their emotional, social, physical or their
intellectual development. For the kids, playing is the
main target where they play about their body and
motor skills (Gallahue, 1996). Besides, playing can
also be beneficial for the kids’ cognition, body and
emotion (Stork, Sanders, Stork, and Sanders, 2015).
In applying a playing activity or game in a
learning context, a teacher shall make a learning plan
formulation so that the goal in the learning process
can be achieved. The learning program are
particularly based on the types of game, the
traditional games, for example. To perform a native
tradition such as the traditional games is a good
opportunity to make sport learning program more
modern and interesting (Cieśliń
ski and Chaliburda,
2016). One thing that needs to be highlighted that
Developing Fundamental Movement Skills of Elementary School Students through Traditional Games
71
when the traditional game is included in the teaching
materials of physical education, the said traditional
games shall have the same characteristics with the
DAP principles, because one of the high quality
physical education program characteristics is marked
with the Development Appropriate Practice (DAP),
namely a physical activity program given based on
the students movement skill and can accommodate
each movement quality characteristic differences of
the students (Carta, Schwartz, Atwater, and
McConnell, 1991).
2 METHODS
2.1 Participants
The population in this research is the 3
rd
grade
students of Taruna Bakti Elementary School Bandung
with 130 students in total. The sampling technique
that the writer used is simple random sampling. The
researcher took samples by shuffling them and took
each 10 students from four classes. Thus, the total
samples in this research is 40 people for four groups.
After the samples are obtained then the preliminary
test is performed to divide the control groups and the
experiment groups, the researcher classified the
experiment and control groups by “ordinal pairing”
technique or sorting the level from the highest to the
lowest.
2.2 Design
This research is conducted at Taruna Bakti
Elementary School Bandung. The method used in this
research is the True Experimental Design research
method. The design used in this research is Pretest-
Posttest Control Group Design with More Than One
Experimental Group, the description of the design is
as follows:
Table 1: Pretest-posttest control group with more than one
experimental group Johnson dan Christensen.
Pretest Treatment Posttest
Control
group
O1 XC O2
Experimental
group 1
O1 XT1 O2
Experimental
group 2
O1 XT2 O2
Experimental
group 3
O1 XT3 O2
Note:
O1 : Pretest test TGMD 2nd (Test Gross Motor
Development)
O2 : Posttest test TGMD 2nd (Test Gross Motor
Development)
XC : Treatment of sports learning (football,
atletik, basketball)
XT1 : Treatment of galah asin game
X T2 : Treatment of boy-boyan game
X T3 : Treatment bebentengan game
2.3 Instruments
The instruments used for collecting the research data
is the Test Gross Motor Development – Second
Edition (Wong and Ying Cheung, 2010). The test
covers 12 motor tests categorized into two sub
variables, the locomotor (run, gallop, hop, leap,
horizontal jump, slide) and object control (striking a
stationary ball, stationary dribble, catch, kick,
overhand throw and underhand roll).
3 RESULTS
The result data of this research is analyzed by paired
sample t-test with the help of SPSS 16. The following
on Table 2 is the research result:
Table 2: Count result of paired sample t test.
No Group t
count
t
table
Sig. (2-
tailed)
1
Posttest – Pretest
Galah Asin
2,982 2,262 .002
2
Posttest – Pretest
Boy-
b
oyan
2,740 2,262
.002
3
Posttest – Pretest
Bebenten
g
an
2,868 2,262
.002
4
Posttest – Pretest
Learning Games in
Penjas
2,662 2,262 .001
Table 2 above shows that:
Galah asin traditional game affects kids’
fundamental movement development
significantly. Based on the above table, it is
found out that the t count (2,982) > t table
(2,262) then H0 is rejected or there is a
significant influence from galah asin traditional
game toward the kids’ fundamental movement
development.
Bebentengan traditional game affects kids’
fundamental movement development
significantly.
ICSSHPE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sports Science, Health and Physical Education
72
Based on the table above, it is found out that t
count (2,740) > t table (2,262) then H0 is
rejected or there is a significant influence from
bebentengan traditional game toward the kids
fundamental movement development.
Boy-boyan traditional game affects kids’ basic
movement development. Based on the table
above, it is found out that t count (2,868) > t
table (2,262) then H0 is rejected or there is a
significant influence from boy-boyan traditional
game toward the kids’ fundamental movement
development.
Physical education game affects the kids’
fundamental movement development
significantly. Based on the table above, it is
found out that t count (2,662) > t table (2,262)
then H0 is rejected and there is a significant
influence from physical education traditional
game toward the kids’ fundamental movement
development.
4 DISCUSSION
In galah asin game, the writer found out that galah
asin traditional game affects the kids’ fundamental
movement development significantly. As explained
by Dian (2012) that the benefits that can be taken
from galah asin other than teaches togetherness,
discipline and hard work, it also has important
benefits for the development of fundamental
movement, social and cognitive skills. (1)
fundamental movement skills: this game can develop
run and reaction fundamental movements. This game
emphasizes on the kids’ necessity to run (locomotor
movement skill) and react (locomotor movement
skill). The result of the research in the field is also
strengthen by the theory stated by Misbach (2010,
page 7) that the traditional games in this nation can
stimulate and increase many aspects of kids
development, namely: (1) motor aspect: trains
endurance, flexibility, sensorimotor, gross motor,
fine motor; (2) cognitive aspect: develop imagination,
creativity, problem solving, strategy, anticipative,
contextual understanding; (3) social aspect: builds
relationships, cooperation, trains social maturity with
the peers and create a foundation to train socialization
skills and role training with older people/society.
Further, in bebentengan game, the writer found
out that the bebentengan traditional game affects the
kids’ fundamental movement development
significantly. As explained in the research of Nanda
and Sugito (2015) that bebentengan traditional game
is one of original games of people of Indonesia that
needs to be nurtured and preserved, considering the
game contains positive elements in the form of
fundamental movement such as run (locomotor),
walk (locomotor), twisting motion (non locomotor).
Other physical elements also can train speed and
agility in running as well as strength endurance since
in this game, the players are required to keep running.
Then in boy-boyan game, the writer found out that
the boy-boyan traditional game affects the kids’
fundamental movement development significantly.
As explained by Nana (2017) that boy-boyan
traditional game can give positive benefits to train
movements since there are four fundamental
movements included in boy-boyan game, namely run
(locomotor), ball rolling (manipulative), catch
(manipulative) and shoot at targets (manipulative).
Boy-boyan game emphasizes on throwing skill and
this can be the medium to train the kids’ fundamental
movement. Through this game, the training of
fundamental movements is easier to be absorbed by
the kids. The form of game activity that has contents
of running, throwing and jumping movements is
deemed more effective to increase kids’ fundamental
movement skills (Raudsepp and Päll, 2006). The
findings in the field are strengthened by the result of
class act research from Setiawan (2016) which
revealed that there is an increase on gross motor
skills, namely the running skills, the criteria of
competent is 80%, the criteria of quite competent is
15%, the criteria of less competent is 5% and the
criteria of not competent is 0%. On the throwing skill
in the gross motor skill, the criteria of competent is
85%, the criteria of quite competent is 10%, the
criteria of less competent is 5% and the criteria of not
competent is 0%. While on the catching skill in the
gross motor skill, the criteria of competent is 80%, the
criteria of quite competent is 15%, the criteria of less
competent is 5%, and the criteria of not competent is
0%. Other than the gross motor movement elements,
this game can also train the cognitive and affective
aspects.
Some of the discussion above shows that this
research has certain relevance with the theories that
strengthen that the integrated traditional games
program inclusion through sport learning affects kids’
fundamental movement development. Kids’
fundamental movement skills is important since this
skill is a foundation for kids to master other skills that
are more complex. By mastering this skill, it is
expected that the kids will involve in the physical
activities such as sports for the realization of an active
lifestyle in order to increase the kids’ life quality and
further increase the life quality of the nation in the
Developing Fundamental Movement Skills of Elementary School Students through Traditional Games
73
future (Lubans, Morgan, Cliff, Barnett, and Okely,
2010) (Bakhtiari et al., 2011).
5 CONCLUSIONS
From the results of the data analysis and findings
discussion that have been explained in the previous
part, it can be concluded that:
The teachers need to enrich the contents or that
the materials to be given to the students cannot
depend on the curriculum only. But the
development of the games such as galah asin,
bebentengan and boy-boyan also needs to be
applied more often or included in the physical
education.
The teachers need to add or combine the
traditional game elements such as galah asin,
boy-boyan and bebentengan traditional games
to be the content of the physical education.
Since the curriculum states that there is a
formulation of local contents, not only to nurture
and preserve the local culture to the next
generation and be known well by the people
through school but also because these traditional
games have good effects.
The teaching of the sport based aspects that the
teachers often give to the students can imitate
the traditional games characteristics where the
learning gives many chances to repeat or
perform the movement skills taught.
Adding insights on the optimization of the
traditional games in the physical education at
Elementary School.
Applying traditional games can improve
teaching material collection for physical
education teachers in Elementary School in
order to develop the kids’ fundamental
movement skills.
The traditional games are only
supplementary/additional to expand the material
collection or add the kids’ movement
experience, not solely to replace the physical
education.
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