Motor Competence in 11-Year-Old Boys and Girls

By using the Movement Assessment Battery (MABC), the present study investigated possible gender differences in several tasks of motor competence in children. The sample included 67 Norwegian sixth-grade children (Girls N?=?29; Boys?=?39). Boys' performance exceeds that of girls in ball skills and in one of the balance skills. No differences were revealed between girls and boys in manual dexterity and in total score of MABC. The results may support the theory of task-specificity. Furthermore, they may challenge the school as an arena of physical activity for developing as appropriate motor skills as possible contributing to further engagement in physical activity.