Investigation of Difficulty of Movements Constructing Squat Vault in Vaulting Box Exercises of Elementary School Children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the movement difficulty in squat vault to examine the order and content of instructions given for the technique. Participants comprised of 241 children (116 boys and 125 girls) from 5th and 6th grades. Each participant performed squat vaults while their movements were observed and recorded from the left and front side. The movements were assessed using the observation criterion while the difficulty parameters and ability estimates were obtained by applying the partial credit model of Item Response Theory. From this data, the relation between ability estimation value and achievement of the technique, and order of the instruction contents were examined. The research conclusions were as follows: 1 The evaluation based on the observational evaluation criteria reflects the difference in the degree of achievement of the skill. 2 Considering the movement difficulty in squat vault, we can teach the skill in the following order: "weight transfer by arm support," "hip rise by bouncing crossing," "throwing arms forward and crouching forward," "majestic jumping and stable landing," and "turning back to backward rotation."