engleski

Impact of specific water competencies on the knowledge of swimming in first and second-grade elementary school children in the Dubrovnik county

Swimming is a dynamic ability because it requires the process of adoption through exercise and experience, which we build in previous autonomy, confidence, and satisfaction in the aquatic environment. The study aimed to determine the impact of individual water movement competences on the knowledge of swimming measured by the 3x5 m test around pool-set buoys. The sample consisted of 300 children between 6 and 8 years of age. All of them were first- and secondgrade pupils from five elementary schools in Dubrovnik, Croatia. A variable sample included six tests for the assessment of specific motor skills that measured swimming skills or water competencies such as jumping into the water (dive on a leg), breathing on the edge of the pool, swimming with stopping and raising a hand, backstroke swimming, 3x5 m swimming around buoys and 2.5 m length dive. The results indicate that between the predictor set and the criterion variable, a multiple correlation of .84 was achieved at .00 level of significance, and that about 71% of the total variance of change in the direction of movement, i.e., 3x5 m swimming, can be explained. Based on the results, it can be concluded that, all too often, the knowledge of swimming is considered to be only the proper “performance” of a swimming movement, whereas the actual ability to swim is much more than that.

swimming competence, water competence, drowning prevention

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