Ethnic differences in gross motor skills among indigenous Dayak children in Indonesia: a cross-sectional comparative study
Keywords:
Gross motor skills, TGMD-3, indigenous children, ethnic variation, physical educationAbstract
Background: Cultural movement exposure has been suggested as a potential factor influencing children’s motor development; however, empirical evidence on ethnic variation in gross motor skills among Indonesian children—particularly within indigenous Dayak sub-ethnic groups—remains limited. Objectives: This study aimed to examine differences in gross motor skills between Dayak Ngaju and Dayak Bakumpai children aged 8-11 years. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative design was employed involving 94 elementary school children (48 boys and 46 girls) from eight schools. Gross motor skills were assessed using the Indonesian-adapted TGMD-3, with established content validity (CVI = 0.91) and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.89). Performances were video-recorded and evaluated by trained raters blinded to participant identity. Two-way ANOVA was used to examine the effects of ethnicity and gender, with non-parametric tests applied when assumptions were violated. Results: No significant main effects of ethnicity or gender were found for locomotor, object control, or total TGMD-3 scores (p > 0.05). However, a significant ethnicity × gender interaction was observed for locomotor skills (p < 0.05). At the task level, a significant difference was identified only in boys’ horizontal jump performance, with Dayak Bakumpai boys scoring higher than their Ngaju counterparts. No other significant differences were observed across skill domains. Conclusion: Ethnic differences in gross motor skills among Dayak children appear to be limited and task-specific rather than consistent across domains. Cultural movement exposure may be associated with certain aspects of motor performance; however, causal interpretations cannot be established. These findings highlight the importance of context-sensitive physical education approaches that consider local movement practices without assuming generalised group differences.
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Author Biographies
Indera Syarif, Department of Sports Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Islam Kalimantan MAB, Banjarmasin, Indonesia
Muhammad Habibie, Department of Sports Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Islam Kalimantan MAB, Banjarmasin, Indonesia
Bonita Amalia, Department of Sports Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Islam Kalimantan MAB, Banjarmasin, Indonesia
Parveen Kumar, Department of Physical Education, Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University, Jind, Haryana, India
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Accepted 2026-04-16
Published 2026-04-28
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