Analysis of Quantitative Changes of High School Students’ Morphological-Motor Characteristics under the Impact of Regular Physical Education Classes

Sa？etak The research was conducted on a sample including 166 participants - male students of “Combined Technical High School” from Travnik, who attended physical education classes regularly during the school year. In the research, five variables were used to assess the morphological status, and nine variables to assess the motor status of the participants according to the Eurofit Fitness Test Battery. The main aim of the research was to determine quantitative changes in morphological and motor status of secondary school students during one school year under the impact of programme content of regular physical education classes through a longitudinal study. Quantitative changes in morphological and motor status and analysis of differences between the initial and final measurements were determined by analysis of changes under the model of differences and standard model of multivariate changes (SSDIF analysis, Bonacin, 2004). A hypothetical measurement matrix was defined by projecting the measurement data, and explicating a set of linear shifts on the association matrix, which resulted in obtaining structural vector describing quantitative changes, while taking into account relations of the initial variables. Results of the SSDIF analysis indicate that a one-year curriculum of physical education has caused statistically significant changes at the global level (p = 0.0000) in both investigated areas, but the changes that have occurred are mild and without dramatic changes. Significant quantitative changes in the motor space occurred in body height and weight, and in the triceps skinfold, as well as in the following variables in the motor space: running 10×5 m (sideways), lifting the trunk from the lying on back position and the hand dynamometry, and the biggest and most statistically significant global quantitative changes occurred in the 20 m test run sideways with progressive acceleration (？ATL20 0.8439)