Can norms developed in one country be applicable to children of another country?

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether a gross motor proficiency norm developed in one country could be applied to young children in another country. The secondary aim of the study was to assess the gross motor proficiency of Hong Kong preschoolers aged five years. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) (subtests 1 to 5) was used to test the gross motor proficiency of 242 children aged approximately five years (four years, six months-five years, five months). The gross motor proficiency of the young children was measured in terms of their performance on running speed and agility, balance, bilateral coordination, strength and upper-limb coordination (subtests 1 to 5 of BOTMP). The results indicated that Hong Kong children at five years were significantly better than the BOTMP norms in all test items except running speed and agility performance. Hence, norms developed in one country might not be applicable to children of other countries.