Dr.Hab., Professor L.I. Lubysheva¹
Dr.Sc.Soc., Professor S.I. Rosenko²
Dr.Sc.Econ., Professor D.N.Verzilin^2
1Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports, Youth and Tourism (SCOLIPE), Moscow
²Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, Saint-Petersburg

Keywords: higher professional education, academic curriculum, physical education and sports.

Background. The ongoing post-Soviet reforms of the national academic educational system have significantly changed the range and contents of educational services provided by the national academic physical education system. Universities are increasingly sensitive to demands from the modern labor market and offer a wide range of academic curricula in response to the new professional service realities in the sports system. These new trends have been responded by innovations in the physical education and sports specialist training service provided mostly by 14 leading national academic institutions (5 universities, 6 academies and 3 institutes). Transition of the Russian higher professional education system to a two-tier format plus the objective requirements to the modern specialist training service have resulted in a new range of academic curricula.

Objective of the study was to analyze the physical education and sports specialist training service progress trends in the national academic physical education and sports system diversification context.

Results and discussion. Presently the national academic physical education system offers 19 bachelor and 14 master training curricula with larger groups of specialties and disciplines; with the bachelor and master student population estimated at 31.5 thousand (86.5% of the total) and 4.9 thousand (13.5%), respectively [3]. It should be mentioned that presently the physical education and sports specialist training service is dominated by physical education and sports discipline. On the whole, the student specialist population in the academic physical education system is estimated at 28.1 thousand making up above 80% of its total student population. The physical education services are dominated by the following disciplines: Physical Education Service; Adapted Physical Education Service for People with Health Limitations; Recreation and Health Sports Tourism; and Sports. The academic curricula for these disciplines make special emphases on the pedagogical, coaching, recreational, project designing, managing, researching, culturing and elucidating aspects of the service [2].

It should be noted that the economic transformation and the market demand for the new academic curriculum has resulted in a range of new physical education service models and courses. Experts note that “the national physical education and sport sector progress trends for the last decade with the rapid expansion of the professional service fields require the new top-professional human resource being trained for the service” [1, p.52].

As provided by the national higher professional educational system statistics, the Education and Pedagogical Sciences discipline reports more than 1.5 thousand students at physical education universities that account for 0.7% of the total. Most popular specialty in this discipline is sports psychology – since presently the physical education and sports sector reports a growing demand for sports psychologists to support the training and competitive systems.

The ongoing socio-economic transformations in the Russian society have largely reformed the physical education and sports system with ‘the growing commercialization of the national physical education and sports institutions and growing role of the market management mechanisms to mobilize new funding and human resources’ [4, p.3]. These new trends, in their turn, forced the physical education university system to train specialists in sports management, economics, governmental and municipal management etc. by the relevant new academic curriculum. The academic physical education system statistics report 705 students (0.2% of the total) being trained in physical education and sports management disciplines including the sports organization management and governmental/ municipal physical education and sports system management – to meet the needs of the sector for the physical education and sports service management specialists.

One of the relatively new academic curriculum in the academic physical education service is the Service and Tourism discipline presently reporting 2.4 thousand students (7.3% of the total). The tourist service academic curriculum in the academic physical education system is increasingly popular due to the national physical education and sports sector reporting a growing need for the tourist service operation and management specialists expected to organize and manage tours with the relevant modern services and efficiently operate the growing physical education and sports, health, recreation and mass sports infrastructure in the regions.

Furthermore, the top-ranking sports event hosting experience with the so-called "Olympic legacy" urges the local physical education and sports system take efforts to efficiently and successfully operate the sports infrastructure for the national sports and tourism promotion purposes. This is one more reason for the growing interest in top-professional specialists expected to operate and serve the sports facilities and host tourist events and multiple competitions thereby making the Olympic heritage operable and profitable. The relevant academic curricula are geared to train top-professional specialists for the event organizing, physical education and sports system managing, project design, technological, research and analytical services. Thus the universities offer a variety of new academic curriculum including Heath Sports Tourism; and Heath Sports Tourism Technologies – to meet the modern requirements to the physical education and sports and health tourist services in the sector.

It may be pertinent to mention the Mass Media and Librarianship discipline among the new academic curriculum offered by the academic physical education and sports system – to recognize the growing role played by the mass media and advertising agencies in promoting the values ​​of the modern physical education and sports system, broadcasting sports events and competitions, and advancing healthy lifestyles in the local population groups. Such academic curricula are expected to fast expand since "the national sports sector rapidly grows with the key role played by the powerful sports industry and its progress in the global economy and global informational universe with the sports media, advertising businesses and PR sector in need of good management service in every tier" [5, p.199]. On the whole, this education service reports 0.3 thousand students at the physical education universities (0.5% of the total student population).

In addition to the above described curricula, the academic physical education system presently offers trainings in many other disciplines including Directing Theatrical Performances and Holidays;  Youth Service Organization; International Relations; Social Service; Psychology; Sociology; Jurisprudence and some other. This educational service range only expands in response to the new economic challenges associated with new demands from the labor markets for the top-professional modern physical education and sports service specialists. It should be mentioned that the student population in these disciplines is dominated by those trained on a contractual basis.

Conclusion. One of the key policies of the modern national academic physical education and sports system is the academic curriculum diversification within the multistage (bachelor-master) educational service. The new curricula are designed to train management, law, IT, physical education and sports infrastructure service and diplomatic specialists for the physical education and sports industry. The efforts to expand the range of new academic curriculum are largely limited, however, by a few bottlenecks including the still underdeveloped professional standards in many service fields; shortage of funding; governmental policies geared to cut down non-core academic curriculum at universities; and the need to persistently and effectively upgrade/ retrain the university faculties.

References

1. Zakharov A.A. Problems and prospects for development of university education in physical educations and sport sector. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2003. No. 5. 52 p.
2. Lubysheva L.I. Training of sports personnel: multi-skilled professional or single-discipline expert? Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2019. No. 2.
3. Report of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation on the results of the analysis of the state and development prospects of the educational system for 2918. https://www.minsport.gov.ru/
4. Sereda Yu.A. Formation of key sports manager’s competences in context of socio-economic transformation. PhD diss. abstract. St. Petersburg, 2012.
5. Skotnikova A.V. Branch sports universities: development and management prospects in view of predictive dynamics of physical educations and sport sector. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta. 2016. No. 8 (138). pp. 198-203.
6. Form N VPO-1. Information about the organization carrying out educational activities within higher education curricula - bachelor programs, specialist programs, master's programs for 2019. https://minobrnauki.gov.ru/ru/activity/stat/highed/index.php

Corresponding author: rosenko1@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to determine the vector of development of the system of training of sports personnel in terms of diversification of physical education.

Results and discussion. One of the key policies of the modern national academic physical education and sports system is the academic curriculum diversification within the multistage (bachelor-master) education service. The new curricula are designed to train management, law, IT, physical education and sports infrastructure service and diplomatic specialists for the physical education and sports industry. The efforts to expand the range of new academic curriculum are largely limited, however, by a few bottlenecks including the still underdeveloped professional standards in many service fields; shortage of funding; governmental policies geared to cut down non-core academic curriculum at universities; and the need to persistently and effectively upgrade/ retrain the university faculties.