PhD E.A. Simonova¹
PhD M.V. Balilevich^1
1Tyumen State University, Tyumen

Keywords: physical education, health values, healthy lifestyle, ‘Ready for Labour and Defence’ GTO Complex, patriotism.

Background. For the last 15 years, school Physical Education discipline has been ranked among the events of the Russian School Olympiad. One of the key goals of the Olympiad is to cultivate sustainable motivations and appreciation of physical practices as a component of a healthy lifestyle. However, as demonstrated by analysis of the literature on the subject (V.K. Bal’sevich, I.V. Manzheley et al.), Russian schoolchildren are little if at all concerned about their own health [1-3].

Objective of the study was to analyse the motivations and values driven trajectories and healthy lifestyles of qualifiers for the Physical Education Olympiad.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the questionnaire survey performed on January 21, 2017 were 9-11-grade school children (n=38, including 21 males and 17 females aged 15-17 years) from the Tyumen region qualified for the regional stage of the Russian Physical Education Olympiad in the academic year of 2016-17.

Study results and discussion. Health is increasingly perceived among the top priority values that need to be protected and improved to secure productive longevity [1], and this is the reason why we asked the respondents to rate their own health in the survey. About 50% and 35.3% of the males and females self-rated their health as perfect; and 43% and 47% as good, respectively; and 11.7% of the females self-rated it as satisfactory.

Today it is common knowledge that habitual physical education and sport practices are critical for health protection and improvement. Thus our survey was designed to analyse the respondents’ needs, motivations and actual engagement in physical education and sport practices. The respondents’ physical education and sport agendas, needs and motivations were analysed by two blocks of questions. Block one was designed to profile the hierarchy of the respondents’ needs and practical engagements in the physical education and sport practices; and block two was intended to test the respondents’ motivations for the physical education and sport practices [4].

The survey found most of the respondents confident of their own health being perfect and, hence, their physical education and sport activity and the relevant needs were rated ‘under the average’; and their motivations for physical education and sport practices were rated ‘average’ in both gender groups.

Having analysed the survey data on the actual physical education and sport practices of the respondents, we found 38.1% and 29.4% of the males and females engaged in sport practices, respectively; 33.3% of the males reporting daily exercises and/or individual self-reliant trainings; 23.5% of the females reporting habitual morning exercises; and 23% of the females reporting mental self-control practices. The males were found the least active in massage and mental control practices; and females were the least active in the individual training and body tempering practices: see Figure 1.

Figure 1. Schoolchildren’s self-reliant physical education and sporting activity survey data, points

1 – morning exercises; 2 – daily exercises; 3 – group sport practices; 4 – weekend trekking tours; 5 – sauna; 6 – swimming pool; 7 – massage; 8 – body tempering; 9 – mental control practices; 10 – self-reliant exercises

Points Males Females

Analysis of the respondents’ needs for different physical education and sport activities showed the following: 23.8% of the males reported the need for swimming practices; and 19% of both males and females – for morning exercises and massage; 11.8% of the females reported the equal needs for morning exercises and mental control practices and 11% of the females – for daily exercises. Males were the least prone to the self-reliant individual trainings; and females to the weekend trekking tours, body tempering practices and self-reliant individual trainings: see Figure 2.

Figure 2. Schoolchildren’s needs for physical education and sporting activity: survey data in points

1 – morning exercises; 2 – daily exercises; 3 – group sport practices; 4 – weekend trekking tours; 5 – sauna; 6 – swimming pool; 7 – massage; 8 – body tempering; 9 – mental control practices; 10 – self-reliant exercises

Points Males Females

Despite the reported low activity and need for physical education and sports, ‘health improvement’ was ranked on top of the motivations by both males and females (57.1% and 47.1%, respectively). Ranked second by the males was the ‘high competitive accomplishments’ and ‘bodybuilding’ motivations (47.6% each); and the females mentioned second the ‘fatigue mitigation’ and ‘emotional relaxation’ motivations (41.2% each). The least important motivations were the ‘school credits’ and ‘fashion for doing sports’ reported by the males and females, respectively: see Figure 3.

Therefore, the physical education and sporting needs, motivations and practical activity survey data show the schoolchildren’s motivations being ‘average’ dominated by the ‘health improvement’ motivation, with the actual needs for physical education and sports varying at ‘below the average’ level. Practical activity of the sample was also rated ‘below the average’ despite the respondents reporting no shortage in leisure time: 50%, 23.7% and 15.8% of the sample reported their leisure time varying within 3-4, 5-6 and 1-2 hours per day, respectively, i.e. within the norm for this age group.

Physical education and sport practices are commonly known to facilitate the general cultural progress, and this was the reason for us to test the respondents’ attitudes to the GTO Complex and their civic/ patriotic attitudes.

Figure 3. Schoolchildren's motivations for school Physical Education subject, points

1 – life tonus building; 2 – fashion for doing sports; 3 – high competitive accomplishments; 4 – health improvement; 5 – bodybuilding; 6 – making friends; 7 – school credits; 8 – acquiring new skills and knowledge; 9 – self-assertion and willpower building; 10 – fatigue mitigation and working capacity building; 11 – emotional relaxation; 12 – other

Points Males Females

The question ‘Do you rank yourself among patriots?’ was responded positively by 86.8% (33 out of 38 people) with 13.2% (5 people) being uncertain. In opinions of 60.5%, 15.8% and 13.2% of the respondents, it was mostly families, surrounding people and global political situation, respectively, that cultivated their patriotic agendas.

The question ‘What is the meaning of patriotism for you?’ was responded as follows: love to home, town and country; faithfulness to own national culture, traditions, lifestyle; loyalty and service to the Motherland at sacrifice of own needs and life for its prosperity and safety; national self-identification and pride in own nation and people. The respondents mentioned patriotism among the top priority motivations.

As for the reported life priorities, ranked on top by the respondents was ‘health’, and ranked second and third were ‘love’ and ‘family happiness’, respectively. The least valued by the males were ‘power’ and ‘high general culture’; and by females ‘public recognition’ and ‘power’.

The question ‘What is ranked on top of all other things by your friends?’ was responded as follows: real friendship was ranked first by all; sporting lifestyle was ranked second by males and fifth by females; integrity, decency and firm stand was ranked fourth by males and second by females; good manners and culture was ranked third by males and females; willpower, determination and courage was ranked fifth by males and fourth by females: see Table 1. The survey data may be interpreted as indicative of the same values being appreciated by both gender groups although ranked differently.

Table 1. Values ranking by the adolescent respondents

The survey data showed most of the respondents appreciating the GTO Complex system for the opportunities to test their own physical progress on a regular basis. It should be noted that none of the respondents believed that the GTO Complex test is an unnecessary political action. On the whole, the survey data and analysis showed patriotism being among the key drivers of the personality formation process. The young people were supportive of the GTO Complex implementation initiative as helpful for their positive sporting image and healthy lifestyle building.

Conclusion. The schoolchildren’s survey data and analysis showed that even the qualifiers for the Physical Education Olympiad are neither always actively engaged in physical education and sport practices nor necessarily rank them among the personally important values. This means that the physical activity promotion efforts need to be more efficient to advance healthy lifestyles in the young people’s culture.

References

1. Bal'sevich V.K. Sportivny vektor fizicheskogo vospitaniya v rossiyskoy shkole [Sports vector of physical education in schools of Russia]. Moscow: Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury i sporta publ., 2006, 112 p.
2. Zagvyazinskiy V.I., Manzheley I.V. Vozmozhno li v Rossii zdorovyeformiruyuschee obrazovanie? [Prospects of health promotion education in Russia]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2015, no. 11, pp. 94-96.
3. Manzheley I.V., Ivanova S.V. Sredovy podkhod v organizatsii fizkul'turno-sportivnoy raboty s naseleniem [Environmental approach in organization of physical culture and sports activities with people]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2016,no. 12, pp. 38-40.
4. Shatokhin A.G. Osobennosti motivatsii k fizkulturno-sportivnoy deyatelnosti studentov uchrezhdeniy srednego professionalnogo obrazovaniya [Features of motivation to physical culture and sports in postsecondary institution students]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2016, no. 6, P. 78.

Corresponding author: e_simonova@mail.ru

Abstract

The study was designed to analyse the motivations and values driven trajectories and healthy lifestyles of qualifiers for the Physical Education Olympiad. Subject to the questionnaire survey were 9-11-grade school children qualified for the Physical Education Olympiad in the academic year of 2016-17. One of the traditional goals of such Olympiads is to cultivate habitual determinations and motivations for physical practices viewed as an indispensable component of a healthy lifestyle. The survey found most of the respondents being confident of their own health being perfect and, hence, their physical training and sporting activity and the relevant needs were rated ‘below the average’; and their motivations for physical practices were rated ‘average’. Most of the male and female respondents reported to prefer swimming practices and morning exercises, respectively, with their motivations dominated by the ‘need to improve health’. The survey components designed to test the civic/ patriotic agendas and attitudes to the ‘Ready for Labour and Defence’ GTO Complex showed most of the respondents being highly patriotic, with their patriotic agendas and feelings largely cultivated by their families. The respondents rated health among the top priority life values. The study shows the importance of further efforts to promote physical education values in the national school population as an indispensable component of a healthy lifestyle.