PhD, Associate Professor O.N. Loginov¹
R.I. Zapparov¹
P.A. Kondratyev¹
T.I. Makarenkova^1
1Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow

Keywords: education, tutorship, value orientations, physical education, students, education curriculum.

Background. Presently the national education system gives a high priority to modern tutorial service to foreign students to facilitate cultivation of the best social and ethical values and priorities including friendliness, compassion and tolerance in the context of good overall disposition to Russia. We believe that the modern academic physical education and mass sports offer great opportunities for such initiatives.

Objective of the study was to develop and test benefits of a new physical education-driven tutorial service model for foreign students, cadets and officers trained in the national academic system.

Methods and structure of the study. The new physical education-driven tutorial service model for foreigners was tested at the Physical Education Departments of the Plekhanov RSU and Civil Defense Academy of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in the academic years of 2015 through 2017. The model included 60 special 90-min physical education sessions. Sampled for the model piloting experiment were foreign officers (n=34), cadets (n=28) and students (n=67); split up into an Experimental group (EG) of 18 officers, 13 cadets and 33 students; and Reference Group (RG) of 16 officers, 15 cadets and 34 students. The PE-driven tutorial service included lectures on the Russian history, culture, traditions etc., with the foreigners given ample opportunities to engage into the modern Russian communities and cultures via the joint trainings, competitions and refereeing service with their local peers.

The physical education lectures were designed to give them background knowledge of the Soviet and Russian sports and their accomplishments including the most recent information about the Olympic Games in Sochi, plus knowledge of the competitive accomplishments and sport celebrities of their own nations. The lectures were complemented by focus groups and round tables to discuss a variety of modern sport topics of interest including the doping issues. A special attention in the lectures was given to the Russian and national sport celebrities and their records.

Practical trainings of the EG were different from the RG in the following tutorial and didactic aspects: (1) the preliminary warm-up and body conditioning practices, team games and relay races were illustrated by rhythmic folk music of many Russian nations including the Russian ‘Barynya’ folk song, Buryat ‘Buryaadduun’, Yakut ‘DyollolokhBuulookh’, Caucasian ‘Lezginka’ national rhythms and many others; (2) the PE trainings were supported by the V.L. Marishuk Self-Control and Self-Conditioning Method mastered by the trainees; (3) foreign officers and cadets were given home works to design warm-up sessions illustrated by their national music; (4) in some of the training sessions the foreign students were encouraged to demonstrate their national dances, body conditioning practices and nationally flavored practices with apparatuses and appliances. The model also required international teams being formed for the team sports, active games and relay races in the training sessions to facilitate the socializing process and friendship of the trainees. The foreign trainees were encouraged to qualify for many academic sport events including the Russia Ski Track, Moscow Ski Track, Plekhanov Cross-country Race etc. in at least the refereeing capacity.

Generally the physical trainings, lectures, group discussions and disputes were designed to give the foreigners deeper knowledge of the Russian culture, history, traditions, people and communities; governmental foreign and home policies and practices; and engage them into a variety of lessons, sport events and excursions to effectively cultivate positive and friendly attitudes to Russia and its people. The creative works including the national music illustrated warm-up training formats were geared to cultivate discipline, patriotism and responsibility; whilst the active games including relay races and team sport competitions of international teams helped cultivate tolerance and friendship in the students.

Study findings and discussion. The physical trainings driven tutorial service model with its 60 special 90-min physical education sessions was proved beneficial as verified by the both groups’ progress in the attitudes to Russian culture, history, traditions, people and communities (see Table 1 hereunder); with the EG tested with a signnificant progress versus the RG in a variety of aspects. Thus the friendliness to Russia was tested at 4.54 versus 4.36 points (р<0.05); friendliness to the Russian population was tested at 4.45 versus 3.21 points (р<0.01); and the willingness/ preparedness to support Russia when necessary was tested at 4.65 versus 4.45 points (р<0.05) in the EG versus RG, respectively: see Table 1.

Table 1. EG versus RG progress in ethics, values and priorities, ±σ

Note:  mean arithmetic value; σ mean square deviation; * p<0.01; ** p<0.05

It should be mentioned that the fact-finding study of the foreign student population in some other Saint Petersburg universities run jointly with Professor V.L. Marishuk showed the existing tutorial systems being very inefficient in the above aspects, and this finding was the reason for us to undertake the design and tests of the new tutorial model.

Conclusion. The new physical education-driven tutorial model was tested beneficial for 2 years of the experimental physical education service as verified by the Experimental Group (EG) progress in many aspects including the friendly attitudes to Russia. We believe it could be beneficial to develop an instruction manual for the national university faculties to facilitate implementation of the new PE-driven tutorial model for foreign students.

References

1. Andryushchenko L.B., Allyanov Y.N. Samoobrazovatelnaya deyatelnost po distsipline ‘Fizicheskaya kultura’ v vuze [Self-learning of academic Physical Education discipline]. Moscow, 2014.
2. Bortsova A.N. Prakticheskaya realizatsiya kontseptsii korrektsionno – razvivayushchego obucheniya [Practical implementation of remedial and developmental teaching concept]. Organizatsionnye, tekhnologicheskie i metodicheskie aspekty optimizatsii fizicheskogo vospitaniya uchashchikhsya i studentov [Organizational, technological and methodological aspects of optimizing school and university physical education]. Proc. res.-practical conf..  Volgograd.: MA MD Russia publ., 2004, pp. 90-94.
3. Klopov A.Y., Klopova E.A., Marishchuk V.L. Nravstvennoe vospitanie kursantov voenno-uchebnykh zavedeniy Ministerstva oborony Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Moral education of cadets of military schools of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation]. St. Petersburg: MIPC, 2008, 63 p.
4. Klopova E.A., Loginov O.N., Marishchuk V.L. O vospitatelnoy rabote s inostrannymi kursantami v vuze [On educational work with foreign cadets in university]. Aktualnye problemy fizicheskoy i spetsialnoy podgotovki silovyлh struktur [Actual problems of physical and special training of law enforcement officials], St. Petersburg: MIPC publ., 2009, no, 2, pp. 132-135.
5. Korchemny P.A., Laptev L.G. et al. Voennaya psikhologiya i pedagogika [Military psychology and pedagogics]. Moscow: MO RF, 1998, pp. 327-344.

Corresponding author: oleg.loginov@list.ru

Abstract

The study analyzes some issues of tutorial service to foreign students, cadets and officers trained in the national academic system. The growing need for the high quality tutorial service to foreign students on the whole and in the academic physical education process in particular is due to the fact that the academic faculties still tend to underestimate the importance of sensitive tutorship to cultivate friendly attitudes to Russia, with such tutorial service designed to secure the national interests and promote the commonly acknowledged human values. The new physical education-driven tutorship model piloting experiment was run by the Physical Education Departments of the Plekhanov RSU and Civil Defense Academy of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in the academic years of 2015 through 2017. Sampled for the model piloting experiment were foreign officers (n=34), cadets (n=28) and students (n=67). The tutorial service in the physical education curricula was designed to give the foreigners a basic knowledge of the Russian history, culture and traditions, plus wider engage them in a friendly informal communication with the Russian students and communities in the physical trainings, competitive events and referees services. The new physical education-driven tutorial model was tested beneficial for 2 years of the experimental physical education service as verified by the Experimental Group (EG) progress in many aspects including the friendly attitudes to Russia.