Associate professor, PhD O.S. Krasnikova¹
Associate professor, PhD L.G. Pashchenko¹
Associate professor S.A. Davydova^1
1Nizhnevartovsk State University, Nizhnevartovsk

Keywords: female students, physical fitness, physical education, physical culture and sport speciality

Introduction

Ongoing reforms of the national higher education system tend to leave less free time to university students due to the rapidly growing intensification of the education process, increasing information-processing loads on the students and extremely high demands to and stresses in the intellectual activity that altogether are of expressed negative effect on the students’ workability as verified by the relevant performance criteria. These negative trends cannot but trigger a notable fall of young people’s interest to physical education that, in its turn, results in further detriment to their functional, physical and mental conditions and health standards 2, 6.

In this situation, top priority in the efforts to promote physical education as an academic discipline will be given to the initiatives to implement modern and popular physical education and sport standards and technologies in the university curricula. Leading sport specialists have increasingly made an emphasis for the last few years on the need to make a transition from the traditional university sport standards to more efficient ones and offer new methods, models and forms of physical education and health activities designed with due regard to the interests and capacities of university students. The available resources of physical education as a university academic discipline are good enough to enrich its content and step up the quality of the university youth physical education process by the focused initiatives to form and increase students’ motivation and demand for physical education process and, based on that, promote the professional and application agenda of the modernized physical education system 1, 3.

Objective of the study was to compare the physical fitness levels of the female university students subject to traditional university physical education curriculum versus that of their peers freely specialized in the university physical education and sports within the updated academic curriculum of the Physical Education discipline.

Materials and methods

With the above objective in mind, physical fitness levels of the 1-3-year female university students from non-sport departments of Nizhnevartovsk State University (Nizhnevartovsk city, Russia) were rated using a set of special tests. The tests were designed to provide data for comparative analysis of the physical fitness development trends for the strength-, speed-and-strength- and speed-specific physical qualities of the female university students subject to traditional university physical education curriculum as of 2008-11 with the same qualities of their peers offered a free choice of the university physical education and sport disciplines in the period of 2012-15. The resultant test data were processed using the relevant mathematical statistics tools, including calculations of arithmetic mean value (М) and root mean square deviation (σ), with the data meaningfulness being assessed based on the Student t-criterion and increments being computed using Brody formula.

Results and discussion

Historically, the choice of university sports under the traditional academic curriculum of the Physical Education discipline was dominated by volleyball, basketball and track and field disciplines. It is commonly acknowledged now that it was due to the university physical education process being limited to only these few sports that the quality of the education process and interest of the senior students to the sports was sagging all the time. The poor versatility and monotony of the training sessions and the long breaks (up to 3-4 months) in the training process on the whole and the academic game sports in particular dominated among the reported reasons for the physical fitness rates of the female students being on the fall. The university non-sport department population tests demonstrate that the physical fitness rates of the 3-year female students showed a persistent sagging trend as verified by the relevant test data given in Table 1 hereunder.

Table 1. Physical fitness variation trends for the 1-3-year female university students trained under the traditional physical education curriculum, М± σ

The initiative to improve the education quality under expanded curriculum of the Physical Education academic discipline was designed to offer, among other things, a free choice of sports to the female students of non-sport university departments within an expanded range of the physical education and sport discipline, with due regard to their individual interests to and needs in motor activities. With this idea in mind, the relevant academic staff of the Nizhnevartovsk State University Sport Department has developed, within the frame of the available financial and technical provisions, pilot university curricula for the following university sport disciplines: aerobics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, artistic gymnastics, table tennis, modern dances, volleyball and basketball.

Comparative analysis of the physical fitness levels of the 1st-year female students trained under the traditional physical education curriculum versus that of their peers trained under the freely chosen physical education curricula showed the former being generally better physically fit than the latter (see Table 1 and 2). This may be indicative of the free-choice group being more exposed to hypodynamia that has been on the rise for the last few years and is reported to be of particularly negative effect on the physical fitness levels of university students 7, 8.

Table 2. Physical fitness variation trends for the 1-3-year female university students trained under the freely chosen physical education curricula, М± σ

Note: The traditional sports vs. free-chosen sports data reliability was rated using Student t-criterion, as follows:  p < 0.05;  p < 0.01.

The study data for the freely chosen physical education curricula demonstrate that most preferred by the subject female students within the range of active sport disciplines was the aerobics curriculum including a few sub-disciplines like health-improvement aerobics, step-aerobics and fit-ball aerobics.

Having compared the lower limb muscle group speed-and-strength endurance test data of the 1st-year female students, we found that the average group indices of the modern [2012-15] female students, regardless of the freely selected sport disciplines, were lower than those of their peers trained under the traditional physical education curriculum [back in 2008-11], as follows: 9.44 cm lower in aerobics; 17.19 cm lower in rhythmic gymnastics; 16.98 cm lower in swimming; and 26.58 cm lower in artistic gymnastics. This trend was found throughout the period of the modern young women being trained at the university. Only the 3rd-year female students majoring in swimming showed the highest progress in the subject physical quality development aspect, as their performance indicators were found to come close to that of their peers trained under the traditional curriculum.

The comparative analysis of the prelum abdominal muscle strength test data showed the 1st-year female students engaged in rhythmic gymnastics being the best in this test. This muscle group strength endurance rates were found to decrease by the 2^nd and 3^rd academic year in the female students trained under the traditional curriculum (by 1.57% and 6.92%, respectively) and freely-chosen rhythmic gymnastics (by 6.37% and 2.2%, respectively). The girls that preferred swimming in the free-choice situation were found to show no variation in this test. The female students who preferred aerobics showed growths of these rates by 8.17% for the 2^nd year and by 2.3% for the 3^rd year; and the girls who preferred artistic gymnastics in the free-choice situation showed an increase by 1.45% and 3.52%, respectively.

The 1st-year tested students trained under the traditional curriculum were the best in the standing long jump test, but by the 3^rd academic year their test results sagged by 4.43%. It should be noted that the modern female students that opted for rhythmic gymnastics showed no variation of these rates for the 1^st to 3^rd year period; whilst the female students who preferred aerobics, swimming and artistic gymnastics, showed growths of these rates by 3.7%, 3.9% and 4.4%, respectively. Therefore, the 3^rd year female students were found to perform better in this test than their peers trained under the traditional curriculum.

The female students who preferred aerobics were found to be the best in the upper limb muscle strength endurance tests showing the growths of 10.32% by the 2^nd academic year and 3.23% by the 3^rd year. The test results of these girls in the push-ups test were higher than those of every other tested group for any academic year. The comparative analysis of the upper limb muscle strength endurance rates of the 1^st year female students demonstrated some advantage of the traditional curriculum in this physical quality development aspect; although it was partially lost due to this physical quality sagging by the 3^rd year (by 2.11%) that may be indicative of the low efficiency of the training process due to possible loss of interest by the trainees. The freely chosen sports helped the female students improve this physical quality, with the improvements being particularly high in the students who freely opted for aerobics and artistic gymnastics.

Conclusions

The study data show that the physical fitness rates of female students have been on the fall for the last few years, as verified by most of the tests of modern 1^st year female students under the present study.

The updated physical education curriculum that offers a free choice of university sports to students of non-sport departments is found to help improve their physical fitness levels, with the highest improvements being found in the senior female students who opted for aerobics and swimming sport. The university rhythmic gymnastics and artistic gymnastics were found also effective in developing some physical qualities in the tested female students.

We recommend that the university initiatives designed to harmonize the physical development process and improve the physical fitness levels of modern female students under the academic physical education curricula must make a special educational emphasis on the physical qualities that are found underdeveloped in the students as compared to the age-specific physical fitness standards.

The high variability of the root mean square deviation inside the test groups, as verified by the study on the whole and the standing long jump test data in particular, gives us the grounds to recommend the university students being grouped according to their physical fitness tests for further physical-qualities-focused training, as such an approach will help improve the efficiency of the female university students’ physical education.

References

1. Bulgakov A.I. Fizicheskaya kul'tura v real'nykh potrebnostyakh sovremennogo studenchestva (Physical education in real needs of modern students) / A.I. Bulgakov, A.V. Lotonenko, V.N. Lotonenko // Fizkul'turnoe vospitanie studentov. – 2014. – № 1 (48). – P. 32–35.
2. Zav'yalov A.I. Fizicheskoe vospitanie studencheskoy molodezhi: ucheb. posobie (Physical education of students: study guide) / A.I. Zav'yalov, D.G. Mindiashvili. – Krasnoyarsk: KGPU, 1996. – 128 P.
3. Lubysheva L.I. Teoretiko-metodicheskie i organizatsionnye osnovy formirovaniya fizicheskoy kul'tury studentov: avtoref. dis. doct. ped. nauk (Theoretical and methodological and organizational foundations of formation of students' physical education: abstract of doctoral thesis (Hab.). / L.I. Lubysheva. – Moscow, 1992. – 58 P.
4. Mel'nikova O.V. Fitbol-aerobika kak sredstvo povysheniya urovnya fizicheskoy podgotovlennosti studentok (Fitball aerobics to improve physical fitness of female students) / O.V. Mel'nikova, P.V. Korneeva, I.A. Komkova // Vestnik YuUrGU. Seriya «Obrazovanie, zdravookhranenie, fizicheskaya kul'tura" (Herald of South Ural State University. Education, health care, physical culture"). – 2014. – V. 14. – № 4. – P. 74–79.
5. Osipov A.Yu. Organizatsiya zanyatiy po fizicheskoy kul'ture u studentov na osnove kompetentnostnogo i zdorovesberegayushchego podkhodov (Organization of physical education classes for students in context of competency-building and health-promotion approaches) / A.Yu. Osipov, L.A. Gol'm, O.Ya. Doroshenko // Vestnik YuUrGU. Seriya «Obrazovanie, zdravookhranenie, fizicheskaya kul'tura" (Herald of South Ural State University. Education, health care, physical culture"). – 2013. – V. 1. – № 4. – P. 13–16.
6. Pashchenko L.G. Antropometricheskie i somatotipologicheskie osobennosti studentov KhMAO–Yugry (Anthropometric and somatotypological characteristics of KhMAR-Yugra students) / L.G. Pashchenko, O.P. Krasnikova // Fizicheskaya kul'tura: vospitanie, obrazovanie, trenirovka. – 2015. – № 4.
7. Sravnitel'ny analiz fizicheskogo razvitiya i fizicheskoy podgotovlennosti studentok, postupivshikh v RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena v 1983, 2005 i 2010 godakh (Comparative analysis of physical development and physical fitness of female students admitted to Herzen RSPU in 1983, 2005 and 2010) / O.B. Bogdanov, V.P. Kunarev, Yu.B. Kuz'mina, T.P. Fedorova // Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury. – 2011. – № 8. – P. 24–25.
8. Ushakov A.P. Sravnitel'ny analiz pokazateley fizicheskoy podgotovlennosti uchashchikhsya 11-kh klassov i studentov 1-go kursa obucheniya (Comparative analysis of physical fitness of 11th graders and 1st-year students) / A.P. Ushakov, A.V. Nenasheva, N.E. Kleshchenkova // Vestnik YuUrGU. Seriya «Obrazovanie, zdravookhranenie, fizicheskaya kul'tura" (Herald of South Ural State University. Education, health care, physical culture"). – 2014. – V. 14. – № 2. – P. 114–118.

Corresponding author: korichko_nv@mail.ru

Abstract

The paper presents a comparative analysis of physical fitness of female 1­3­year students studying according to the traditional physical education curriculum and their peers, who have chosen their sports specialization for mandatory classes on their own. This study has revealed a tendency to deterioration of the level of physical fitness of modern girls. The organization of physical education process of female students in which they could choose their sports specialization has led to an improvement of physical qualities of the future bachelors.