Keywords

physical education, All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Complex "Ready for Labor and Defense" (GTO), national sports, morphofunctional state, rural schools.

Abstract

Introduction. The extremely low physical fitness and motivation of students in rural schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which are exacerbated by the extreme climate and limited resources, require the introduction of regionally oriented means of physical education, in particular the use of national sports and folk games [1].

Objective of the study – to prove the effectiveness of using national sports and folk games of Yakutia in the physical training of 16–17-year-old students in rural schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Methods and structure of the study. A two-year pedagogical experiment involved 112 students aged 16–17 from rural schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (experimental and control groups of 56 people each). Methods for assessing morphofunctional state and health level, as well as pedagogical testing according to the GTO complex standards, were applied. The experimental methodology was implemented in the variable part of the curriculum of the subject "Physical Education" (28% of the total number of hours), which included practice-oriented and value-motivational sections. The practical part of the developed methodology is based on the distribution of national sports and folk games depending on their impact on motor qualities and compliance with GTO complex standards.

Results of the study and their discussion. As a result of the implementation of the two-year methodology, indicators of the morphofunctional state and physical fitness of students significantly increased. Thus, in the EG, vital capacity (VC) indicators increased by 12.98% in girls and 7.15% in boys (in the CG – 7.23% and 3.98%; p<0.05). The most pronounced increase was recorded in indicators of cardiovascular system performance, where Ruffier-Dixon index indicators improved by 26.21% in girls and 41.78% in boys of the EG, indicating an improvement in the functional reserves of the cardiovascular system. Stange and Genchi test indicators increased by 14.0–16.2% in girls and 11.3–19.4% in boys of the EG, and chest excursion – by 39.5% in girls, which confirms improved respiratory function and endurance.

In the physical fitness results, a statistically significant superiority of the EG over the CG was found in 7 out of 9 tests (p<0.05). The greatest increase was observed in speed-strength and strength tests, where results in the speed test "60m run" showed significant improvement in both girls and boys (–10.4% in girls, –7.1% in boys), and in the tests "Push-ups/Pull-ups" (+12.9–12.2%), "Ball throw" (+5.9–6.1%). The proportion of students who did not meet the GTO standards decreased in the EG to 30.8% in girls and 20.0% in boys (in the CG – 57.7% and 40.0%). The introduction of the value-motivational section contributed to the formation of a stable interest in systematic physical education and sports: the number of systematically engaged in physical education and sports in their free time increased in the EG from 28.57 to 75.00%, while in the CG the dynamics reached only 33.92% [1-2].

Conclusions. The developed practice-oriented methodology, supplemented by activities of the value-motivational block, forms a sustainable need for systematic motor activity and can be recommended for implementation into regional physical education programs for students of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

References

1. Pugacheva A.F. Yakutskiye narodnyye igry, sostyazaniya i natsionalnyye vidy sporta Yakutii – kak sredstvo sovershenstvovaniya fizicheskoy podgotovlennosti shkolnikov [Yakut folk games, competitions and national sports of Yakutia – as a means of improving schoolchildren's physical fitness]. Obzor pedagogicheskikh issledovaniy. 2023. Vol. 5. No. 2. Pp. 198-202.

No. 6, pp. 17–17

Received: 18.03.2026 | Published: 02.06.2026

CC BY 4.0