Physical education and health service safety standards in education system

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PhD, Associate Professor L.A. Akimova1
PhD, Associate Professor E.E. Lutovina1
PhD, Associate Professor I.V. Chikeneva1
1Orenburg State Pedagogical University, Orenburg

Keywords: risk, physical education and health service, safety, physical education, teacher.

Background. The ongoing transition of the national education system to the new educational standards is associated with more stringent requirements to the age- and health-specific physical education and sport service, with a clear understanding that good physical activity is central in the health programs for young generations. The educational system gives a high priority to systemic service including three obligatory physical education lessons per week with active physical practices, therapeutic physical components, active rest breaks (after Lesson 3) and intervals, physical activation minutes, health group trainings and a range of sport events (sport days, competitions, Olympiads, trekking tours etc.), with physical education and sport / health trainings designed and managed on the age-, health-and progress-specific basis [3, 4].
Objective of the study was to analyze risks for the general education school physical education and sport service and service safety standards based on analysis of the valid regulatory provisions, educational experiences, progress tests and performance monitoring. 
Results and discussion. The modern physical education service, as provided by the valid federal state educational standards, requires standard spaces, equipment and facilities including the indoor gyms, outdoor sport grounds with the relevant game/ sport inventory; special medical service; and highly competent and skillful trainers and other specialists to design and manage the physical education and sport service on the most efficient and safe basis.
The key role in the physical education and sport service quality assurance system is played by the trainer [1, 2]. As provided by the Federal Law ‘On Educational Service in the Russian Federation’, valid general education federal state educational standards and professional teaching service standards, physical education and sport service with active physical practices shall be provided by duly certified and experienced specialists, with the educational system administrations bearing full responsibility for the human resource quality and service safety standards. It should be mentioned, however, that the above requirements may not always guarantee the actual physical education and sport service being totally safe for the trainees’ health and life. Thus a certified physical education teacher with satisfactory-to-good academic credentials may not always be accurate and attentive enough in the practical service, with the trainees potentially exposed to health/ injury risks.
Physical education and sport teacher’s competency and skills will be maintained and developed by self-learning and self-development efforts propelled by high commitment and professional motivations [3-7] to effectively scale down the potential risks associated with the so-called human factor with its ‘unexpectedness’, ‘omissions’, ‘unforeseen situations’ etc. A competent physical education and sport teacher shall be governed by ‘make no harm’ concept in his/her service. The physical education and sport teachers serving children shall be highly competent in the relevant mental control and training technologies, values and motivations and responsible both for the theoretical and practical progress, lives and health of the trainees for the physical education and sport service being safely designed and managed [8].
It should be mentioned, however, that the physical education and sport service cannot be fully free of internal systemic subjective risks associated with the teachers’ qualifications and professional motivations in the academic progress and self-learning and self-developmental domains. These subjective risks need to be prevented by a variety of means that shall include not only the traditional incentives (salaries, bonuses etc.) but also the progress encouragement and motivation activity including conferences, workshops, counseling services from the relevant (local education, regional and federal Ministry of Education’s offices) boards and associations, master classes, physical education and sport grants; Olympiads etc. These activities shall be facilitated by good cooperation of teachers, students and families and supported by a good information flow (learning materials, teaching aids, databases etc.).
We should also mention the overhead (super-systemic) operational risks associated with the physical education and sport service administration and management drawbacks, e.g. poor progress tests and performance monitoring system; poor recognition of the physical education and sport personnel’s professional mastery and accomplishments by the incentives system etc. The good and reasonably standardized progress test and performance monitoring system shall give the means to analyze the physical education and sport service trends, causes and effects in different service aspects and, hence, correct/ revise the physical education and sport policies and practices on a timely and efficient basis; otherwise the operational risks may not be always effectively prevented or mitigated. It is the relevant educational system administrations that shall secure the physical education and sport policies and practices being supported by the modern progress test tools to rate performance based on a set of effective rating criteria.
The physical education and sport service personnel professional mastery advancement system shall give special attention to the subjective service risks prevention and mitigation aspects, with the relevant conferences, skills advancement courses and events, counseling services and grant projects geared to encourage the self-development and self-fulfillment agendas, share the innovative didactic experiences, values and priorities in the physical education and sport service domain. Individual progresses of the physical education and sport teachers shall be encouraged by the relevant effective incentives system with its material, verbal and written incentives being well customized to the progress tests (teachers’ attestations, students’ examinations, academic competitive accomplishments etc.) and performance monitoring data to effectively improve the physical education and sport service quality and scale down the subjective health risks.
Conclusion. The modern physical education and sport service is associated with internal systemic and overhead (super-systemic) risks that shall be prevented and mitigated by the persistent efforts to improve the health safety standards using the best physical education and sport service design and management models and tools, with the progress supported by the performance monitoring and progress test system and duly recognized by an effective and sensitive incentives system.

References

  1. Akimova L.A. Ot zdorovyesberegayushchey k zdoroveformiruyushchey obrazovatelnoy deyatelnosti (v kontekste obnovlennykh standartov) [From health promotion to health building activity (in context of updated standards)]. Sotsialnye nauki i obshchestvennoe zdorovue: teoreticheskie podkhody, empiricheskie issledovaniya, prakticheskie resheniya [Social sciences and public health: theoretical approaches, empirical research, practical solutions]. Proc. 3 intern. conf. (April 20-21 2013 ). Prague: Vedecko vydavatelske centrum «Sociosfera – CZ», 2013. pp. 56-65.
  2. Akimova L.A. Kultura zdorovogo i bezopasnogo obraza zhizni uchitelya kak osnova formirovaniya zdorovya uchashchegosya [Teacher healthy and safe lifestyle culture as a basis for student’s health building].Teoriya i praktika obshchestvennogo razvitiya, 2014, no. 4, pp. 116- 119.
  3. Lutovina E.E., Bamburova T.I. et al. Optimizatsiya sredy razvitiya mladshikh shkolnikov pri formirovanii sistemy znaniy po bezopasnosti zhiznedeyatelnosti [Optimization of development of primary school environment in formation of life safety knowledge system]. Pedagogika: semya-shkola-obshchestvo [Pedagogy: family-school-society]. Voronezh, 2011. pp. 158-173.
  4. Sokratov N.V. Kultura zdorovya s osnovami bezopasnosti zhiznedeyatelnosti [Health culture with life safety basics]. Orenburg,  2006.

Corresponding author: lubovakimova@yandex.ru

Abstract
The study analyzes the valid legal and regulatory provisions for the physical education and health service safety standards in the national education system; underlines the key risks for the service safety in connection with the teachers’ qualifications and vocational motivations for due compliance of the valid physical education and health service standards. The physical education and health service quality is ranked high on the list of priorities of the national education policies as required by the legislative and regulatory framework for the national education service.
It is emphasized that the physical education teacher is central for success of the physical education and health service in the national education system, as he/she shall have good knowledge, skills and motivations for the quality service with a special priority to the students’ health and safety for success of the physical, spiritual and social excellence components of the education curriculum.