Dr.Hab., Professor L.N. Voloshina¹
Dr.Hab., Professor V.L. Kondakov¹
PhD, Associate Professor E.N. Kopeikina¹
Postgraduate T.V. Savelyeva^1
1Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod

Keywords: preschoolers, values system, health, physical activity.

Background. Modern concepts of an underage physical activity are largely contributed by cultural contexts since the systemic and spontaneous physical activity is normally dictated by the values system and traditions of the social environment with its expectations as to the core motor skills and motor experiences. It is quite common to rank physical activity with the social physical education system and interpret is as the total individual movements for certain life periods [2]. The individual physical activity standards evolve under influences of external social environments and education. When physical activity is ranked high in the individual values system since childhood, it provides good motivations for an active lifestyle and harmonized physical and mental progress within the relevant social physical education framework.

Preschool age, as provided by N.Y. Savelyeva, is the most favorable time for healthy lifestyle cultivation efforts. The child's self-identification, world outlook and attitudes to the social environment largely depend on how efficient, loving, caring and competent the teaching service is at that time. The key goal of the education efforts is to help the child develop with no excessive pressure applied so as to facilitate reflections, thinking and self-exploration agenda rather than snowing under flow of still poorly understood information [5].

Many national analysts have addressed the need to form the key health conceptions in preschool population [4, 7] to give definitions of the age-specific values system; analyze the key personality qualities critical for the values system formation; educational provisions need to be put in place for the healthy lifestyle cultivation in preschoolers; set principles for the teaching service at preschool educational establishment; rate the potential benefits of the Russian folk tales on the preschool values system formation process; etc. [6].

Modern research community gives a special priority to the preschool values system formation issues in the health improvement contexts. Thus L.P. Kudalanova analyzes the relevant theoretical studies and practical experiences to specify the key health competences and their components for preschoolers and prioritize an individual vital experience as a basis for the child’s values-system-driven learning activity [3].

The cultural and transformative components of a child’s physical activity are dominated by the personality physical and mental resource mobilization and development aspects in the healthy lifestyle cultivation process. It is also important for the transformative components of the individual physical activity being efficient at the early stages of ontogenesis that they are formed by the healthy progress-facilitating socio-cultural environment with its values, ideals and sensitivity to the modern social needs [2, 8].

G.V. Serdyukova, S.I. Sysoeva, N.A. Mishukova have studied the preschool health culture and healthy lifestyle formation issues at a preschool educational establishment to underline the role of special provisions to facilitate the children’s motivations for healthy lifestyle and natural need to protect and improve health by focused educational influences on the consciousness of preschoolers [6]. Y.M. Isayenko believes that the preschool values system and healthy lifestyle formation efforts need to be facilitated by special family education courses and games-driven interpersonal communication skills building elements to complement the standard physical education service at a preschool educational establishment [1].

Objective of the study was to analyze the preschoolers’ values system and role of physical activity in the values system.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study run in September-November 2020 the 5-7 year-old preschoolers (n= 679) from the Belgorod, Samara and Tomsk Oblasts and Krasnodar Territory. The values system of the sample was surveyed by the L.N. Voloshina “Want to be healthy?" questionnaire survey, with the responses ranked by importance using the following formula:

n – questions; and ∑ = 253 – total number of questions equal to the total ranking points.

Results and discussion. Our prior analysis of the questionnaire survey data showed the sample being in active formation of a socio-biological health model: see Table 1 hereunder.

Table 1. Highest-ranking health concepts of the preschool sample

The questionnaire survey found the children being well aware of the role of healthy lifestyle for wellbeing. Ranked on top was healthy diet as a basis for good health, and ranked second was the physical activity (versus the 2010 questionnaire survey when it was ranked the third). The medicine-assisted health model – viewed as the need for therapy and visits to a doctor – was ranked only third in 2020 versus the first place in 2010. Due hygiene and healthy lifestyle (including habitual walking, daily regimen, immunity to bad habits, aerobic activity, water drinking etc.) was ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. It may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic that the questionnaire survey found new health ideas like "wear a face mask" and "stay home" ranked 8^th and 17^th among the health factors. The questionnaire survey data analysis showed that healthy socio-cultural environment with due emphasis on the cultural and transformative aspects of the teaching service at preschool educational establishment facilitates the healthy values system with due physical activity elements formation efforts.

Conclusion. The survey data and analyses confirmed the modern research findings that the existing preschool education service being generally compliant with the Federal State Preschool Education Standards in the healthy values system and healthy lifestyle formation domains, with the preschoolers and their families found to develop good theoretical knowledge and accumulate practical experiences in the health protection and improvement issues. It should be mentioned, however, that the children’s physical activity resource and motivations are still under-mobilized and underdeveloped, with some still being only passive objects of the educational process rather than active contributors to the health values formation efforts. Having compared the questionnaire survey data of 2010 and 2020, we found a shift in the preschool values system from the medicine-assisted health model towards the socio-biological one; with the healthy diets and physical activity now ranked higher on the list of priority values in the health protection and improvement domain.

The study was sponsored by the RFRF Grant № 19-013-00173 under «Integrated age-specific physical activity progress facilitated by customized physical education service” project

References

1. Isaenko Y.M. Formation of healthy lifestyle values of subjects of educational relations in preschool educational institution (from work experience). Voprosy doshkolnoy pedagogiki. 2017. No. 4 (10). pp. 21-22.
2. Kadutskaya L.A., Voloshina L.N., Kondakov V.L. et al. Adaptation Model of Organization of Students' Motor Activity. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2020. No.1. pp. 20-21.
3. Kudalanova L.P. Structure and characteristics of formation of competency in preschooler health promotion. Fundamentalnye issledovaniya. 2013. No. 1-3. pp. 623-627.
4. Pento E.V. Educational conditions for healthy lifestyle cultivation in preschoolers. Innovative pedagogical technologies. Proceedings. VI international scientific conference. Kazan: Book publ., 2017. pp. 49-52.
5. Saveleva N.Y. Organization of health-improving work in preschool educational institutions. Rostov-on-Don: Feniks publ., 2005. 464 p.
6. Serdyukova G.V., Sysoeva S.I., Cultivation of ​​ healthy lifestyle values in preschoolers. Molodoy ucheny. 2020. No. 8 (298). pp. 238-240.
7. Kondakov V.L., Voloshina, L.N., Kopeikina E.N., Kadutskaya L.A., (2020). Daily assessment of physical activity in 6-11-year-old children. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 20(4): 1673 – 1780. doi:10.7752/jpes.2020.04227
8. Hastie P.A., Johnson J.L., Rudisill M.E. (2017). An analysis of the attraction and holding power of motor skill stations used in a mastery motivational physical education climate for preschool children. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 23(1):37-53 doi: 10.1080/17408989.2017.1341476

Corresponding author: voloshina_l@bsu.edu.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze the preschoolers’ values system and role of physical activity in the values system.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study run in September-November 2020 the 5-7 year-old preschoolers (n= 679) from the Belgorod, Samara and Tomsk Oblasts and Krasnodar Territory. The values system of the sample was surveyed by the L.N. Voloshina “Want to be healthy?" questionnaire survey.

Results and conclusion. Our questionnaire survey found the children being well aware of the role of healthy lifestyle for wellbeing. Ranked on top was healthy diet as a basis for good health, and ranked second was the physical activity (versus the 2010 questionnaire survey when it was ranked the third). The medicine-assisted health model – viewed as the need for therapy and visits to a doctor – was ranks only third in 2020 versus the first place in 2010. Due hygiene and healthy lifestyle (including habitual walking, daily regimen, immunity to bad habits, aerobic activity, water drinking etc.) was ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. It may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic that the questionnaire survey found new health ideas like "wear a face mask" and "stay home" ranked 8^th and 17^th among the health factors. The questionnaire survey data analysis showed that healthy socio-cultural environment with due emphasis on the cultural and transformative aspects of the teaching service at preschool educational establishment facilitates the healthy values system with due physical activity elements formation efforts.