Students' mental condition control in physical education process

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Associate Professor, PhD A.A. Opletin1, 2
1Perm National Research Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg Institute of Foreign Economic Relations, Economics and Law (affiliate), Perm
2Perm State Institute of Culture

Keywords: anxiety, depression, stress, personality, competence, self-development, physical education.

Background. Good understanding of the everyday academic processes and conscientious process management are an important prerequisite for any health protection/ improvement initiative. In this context, high priority is being given by the academic community to the students’ mental health improvement initiatives designed to: cope with the negative psychological and psychogenic conditions dominated by anxiety and depression, to help develop the students’ confidence in own powers and capacities. In parallel with the mental health improvement efforts, facilitating conditions will be established to attain a variety of other educational process objectives, including the overall health conditioning and self-concept developing activity with an emphasis on the physical education and sport self-development competences being formed in the students [8].

Objective of the study was to provide a theoretical basis for the students’ mental condition control in the physical education process by special psychological training sessions.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the study were the following two groups: Study Group (SG) of 85 second-year students and Reference Group of 87 peer students. The Study Group students were trained under a special curriculum designed to control the negative psychological and psychogenic conditions dominated by anxiety and depression by means of special psychological training sessions designed to help develop the students’ confidence in own powers and capacities. The Reference Group students were trained under the standard academic curriculum recommended for application by the relevant academic Theoretical and Practical Council.

We used the Personality Factor Questionnaire by R.R. Cattell (16 PF, Form C) for the purposes of the study as we found that this inventory provides the most convenient basis for identification of the sets of personality traits that may be used for the students’ self-development program design in the physical education domain with an emphasis on the education/ culturing activity individualization in the physical education and sport competences formation process.

Furthermore, we used the Spielberger-Hanin State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) tests to rate the students’ anxiety for application in the students’ self-development process improvement initiatives; and the WAM (wellbeing, activity, mood) tests to rate the emotional ill-being of the students.

Study results and discussion. The test data and analyses found manifestations of anxiety in 35-36% of students in the both groups, with most of the students (65-64%) diagnosed with overall anxiety. It should be noted that the educational correction area was found in 39-40% of the whole sample for the study. 26% of the Study Group and 24% of the Reference Group students were tested with marginal anxiety that may mean that they are exposed to deep suffering, self-distrust and fears of failures in the subject educational activity, with these negative sentiments inevitably resulting in their mood instability and somatic ill-being. Virtually the same was true for manifestations of reactive depression with long-lasting stresses and anxiety leading the young men either to depressed conditions or total indifference to the life situations generally reinforcing their distrust to the own powers and abilities. Based on the study data analyses, 37% of the SG students and 39% of the RG students were rated as falling within the norm. The educational correction area was found in 32% of students in both groups. Almost one third (31-29%) of students in both groups were diagnosed with the marginal condition area. It may be pertinent to mention that N.D. Levitov believes that depressions may be triggered by personal failures in important areas of activity and/or losses in the social value of the core activity.

Based on the study data and analyses, we assumed that the emotional ill-being of the students may be due to the dramatic change of the educational and living standards in the transition from school to university. To check validity of the assumption, we tested for anxiety students of three academic years. Subject to the study were 1240 students of three universities. Special attention in the study was given to the students’ individual abilities in and resources for self-developing and personality self-building activity. We applied a set of methods to rate those aspects of a personality that we consider necessary and important for the students’ efficient involvement in the self-development process in the physical education domain.

Our study and analyses yielded the following results. The students were tested with a very modest positive trend in the year-to-year anxiety and depression rates. The anxiety rates by the second and third academic year, for instance, were found to grow by 2% and 6%, respectively, versus the first-year anxiety rates. The marginal condition rate was found to slightly fall from 29% in the first year to 20% in the third year. The educational correction area was also found to insignificantly (by 3%) increase for the same time. Virtually the same picture was found for the depression rates in all the subjects to the study.

The emotional ill-being rates generated by the basic tests were confirmed by the WAM test data. Around one third of the both group students of every academic year were tested with ill-being (up to 32%), bad moods (30%) and poor motor activity (38%).

The study data gave the reasons to believe that the students’ emotional ill-being cannot be explained by the dramatic change in the education and living standards only, as we have found no positive variation trend of these rates for the three academic years under the study. There might be more serious factors of influence on this phenomenon. The students will be further tested in detail for the self-development and personality-building ability.

Conclusion. The modern challenges of the university education process require new systems, technologies and approaches being found for the academic physical education process being efficient. The self-development competence building process in the physical education domain cannot be successful enough unless supported by due knowledge, skills, abilities and practical experience of students in self-discovery, mental self-control (anxiety-, depression- and aggression-control), self-design and self-fulfilment domains with due emphasis on motor activity. The self-development on the whole and the physical education and sports driven self-development competence building process in particular will be successful only when every student’s activity is personally valuable, mentally and educationally contentious and duly supported by practical accomplishments.

References

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Corresponding author: opletin.a@yandex.ru

Abstract
The article presents findings of the students’ anxiety and depression rating study that need to be taken into consideration in the academic physical education process when the physical education and sport self-development competences are formed in the students.