PhD, Associate Professor M.K. Khaupshev¹
PhD, Associate Professor A.Z. Bazhev¹
M.M. Kirzhinov¹
G.A. Panchenko^2
1Kabardino-Balkarian State University n.a. K.M. Berbekov (KBSU), Nalchik
²Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University n.a. V.M. Kokov (KBSAU), Nalchik

Keywords: student, e-monitoring, motivations, health, learning process, success.

Background. National universities give a high priority to the students’ academic progress tests and ratings in the health-improvement and learning domains. The relevant issues are increasingly topical for the reason that the psychological and educational aspects of the students’ motivations building via academic physical education and sports and the contributions of such motivations to the academic progress are still largely underexplored. The students’ progress in the physical health building and learning process shall be monitored on a permanent basis to effectively develop their motivations for healthy lifestyle and high quality education with the relevant practical, institutional and informational provisions for the progress [1-4]. The prior research materials in the physical recreation [2, 3], physical health monitoring [4, 5] and education quality rating [1, 6, 7] domains were applied for the purposes of this study.

Having analyzed available data on the subject, we arrived to conclusion that every physical health factor shall be subject to integrated tests to obtain physical development, fitness, functionality and adaptability reserve rates specific, whenever possible, for every bodily system and organ. It was found that a minimal set of the age- and gender-specific tests needs to be applied to objectively rate health statuses [4, 6].

Today the notion of recreation is applied in numerous meanings including rehabilitation, reinforcement, tempering, heartening, resting etc. In combination with the notion physical the derivative meanings receive a biological flavour with reference to efficient mobilization and functioning of bodily systems and organs by means of physical activity control regimen. Actively and creatively applied modern health improvement tools are designed, among other things, to build up good motivations and shape up the relevant personality qualities and constructive agendas to facilitate the learning process and thereby contribute to the academic progress [2, 7].

Objective of the study was to assess benefits of the modern computerized health and progress monitoring technologies designed to test students’ motivations for and satisfaction with the academic physical education service versus their progress in the academic learning and health programs.

Methods and structure of the study. We designed an innovative Physical Health Monitoring software patented by Certificate #2014661453, with the new computer technology introduced at Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after K.M. Berbekov and Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University named after V.M. Kokov to test and monitor the students’ health and motivations on an integrated basis [2, 3, 7]. It should be noted that as far as a high-quality education is viewed as the core objective of every student, the relevant academic health programs shall be ranked among the main tools to attain this objective. Any health versus academic progress rating system may be efficient enough only when the process objective, goals and progress stages are duly designed and rated in the relevant units to facilitate analyses, interpretations and comparisons. This was the reason why our computerized health and academic progress monitoring technology was welcomed by the academic communites in both of the univesities.

The system software provides the tools to: (1) read and store personal progress data; (2) sort out the progress data by physical development/ fitness, functionality, adaptability, age and gender groups; (3) analyze the progress data versus relevant standards; (4) process data using standard statistical tools to produce current health rates and health progress forecasts; (5) analyze data and make grounded findings on individual health statuses; (6) consult academic health service personnel and make recommendations on how current health statuses can and should be corrected; and (7) issue individual ‘digital health passports’.

The Physical Health Monitoring software tested at the universities includes the following 4 test modules: (1) Physical Health test module including 204 tests; (2) Physical Fitness test module including 662 tests; (3) Functionality test module including 680 age-specific tests for 17 age (6 to 70 year-old) groups; and (4) Academic Progress test module. A minimal set to rate different health parameters includes 3-5 tests in every module. The objective health rating data accumulated and analyzed by the software make it possible to: cultivate sustainable motivations for a healthy lifestyle; find and rate progress/ regress in health status; detect potential deviations in physical development process; and attain the core objective of the academic health improvement programs.

Recreation programs shall be considered among the top priority components of any academic curriculum as they contribute to the physical and academic progress of the students. It is critical for every recreation program to set due provisions, framework and deliverables in the program design, with the program benefits (cumulative effect) composed of the following components: (1) biological benefits facilitating the health and body functionality recovery process after academic loads; (2) mental benefits including the motivations for progress and positive emotions associated with freedom of choice and expression, performance control and accomplishments; (3) social benefits that help a student join the community of physically healthy and well-educated people; and (4) aesthetic benefits associated with happiness from the physical perfection and health improvement process.

Study results and discussion. We found that the demand for the recreation programs in the academic communities is largely encouraged by the free choice of the program content, timeframe, place and team offered in the academic education system [3-6]. The first-to-third-year students (n=567 including 177 males and 390 females) of the above universities were subject to the physical recreation versus academic progress rating study. The students’ attitudes to the academic physical recreation service were rated versus their sports-driven health and academic progress rates. It was found that the first-year students are more active in the training sessions than the second-and-third-year ones; albeit the actual demand of the latter is higher than the activity with the degrees of satisfaction varying around the moderate level of 3.15±0.37 points. The sample motivations for the academic physical education service were ranked as follows: self-improvement (including bodybuilding and health) ranked #1 with 3.38±0.39 points; positive emotions form the training process were ranked #2 with 3.08±0.36 points; and the academic success related motivations ranked #3 with 1.54±0.33 points. The study data and analysis showed benefits of the recreation process facilitated by the modern computer technologies that provide real-time and fair academic progress rates versus students’ motivations, with efficient ways to cultivate healthy lifestyles and build up due motivations for high-quality education.

The pre-experimental test data showed only 21.5% of the sample (n=567) having sustainable motivations for academic physical education and sports viewed as efficient physical and academic progress securing tools. As found by the post-experimental (with the academic physical education curriculum updated and facilitated by the modern computer technologies) tests, 49.5% of the sample had made a significant progress (р<0.05) in the motivational domain i.e. their interest in the health improvement practices and appreciation of their benefits for their academic progress among other things – have increased. The health benefits of the new physical education program facilitated by the modern computer technologies were further verified by the significant progress in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems functionality and physical working capacity test rates (р<0.05); with a clear correlation (R=0.68-0.71) found in the physical working capacity versus academic progress rates.

Table 1. Students’ motivations for the academic physical education service: pre- versus post-experimental test rates

The study data and analysis showed benefits of the recreation process facilitated by the modern computer technologies that provide real-time and fair academic progress rates versus students’ motivations, with the efficient ways to cultivate healthy lifestyles and build up motivations for high-quality education.

Conclusion. Academic physical activity was found to contribute to the students’ progress in the health improvement and academic learning domains. The proposed new computerized health monitoring technology was tested beneficial as verified by the sample progress in the sustainable motivations for the academic physical education and sports; and it may be recommended as a highly efficient tool to facilitate progress in the academic physical education, health imporovement and learning processes.

References

1. Andreev V.I. Problemy pedagogicheskogo monitoringa kachestva obrazovaniya [Issues of pedagogical monitoring of quality of education]. Izvestiya RAO, 2001, no. 1, pp. 35-37.
2. Bal'sevich V.K., Lubysheva L.I. Sportivno-orientirovannoe fizicheskoe vospitanie: obrazovatelny i sotsialny aspekty [Sports-centered physical education: educational and social aspects]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2003, no. 5, pp. 19-22.
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Corresponding author: haupshev-m@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to assess benefits of the modern computerized health and progress monitoring technologies designed to test students’ motivations for and satisfaction with the academic physical education service versus their progress in academic learning and health programs. We designed special innovative Physical Health Monitoring software patented by Certificate #2014661453, with the relevant computer technology implemented at Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after K.M. Berbekov and Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University n.a. V.M. Kokov to test and monitor students’ health on an integrated basis. The students’ health versus academic progress was rated on the sample of the first-to-third year students (n=567 including 177 males and 390 females) of the above universities. The students’ motivations for the academic physical education service were ranked as follows: self-improvement (including bodybuilding and health) ranked #1 with 3.38±0.39 points; positive emotions ranked #2 with 3.08±0.36 points; and academic success ranked #3 with 1.54±0.33 points. The study data and analysis showed benefits of the recreation process facilitated by the modern computer technologies that provide real-time and fair rates of the academic progress versus students’ motivations, with the efficient ways to cultivate healthy lifestyles and build up motivations for high-quality education.