PhD, Associate Professor O.N. Karpushko¹
PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Vlasov¹
Master student M.A. Ezhkina^1
1Vladimir State University named after Alexander and Nikolay Stoletovs, Vladimir

Keywords: students, health, priority values, social factors, motivation, sports, motor activity.

Background. Every modern university gives a high priority to students’ health protection and improvement, habitual sports cultivation and other versatile physical activities, healthy lifestyle promotion initiatives and modern sportizated (sports-prioritizing) educational technologies with the relevant values and motivations. Future professional careers of university graduates may not be successful without the socializing and personality development experience via university sports.

Objective of the study was to analyze motivations and predispositions for sports and other physical activities in the Russian and American university students.

Methods and structure of the study. The research methods included a questionnaire survey, interviews, comparative analysis and reviews of the literature and other study documents on the subject. The questionnaire survey form offered 20 questions and five statements, with every statement ratable on a 5-point scale (1 strongly disagree; 2 disagree; 3 partially agree; 4 strongly agree; and 5 uncertain). The individual questionnaire survey and interviews were completed at Institute of Physical Culture and Sports (IPCS) and Pedagogical Institute (PI) of Vladimir State University (VSU) in May 2016; and at School of Kinesiology and Recreation (SKR) and General Education Institute (GEI) of Illinois State University (ISU) in January 2017. It should be noted that SKR is much similar to IPCS, and GEI to PI. 198 students including 100 VSU students and 98 ISU students qualified with the basic health group were subject to the study. The uncertain responses were omitted in the calculations.

Study findings and discussion. The sample motivations were found dominated by the pleasure from trainings (IPCS: 3.86; PI: 3.24; SKR: 3.94; and GEI: 3.41 points); and the body shaping, physical/ mental health and intellectual/ physical working capacity improvement agenda (IPCS: 3.43; PI: 3.38; SKR: 3.83; and GEI: 3.28 points). In addition, the IPCS and SKR groups opted for communication with interesting people by 3.91 and 3.53 points; and competitive culture by 3.72 and 3.88 points, respectively. Motivations of the relatively low motivated groups were found dominated by the fashion for and prestige of some academic sports and physical training services (both in their university and in society on the whole) and practical factors – scored by 1.81 to 2.77 points, respectively.

The lists of preferred sports reported by the VSU and ISU groups were found to agree only in four disciplines (football, track and field sports, basketball and dance) and differ in many other points – that may be due to the different cultural and historical backgrounds and sport traditions of both of the nations in general and VSU and ISU in particular.

The PI VSU group gave preference to the track and field sports (19%) and volleyball (14%) followed by skateboarding, gym workouts, basketball and cross-country skiing. The GE ISU students preferred golf, baseball, softball, jogging, weightlifting, circus and yoga, with around 12% of the PI VSU and GE ISU groups being uncertain in their preferences – in contrast to the groups majoring in physical education i.e. IPCS and SKR that were only 3% and 2% uncertain, respectively, in their sport/ physical training preferences. The uncertainty of the latter is attributable to the need to choose one of a few favorite sports with still relatively modest and equal prospects for success. The survey data showed a wider range of preferences in the IPCS versus SCR, with 18 versus 12 preferred sports, respectively. The IPCS group reportedly prefers track and field sports (16%) and volleyball (13.5%) followed by football, martial arts, Greco-Roman wrestling and basketball (11% each), with the minor sport preferences including tennis, sambo, table tennis, swimming, polyathlon, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, karate, ice hockey and powerlifting. The SKR list of preferences was topped by basketball (22%), soccer and weightlifting (11% each), followed by track and field sports (9%), baseball and softball (6% each); with the minor sport preferences including volleyball, cheerleading, football, rugby, dances and workout.

It should be mentioned that the IPCS and SKR groups were unanimous in ranking the academic Physical Education discipline on top of their preferences with 3.72 and 3.73 points, respectively – versus the PI VSU and GE ISU groups that ranked it low by 2.2 and 2.0 points, respectively. Much the same difference was found in responses to the statement ‘I need sports and physical trainings to develop my skills, abilities and competences of importance for life’, with the IPCS and SKR group support making up 3.72 and 3.88 points, respectively, versus the PI VSU and GE ISU groups with their 2.85 and 2.84 points.

These findings may be interpreted as once again underlining the need for a universal knowledgebase and competences being formed in the future education specialists whose professional responsibilities include project design, research, training and educational services. The valid Russian Federal State Higher Education Standard (FSHES) for pedagogical education gives a special priority to educational, cultural, developmental, elucidation and education system design aspects of the education competences and service. This is one of the reasons for the leading national researchers including V.K. Bal’sevich [1], L.I. Lubysheva [4], A.I. Zagrevskaya [3], I.N. Gernets et al. [2], L.F. Rozanova [5] and Y.V. Ushakova [6] repeatedly underlining the need and strongly advocating for the anthropogenic-activity-prioritizing paradigm of the modern pedagogy with its innovative educational technologies making a special emphasis on the transition from the cooperation to co-creation logics facilitating the relevant quasi-professional activity models. Unless a future education specialist accepts, masters and effectively applies the modern anthropogenic dimension prioritizing educational technologies, he/ she can unlikely be successful in the professional teaching service for the simple reason that his/ her healthy lifestyle, physical activity and health technology promotion activities will unlikely be trusted by the students being accepted as formal declarations rather than heartfelt values.

Conclusion. The study analyzes the similarities and differences in the sport/ physical training preferences reported by the Vladimir State University and Illinois State University students and their motivations for creative health improvement activity and individual physical development in the context of the physical education and sport values, and the degrees of the academic sports being ranked among the core social competences of the future education specialists.

The authors sincerely appreciate the kind support and contribution from Professors C. Dennis and D. Thomas from the School of Kinesiology and Recreation of Illinois State University.

References

1. Bal'sevich V.K. Ocherki po vozrastnoy kineziologii cheloveka [Essays on human developmental kinesiology]. Moscow: Sovetskiy sport publ., 2009, 220 p.
2. Gernet I.N., Olyashev N.V., Golubina O.A., Lebedeva M.P., Tsinis A.V. Osobennosti prinyatiya resheniy u studentov, zanimayuschikhsya fizkulturno-ozdorovitelnoy deyatelnostyu [Features of decisions making among students engaged in recreational activities]. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta, 2017, no. 6 (148), pp. 55-59.
3. Zagrevskaya A.I., Lubysheva L.I. Ontokineziologicheskiy podkhod kak metodologiya sportizatsii fizicheskogo vospitaniya v sisteme obrazovaniya [Ontokinesiological approach for sportization of physical education within national education system]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2017, no. 6, pp. 6-8.
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5. Rozanova L.F., Turutina A.D. , Zyryanova A.A. Statisticheskiy analiz vliyaniya tsennostnykh orientatsiy i problem sotsialnogo kharaktera na rasprostranennost vrednykh privychek v molodezhnoy srede [The effect of value orientations and social problems on harmful habits among youth: statistical analysis]. Zdorovye v XXI veke i obrazovanie, 2017, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 155-159.
6. Ushakova Ya.V. Zdorovye studentov i factory ego formirovanya [Health of students and factors of its formation]. Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta im. N.I. Lobachevskogo, ser. «Sotsialnye nauki». 2007, no. 4, pp. 197-202.

Corresponding author: knavlsu@mail.ru

Abstract

The study analyzes motivations and predispositions for academic sports and other physical activity in the Vladimir State University versus the Illinois State University students, with a special emphasis on the following: similarities and differences in the individual predispositions of the university student populations; mechanisms to motivate students for creative health activity and physical self-perfection; ways to make them accept the physical education values and recognize the role of physical education and sports as the key elements of their professional competency for the teaching service. The research methods included a questionnaire survey, interviews, comparative analysis and reviews of the literature and other study documents on the subject. The questionnaire survey and interviews were run at Institute of Physical Culture and Sports (IPCS) and Pedagogical Institute (PI) of Vladimir State University in May 2016; and at School of Kinesiology and Recreation (SKR) and General Education Institute (GEI) of Illinois State University (ISU) in January 2017. Subject to the study were 198 students including 100 Vladimir State University students and 98 Illinois State University students qualified with the basic health groups.