Interrelation of Students’ Motivation for Physical Education and Their Physical Fitness Level

Abstract

The level of the motivational values-based attitude of the students of the Ukrainian medical educational institutions towards the physical education and the level and dynamics of the students’ (men and women) physical fitness during the 1st and the 2nd years of studying are investigated in the article. The timeliness of the research is conditioned by the need to improve the efficiency of the physical education of the students of the medical educational institutions in order to improve their physical fitness, health and the efficiency of their future professional activity. The participants of the research: in order to investigate the motivation of the future doctors, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 435 students (238 men and 197 women) according to the form, which consisted of 10 questions in 2016–2017. To investigate the initial level of physical fitness, the level of the main physical qualities development was examined among 437 students of the 1st year of study (231 men and 206 women) during 5 years (2013–2017). 73 students (38 men and 35 women) took part in the research of the level and dynamics of physical fitness of the future doctors during the studying. The level of physical fitness was defined according to the next tests: 100 m race, pull-ups, push-ups (for women), 3000 m race, 2000 m race (for women), standing long jumps, sit-ups and forward inclinations of body. The methods of the research included: theoretical analysis of scientific and methodological literature, questionnaire survey, pedagogic observation, testing and methods of mathematical statistics. The low level of the students’ motivation for physical education has been discovered: 47.1 % men and 50.3 % women miss 30 % or more physical education classes during the term, mentioning that the main reason of their absence is lack of interest in the traditional classes in physical education; 57.7 % men and 42.1 % women attend classes only to pass the exam. The decrease in the level of strength and endurance development of the students of the 1st year of study is discovered in the last 5 years (р<0.05–0.001). The absence of the increase in the level of physical fitness of male and female students during studying in the medical educational institution (р>0.05) and low/below the middle levels of physical fitness of the students concerning the majority of the exercises have been discovered that means the lack of efficiency of the traditional system of physical education. Conclusions: the study concluded that the lower level of the motivation for physical training students have, the worse is the level of their physical qualities development and the physical capability during the educational and future professional activity respectively.