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Publication date: 01.09.2021
DOI: 10.51871/2588-0500_2021_05_03_17
UDC 796.51
FEATURES OF THE ATTITUDE OF SCHOOLCHILDREN TO HIKING IN THE CONTEXT OF REDUCING MOTOR ACTIVITY OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
Y.A. Gordeev, V.A. Pegov, A.V. Matveeva
Smolensk State University of Sports, Smolensk, Russia
Keywords: hiking, sedentary lifestyle, students, body-motor experience.
Annotation: The understanding of the lack of children and adolescents’ activity should not be limited only to quantitative indicators. It should be expanded by studying the qualitative aspects of body-motor experience of the younger generation. The inclusion of students of a general education school in the practice of the tourist approach contributes to the solution of this problem. A survey, which was conducted among the students of 5-11 grades, showed that, in their opinion, the hiking contributed to the development of independence, diligence, readiness to help others, ability of self-overcoming, motor qualities, skills and abilities. The involvement of the students in the hiking practice has not only a keen interest of children in hiking, an awareness of their benefits both in body-motor and socio-psychological relation, but also forms good prerequisites for resistance to technological types of addictions.
Introduction. Unfortunately, understanding the issue of gradual decrease of the younger generation’s motor activity often narrows to issues of a sedentary lifestyle (quantitative indicators of motor activity) and its consequences for the human’s health. However, there is a need for a more precise and differentiated approach to this problem, when attention should be given to not only the quantitative aspect of the body-motor experience of children, but also to the qualitative one [1]. It is obvious that people, who engage in different sports, move a lot, but the quality of movements is highly specialized, which has an influence on not only health of young athletes, but also their educational achievements [2-3]. Sports tourism alongside with sports orienting give an opportunity to broaden body-motor experience of children in relation to quality. It is not typical for a general education school to have additional types of motor activity for its students, besides physical culture classes and after-hours activity. As a rule, it happens only because of separate physical culture teachers showing enthusiasm or defines by a specific teaching methodology.
Methods and organization. The purpose of our study was to define the specificity of the schoolchildren’s attitude to hiking and features of perceiving its influence on different aspects of their life. 73 students of 5-11 grades, who were studying according to the Waldorf methodology in the Secondary School №2 located in Smolensk and participated in hiking, were interviewed using a scale questionnaire (0 to 9 points). We also used the ANOVA’s one-factor dispersive set (the Fisher's F-test) to define the significance of differences between mean values using the comparison (analysis) of dispersion (different groups of test subjects). In order to identify possible cause-effect relations, we used the step multiple linear regression with gradual reduce of independent variables (the Durbin-Watson statistic).
Results and discussion. Among interviewed, 91,8% of students answered “Yes” to the question “Have you ever been on a hike?”. However, this very high percentage is due to the Waldorf teaching methodology, and, unfortunately, is not the universal indicator for tourism as a mean of physical culture when teaching children in the general education schools. It can be safely said that when answering questions related to a participation in a summer hike, a great number of students were talking only about their personal experience in this direction, which increases the level of objectivity of the results obtained. Since the 1st grade, children were involved in hiking: from initial 1-day hikes to 9-day hikes, which include trekking, circular hikes, rafting and working on crossing skills, terrain orientation (also during the nighttime), team interaction in different age groups etc. It is natural that three quarters of interviewed students are always ready to hike.
The questionnaire allowed identifying different groups of tests subjects. Then, using the dispersion analysis, we defined their specificity according to indicators we are interested in (which already gives us a differentiated view). The first group was defined by the question “Would you like to go summer hiking again?” A group of children, who gave an affirmative answer, served as a factor variable. Questionnaire data were used as a dependent variable. Positive impression is typical for students, who wanted to go hiking again (F=41,03, p<0,001). They think that it contributed to the development of independence (F=7,57, p<0,01), diligence (F=11,42, p<0,001), ability of self-overcoming (F=11,34, p<0,001), readiness to help the others (F=3,47, p<0,05), motor qualities (F=24,73, p<0,01), skills and abilities (F=15,76, p<0,001).
We developed the regression analysis equation (1) in which the answer to the question “Would you like to go summer hiking again?” served as a dependent variable and the questionnaire data served as independent variables (F=39,78, p<0,001):
P5 = − 0,089 + 0,536 × P8 + 0,281 × P9.2 + 3,647 × P10.1 − 0,283 × P9.6 (1),
where P5 is “the indicator of a desire to go summer hiking”; P8 – “the indicator of a character of impression about the hike”; P9.2 – “the indicator of an effect of hiking on diligence’s development” P10.1 – “the indicator of a desire to go summer hiking again”; P9.6. – “the indicator of an effect of hiking on motor qualities’ development (agility, mobility etc.)”
A desire of children to go hiking again is mostly due to the positive impression made by the previous hike (which is logical), their ideas that being in extreme conditions contributes to the development of diligence. However, they believe that hiking does not substantially influences their body abilities, which may indirectly indicate that the formation of body-motor abilities takes place during physical culture classes in school, which is what the Waldford educational program, curriculum and methodology (a high-quality variety of everyday rhythmic exercises, a lot of active games, Bothmer gymnastics and eurhythmy) provide for [2].
In the second regression analysis equation (2), the answer to the question “What impression did the hike make?” served as a dependent variable and the questionnaire data served as independent variables (F = 46,30, p<0,001):
P8 = 0,803 + 0,205 × P4 + 0,466 × P5 + 0,300 × P9.7 (2),
where P8 is “the indicator of a character of impression about the hike”; P4 – “the indicator of the frequency of being on a hike”; P5 – “the indicator of a desire to go summer hiking”; P9.7 – “the indicator of an effect of hiking on a development of life skills and abilities”
Students, who spend a lot of time outdoors and see a possibility to obtain different life skills and abilities in hiking, have positive impression about it.
In the next regression equation (3), the answer “More than 5 hours a day” to the question “How many hours you spend on a computer, phone or watching TV?” served as a dependent variable and the questionnaire data served as independent variables (F = 6,48, p<0,01):
P3.5 = 0,233 − 0,300 × P9.6 (3),
where: P3.5 is “the indicator of a number of hours spent on a computer or watching TV”; P9.6 – “the indicator of an effect of hiking on a development of physical abilities”;
It is natural that these children, who spend more than 5 hours a day on a computer or watching TV, believe that hiking helps developing physical abilities. Because of the fact that these children sit in front of a screen for a long time, they see hiking as a possibility to develop abilities, which cannot form in usual domestic conditions.
In the fourth regression equation (4), the answer “None” to the question “How many hours you spend on a computer, phone or watching TV?” served as a dependent variable and the questionnaire data served as independent variables (F = 3,86, p<0,05):
P3.1 = 0,046 + 0,033 × P8 − 0,033 × P9.7 (4),
where P3.1 is “the indicator of a number of hours spent on a computer or watching TV”; P8 – “the indicator of a character of impression about the hike”; P9.7 – “the indicator of an effect of hiking on a development of life skills and abilities”
The equation indicates that students, who do not spend time on devices, have positive impression about the hike, and they do not see the need in the formation of life skills and abilities. It seems that these skills are forming sufficiently at home and at school, because children do not spend time on a computer of watching TV.
Conclusion.
- In students, who expressed a desire to go on a hike, positive impression forms, which is shown in opinions that it helped them to develop independence, diligence, ability of self-overcoming, readiness to help others, motor qualities, skills and abilities.
- These students, who want to go hiking, appreciate it for not the additional development of motor qualities, but for the acquisition of various life skills and abilities. These children and adolescents, who spend more than 5 hours on a computer or watching TV, note the positive effect of hiking on motor qualities.
Therefore, the systematic involvement of 1-11 grade students in hiking in the context of their attentive and engaged attitude to their full-fledged body-motor maturity throughout all years of learning not only has keen interest of children to hiking, being aware of its benefits as a feedback, both in body-motor and
socio-psychological relation, but also forms good prerequisites for resistance to technological types of addictions.
References
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- Blom L.C. (2011) Associations between Health-Related Physical Fitness, Academic Achievement and Selected Academic Behaviors of Elementary and Middle School Students in the State of Mississippi / L.C. Blom, J. Alvarez, L. Zhang // ICHPER-SD Journal of Research. – 2011. – Vol. 6 (1). – P. 13-19.
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Spisok literatury
- Pegov V.A. Neobhodimost' vvedeniya ponyatiya «telesnaya zrelost'» v issledovaniya dostizhenij detej v sporte / V.A. Pegov, L.P. Gribkova, A.E. Kozlova // Uchyonye zapiski universiteta imeni P.F. Lesgafta. – 2017. – №6 (148). – S. 172-176.
- Blom L.C. Associations between Health-Related Physical Fitness, Academic Achievement and Selected Academic Behaviors of Elementary and Middle School Students in the State of Mississippi / L.C. Blom, J. Alvarez, L. Zhang // ICHPER-SD Journal of Research. – 2011. – Vol. 6 (1). – P. 13-19.
- Granacher, U. Effects of Sport-Specific Training during the Early Stages of Long-Term Athlete Development on Physical Fitness, Body Composition, Cognitive, and Academic Performances / U. Granacher, R. Borde // Frontiers in Physiology. – 2017. – Vol. 8. – P. 1-11.
- Zagvozdkin V.K. Uchebnye programmy val'dorfskih shkol / V.K. Zagvozdkin // M.: Narodnoe obrazovanie. – 2005. – 528 s.
Information about the authors Yurij Anatol’yevich Gordeev – Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the department of tourism and sports orientation of the Smolensk State University of Sports, Smolensk, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Vladimir Anatol’yevich Pegov – Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Senior Lecturer of the Smolensk State University of Sports, Smolensk; Anna Vladimirovna Matveeva – Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences of the Smolensk State University of Sports, Smolensk.