Specifičnost socijalnih vještina školske djece za vrijeme nastave tjelesnog odgoja

The objective of the study was to analyse the level of schoolchildren\u27s social skills during physical education classes, and to examine specificity of social skills among schoolchildren during physical education classes. The analysis included 364 schoolchildren (178 male and 186 female students). The data were collected according to social skills inventory prepared by Bakutyte and adapted by Sniras and Malinauskas. An original conception of the exploration of schoolchildren’s social skills during physical education classes is presented and efficiently applied; it is a unique study dealing with gender differences in schoolchildren’s social skills during physical education classes. It has been revealed that female students show higher levels of the following social skills: willingness to console (p<0.01), and to help (p<0.01), not pretending (p<0.05), not cheating (p<0.05), and not humiliating others (p<0.05).Cilj je istraživanja bio analizirati razinu socijalnih vještina školske djece za vrijeme nastave tjelesnog odgoja i ispitati specifičnosti socijalnih vještina među školskom djecom za vrijeme tjelesnog odgoja. Analiza je obuhvatila 364 školske djece (178 dječaka i 186 djevojčica). Podatci su prikupljeni s pomoću upitnika o socijalnim vještinama koji je pripremio Bakutyte, a prilagodili su ga Sniras i Malinauskas. Originalna koncepcija istraživanja socijalnih vještina učenika tijekom tjelesnog odgoja predstavljena je i učinkovito primijenjena; u pitanju je jedinstveno istraživanje koje se bavi razlikama u socijalnim vještinama prema spolu školske djece za vrijeme nastave tjelesnog odgoja. Rezultati su pokazali da su djevojčice postigle višu razinu u sljedećim socijalnim vještinama: utješiti (p<0,01), pomoći (p<0,01), ne pretvarati se (p<0,05), ne varati (p<0,05), ne ponižavati druge (p<0,05)

Razlike u nekim antropološkim karakteristikama između hrvatskih i litvanskih studentica i njihova usporedba s Eurofit stan

The aim of this study was to determine differences in some anthropometric characteristics and motor abilities of students at the Faculty of Teacher Education and students of the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education. The results were compared using the Euro-fit standards. The sample consisted of 148 students of the Faculty of Teacher Education and 206 students of the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education from Kaunas. The age of students of both faculties ranged between 19-22 years. The sample of variables consisted of three measures used to assess the anthropometric characteristics, and five tests for the assessment of motor skills. Descriptive statistics were calculated based on the collected data, while ANOVA was used for the purpose of determining the difference in measured variables between two student groups. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that there were no statistically significant differences in measured anthropometric characteristics, but statistically significant differences in favour of the Lithuanian students were obtained for balance and repetitive speed in favour of the students of Faculty of Teacher Education. However, in light of the Euro-fit standards, it can be concluded that the results for both groups of students fall into the category of below average results in all tests. It is however important to emphasize that the results of this study show that both Croatian and Lithuanian students are in the category of normal values of body mass index.Cilj je ovog istraživanja utvrditi razlike u nekim antropometrijskim karakteristikama i motoričkim sposobnostima studentica Učiteljskoga fakulteta u Zagrebu i studentica litvanske Akademije za tjelesnu i zdravstvenu kulturu, te dobivene rezultate usporediti s Eurofit standardima. Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 148 studentica Učiteljskoga fakulteta u Zagrebu i 206 studentica litvanske Akademije za tjelesnu i zdravstvenu kulturu iz Kaunasa. Dob studentica obiju fakulteta kretala se između 19 i 22 godine. Uzorak varijabli sastojao se od tri mjere za procjenu antropometrijskih karakteristika i pet testova za procjenu stanja motoričkih sposobnosti. Na osnovi prikupljenih podataka izračunata je deskriptivna statistika, dok je u svrhu utvrđivanja razlika u izmjerenim varijablama između dviju grupa studentica, korištena ANOVA. Iz dobivenih se rezultata može zaključiti da nisu dobivene statistički značajne razlike u mjerenim antropometrijskim karakteristikama, dok su dobivene statistički značajne razlike u ravnoteži, u korist litvanskih studentica, i repetitivnoj brzini, u korist hrvatskih studentica. Međutim, pogledom na Eurofit standarde može se zaključiti da rezultati obiju grupa studentica pripadaju kategoriji ispodprosječnih rezultata u svim testovima. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata važno je naglasiti kako se i hrvatske i litvanske studentice nalaze u kategoriji normalnih vrijednosti indeksa tjelesne mase

The perception of the autonomy supportive behaviour as a predictor of perceived effort and physical self-esteem among school students from four nations

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), this study tested a model of motivational sequence in which perceived autonomy support from teachers in a physical education (PE) context predicted the perceived effort and physical self-esteem via self-determined motivation in school students. School students aged 12 to 16 years from Estonia (N = 816), Lithuania (N = 706), Hungary (N = 664), and Spain (N = 922) completed measures of perceived autonomy support from PE teachers, need satisfaction for autonomy, competence, relatedness, self-determined motivation, perceived effort and physical self-esteem. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) of each sample indicated that the students’ perceived autonomy support from the teacher was directly related to effort and indirectly via autonomous motivation, whereas physical self-esteem was related indirectly. Confirmatory factor analyses and multi-sample structural equation revealed well-fitting models within each sample with the invariances of the measurement parameters across four nations. The findings support the generalizability of the measures in the motivational sequence model to predict perceived effort and physical self-estee

Utjecaj bavljenja sportskim igrama i cikličkim sportovima na mišićnu snagu i određene pokazatelje funkcije srčanožilnog sustava u dječaka dobi od 11 do 14 godina – longitudinalno istraživanje

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of sport games and cyclic sports on certain features of cardiovascular reactions to exercise and to muscular strength enhancement in a cohort of 105 boys at the age of 11–14 years. They were recruited at the age of eleven years: 35 non-athletes, 35 cyclic sports athletes and 35 sport games players. The measurements were performed for four consecutive years. The muscle strength and cardiovascular indices were registered and taken for analysis. The results indicate sport games training sessions are an important external factor affecting the functional parameters of accelerated changes in the cardiovascular system (CVS) of the 11–13-years-old age group. The influence of endogenous factors on a child’s growth and development particularly increases at the age of 13–14 years, resulting in significant changes in CVS indices improvement, and non-athletes almost equal peers engaged in sports for those characteristics. Improvement of the muscle capacity indices depends on the nature of the physical load: muscle strength indices increased more in the cyclic sports group.Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi utjecaj bavljenja sportskim igrama i cikličkim sportovima na određene karakteristike srčanožilne reakcije/adaptacije na tjelesno vježbanje i na povećanje mišićne snage na uzorku od 105 dječaka u dobi od 11 do 14 godina. Dječaci su bili uključeni u istraživanje u dobi od 11 godina: 35 ne-sportaša, 35 sportaša koji se bave cikličkim sportovima te 35 sportaša iz sportskih igara. Mjerenja su provedena tijekom četiri uzastopne godine. Zabilježeni su i analizirani pokazatelji mišićne snage i parametri funkcije srčanožilnog sustava. Rezultati pokazuju da su treninzi sportskih igara važan vanjski čimbenik koji utječe na funkcionalne parametre ubrzanih promjena srčanožilnog sustava u dječaka dobi 11–13 godina. Utjecaj endogenih faktora na rast i razvoj djeteta posebno se povećava u dobi 13–14 godina te rezultira značajnim promjenama u smjeru poboljšanja karakteristika funkcije srčanožilnog sustava, tolikima da su se ne-sportaši u tim karakteristikama gotovo izjednačili sa svojim vršnjacima uključenima u sportske aktivnosti. Poboljšanje pokazatelja mišićnih kapaciteta ovisi o karakteristikama fizičkog opterećenja: pokazatelji mišićne snage više su se povećali u sportaša koji su se bavili cikličkim sportovima

Aerobic Capacity Is Related to Multiple Other Aspects of Physical Fitness: A Study in a Large Sample of Lithuanian Schoolchildren

This study evaluated how aerobic capacity is related to performance in other aspects of health-related physical fitness among schoolchildren. The study involved &gt;15,200 schoolchildren of both genders aged 11–18 years, who were tested with a reliable tests from Eurofit battery for most important aspects of exercise capacity and anthropometrics from 1992 to 2012. The analysis showed that aerobic capacity was weakly but significantly positively related to all other aspects of exercise abilities tested in all age groups for both genders. Variance of performance in agility shuttle run and standing broad jump were each explained by aerobic capacity the strongest (&gt;10%), followed by weaker but still significant positive relation of aerobic capacity with the abilities in bent arm hang and abdominal curl tests (aerobic capacity explaining ∼6.5% of the variance of the performance in these tests), as well as in balance and flexibility tasks (aerobic capacity significantly explaining ∼3% of the variance). Thus, while aerobic capacity in schoolchildren of all ages and both genders can explain the performance in other aspects of physical fitness and especially leg muscle power, the percent of explained variance in the results of any these tests was not high and therefore aerobic capacity should be tested as a separate important fitness parameter which cannot be substituted by other tests from the Eurofit battery

Dobrobit profesora tjelesnog odgoja kao preduvjet uspješnog profesionalnog položaja: slučaj Litve

The article deals with the well-being of Lithuanian physical education teachers as a precondition of their successful professional position. The sample size, consisted of 324 physical education teachers (183 men and 141 women) working in secondary schools in Lithuania, representing the whole population of Lithuanian physical education teachers. Well-being, which was characterised by physical education teachers according to the experienced tension, and its various causing factors, was evaluated on a 12-point scale. It has been established that women feel stress more often because of problems in the family (p < 0.001). Older physical education teachers feel underestimated more than their younger counterparts (p < 0.01), and they suffer from various ailments (p < 0.05). Comparison of data between men and women in the group of 20 and less years of teaching experience showed that women suffer from family problems more often than men (p < 0.01), and in the group of 20 and more years of teaching experience women face financial difficulties more often than men (p < 0.05). Physical education teachers (women) feel tension due to more diverse factors than men. Besides, every third research participant suffers from tension during his/her professional activities.Tema je rada dobrobit litavskih profesora tjelesnog odgoja, kao preduvjet njihova uspješnog profesionalnog položaja. Uzorak kojim je obuhvaćena cjelokupna populacija sastoji se od 324 profesora tjelesnog odgoja (183 muškarca i 141 žena), koji su zaposleni u litavskim srednjim školama. Dobrobit koju su profesori tjelesnog odgoja opisivali s obzirom na doživljenu napetost i njezine brojne uzročnike, ocjenjivana je na ljestvici od 12 stupnjeva. Utvrđeno je da žene češće doživljavaju stres zbog obiteljskih problema (p < 0,001). Stariji profesori tjelesnog odgoja češće se osjećaju nedovoljno cijenjenima nego njihovi mlađi kolege (p < 0,01), a pate i od raznih tegoba (p < 0,05). Usporedba podataka za muškarce i žene u skupini ispitanika s 20 i manje godina iskustva u nastavi pokazuje da žene češće pate zbog obiteljskih problema nego muškarci (p < 0,01), a u skupini ispitanika s 20 i više godina iskustva u nastavi žene su češće suočene s financijskim poteškoćama od muškaraca (p < 0,05). U slučaju profesorica tjelesnog odgoja napetost je uzrokovana većim brojem raznolikih faktora nego što je to slučaj kod njihovih kolega. Osim toga, svaki treći ispitanik osjeća napetost prilikom obavljanja profesionalnih aktivnosti

The relationship between teaching styles and motivation to teach among physical education teachers

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ motivation to teach is related todifferent teaching styles. A hundred and seventy six physical education teachers from five European countries par-ticipated in the study. Teachers’ motivation was measured using an instrument developed by Roth et al. (2007) based on the Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985) which was tested for suitability for use with physical education teachers. The use of teaching styles was assessed through teachers’ self-reported data according to the description of teaching styles presented by Curtner-Smith et al. (2001). The revised confirmatory factor model of the teachers’ motivation instrument, with three factors, met the criteria for satisfactory fit indices. The results showed that teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally. Cross-cultural comparison indicated that the Spanish teachers were more intrinsically motivated whilst Lithuanian teachers were more externally motivated than teachers from the other four countries. Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of reproductive styles than productive styles. The results of the present study confirmed the hypotheses that teachers’ autonomous motivation is related to the student-centered or productive teaching styles whilst non-autonomously motivated teachers adopt more teacher-centered or reproductive teaching styles. Intrinsic and introjected motivation was signifi-cantly higher among teachers who more frequently employed productive teaching styles than teachers who used them less frequently. Intrinsically motivated teachers using more produc-tive teaching styles can contribute more to the promotion physi-cal activity among students

Prefrontal Cortex Activity Predicts Mental Fatigue in Young and Elderly Men During a 2 h “Go/NoGo” Task

Background: Although the effects of mental fatigue on cognitive–motor function and psychological state in young adults are well-documented, its effects in the elderly are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of prolonged cognitive load on the indicators of psychological, cognitive, and motor functions.Methods: Fifteen young and 15 elderly men were asked to perform a 2 h “Go/NoGo” task. Psychological state (mood and motivation), cognitive (prefrontal cortex activity and cognitive performance), and motor (motor cortex excitability and grip strength) functions were measured before and after the task. During the 2 h task, both groups had a significantly similar increase in the number of “Incorrect NoGo” errors. Only in young men reaction time (RT) of “Incorrect NoGo” and intraindividual variability of RT of “Incorrect NoGo” significantly increased during task. After the task, handgrip strength decreased for the young men, whereas latency of motor evoked potentials prolonged both groups. Nevertheless, both groups indicated that they felt fatigue after the 2 h task; we observed that mental demand increased, whereas intrinsic motivation and mood decreased only in young men. Prolonged task decreased the switching/rest ratio of oxygenated hemoglobin for the young and the elderly men; however, greater for elderly than young men. Interestingly, the more the prefrontal cortex was activated before the 2 h task during the switching task, the fewer of “Incorrect NoGo” errors made by the young men and the greater the number of errors made by the elderly men.Conclusion: Because of the greater mental load and (possibly) greater activation of prefrontal cortex during the 2 h “Go/NoGo” task, there was greater mental and neuromuscular performance fatigue in young men than in elderly men

Physical literacy in Europe: The current state of implementation in research, practice, and policy

Background/objective The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to comprehensively assess and compare the implementation of PL in research, policy, and practice across the continent. Methods We assembled a panel of experts representing 25 European countries. Employing a complementary mixed-methods design, the experts first prepared reviews about the current state of PL in their countries (categories: research, practice/policy). The reviews underwent comparative document analysis, ensuring a transnational four-eyes principle. For re-validation purposes, the representatives completed a quantitative survey with questions reflecting the inductive themes from the document analysis. Results The document analysis resulted in ten disjunct themes (related to “concept”, “research”, “practice/policy”, “future/prospect”) and yielded a heterogenous PL situation in Europe. The implementation state was strongly linked to conceptual discussions (e.g., existence of competing approaches), linguistic issues (e.g., translations), and country-specific traditions. Despite growing scholarly attention, PL hesitantly permeates practice and policy in most countries. Nevertheless, the experts largely anticipate increasing popularity of PL for the future. Conclusion Despite the heterogeneous situation across Europe, the analysis has uncovered similarities among the countries, such as the presence of established yet not identical concepts. Research should intensify academic activities (conceptual-linguistic elaborations, empirical work) before PL may gain further access into practical and political spheres in the long term