BENEFITS OF THE UNIVERSITY RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS EXTENSION PROJECT FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS

Abstract

University Extension is a core activity of Higher Education that joins educational, cultural and scientific processes that develop and feed Education and Research. The purpose is to put knowledge into practice through its programs, projects and events; the university extension can be held on different fields, such as sports and physical activities. Purpose of the present study was to analyze the experiences of undergraduate students participating in the university extension project in Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG), which was designed to enhance their professional development. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with twelve students who were part of the Physical Education Teacher Education and/or Bachelor in Physical Education Undergraduate Programs. The interviews were delivered with the Ethical Terms of the research objectives, in order to answer students’ questions and guarantee their privacy. For data analysis, the Elaboration Technique and Signified Units Analysis were used. From the data obtained, we verified eight categories that initiated discussions about being part of the RG Extension Project. The four most cited were: a) the experience was positive; b) they learned in action; c) they felt what it was like to be a coach; d) they had direct contact with novice gymnasts. The majority of the participating undergraduate students agreed that the university extension allowed them to think about RG and others gymnastics disciplines as a potential profession, and the mentoring process as a significant way of developing coach and/or physical education teacher education to deal with gymnastics.