Educational effects of vocational sport subjects in physical education teaching

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine and determine the effects of vocational subjects (football, basketball, handball, volleyball) on the development of motor skills, to determine motivation for active participation in physical education classes and in the vocational subject 'Sports for Athletes', as well as pupils' attitudes toward the previously named vocational subject. Furthermore, this study examines the growth and development of morphological characteristics of pupils in final grade of nine-year elementary school. The basic hypothesis (Hg) that served as the baseline for research is as follows: Hg - There will not be statistically important differences in motor skills, motivation, and in anthropometric characteristics as a result of different experimental treatments, among the groups of pupils (both girls and boys) encompassed by the experiment. The study was of a longitudinally experimental nature, where the experimental method was used as the basic one, and the statistical method was used as an auxiliary one. Research was conducted in elementary schools in Danilovgrad, for a period of one academic year. The study sample consisted of 218 pupils (105 girls and 113 boys), aged 14 years, divided into five groups (four experimental and one control group). Experimental groups consisted of pupils who have attended, apart from the regular physical education classes, classes of vocational subject 'Sports for Athletes', i.e. a particular sport as a vocational subject (basketball, football, handball, volleyball) chosen by themselves. The control group consisted of pupils who have attended regular physical education classes but they have not chosen sports as vocational subject but another one. The effects of the control and experimental treatment were assessed using the following variables: five variables to measure anthropometric characteristics, eight variables to assess motor skills, as well as variables for assessing the motivation of students and their attitudes towards physical education classes and sport for sportsmen (examined only once during the study). The acquired data were analyzed and processed using the descriptive statistical methods, tests, and univariantne analysis of variance. Following the conducted research, and based on analysis of achieved results, the following general conclusion can be generated: physical education classes and teaching the vocational subjects in field of physical education do not have a statistically significant impact on the anthropometric characteristics of both girls and boys, while the impact on development of motor skills is evident and noticeable, but not to the expected extent.