EFFECT OF SELF-CONTROL MODEL ON SELF-CONTROL AND PHYSICAL ABILITIES OF JUNIOR SCHOOL LEARNERS AT THE AGE OF 10-11: CHILDREN’S REFLECTIONS

Abstract

The ultimate aim of self-control is to focus attention on physical, spiritual, and social health. Self-control abilities facilitate the improvement of mental balance and mental health, assist the development of academic skills and knowledge, and shape inner harmony of a child. Physical education at a junior school age is one of the underused possibilities for the development of self-control abilities. J. Liukkonen (2007), B. Zimmerman, A. Kitsantas (2005) claim that use of the self-control strategy during physical education classes allows a person to control emotions and effectively improve one‘s physical abilities. Research aim – to reveal the effect of self-control model on self-control and physical abilities of junior school learners at the age of 10–11. Research methods: literature review, pedagogical experiment, qualitative content analysis. Analysis of research results is based on a pedagogical experiment conducted during 2011–2012 with IV grade learners of general education schools in Klaipeda, Kaunas and Raseiniai (Lithuania) cities. Qualitative research had a sample of 24 experimental group learners. The fundamental manifest and latent content meaning and defined data categories attest to the positive dynamics of the following self-control abilities: ability to assess the parameters of physical fitness, ability to understand one’s physical activity, ability to apply different self-control strategies, ability to apply psychosocial self-control abilities in practice, motivation for improving one‘s physical abilities, and satisfaction due to emotional and behavioral self-control. KEYWORDS: self-control, physical education, junior school learners. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/atee.v1i0.664