Physical Recreation of Students of Selected Warsaw Non-Public Higher Education Institutions - Preferences and Motivations

Abstract

Physical Recreation of Students of Selected Warsaw Non-Public Higher Education Institutions - Preferences and MotivationsThe creation of conditions within the teaching and educational system of higher education institutions that shape up rational, pro-health free-time behaviours is one of the key goals of the studies discussed in this paper. The starting point for every planned educational process is to investigate the present state of affairs, i.e. to perform a diagnosis. This paper presents the diagnosis results which indicate, based on the empirical research findings, the forms of leisure activities most often pursued and the motivations behind them. The method we used in our research was a diagnosis survey which covered 1,119 students.The dominant leisure-time activities preferred by the students we surveyed were watching TV and meeting friends. The third most popular student leisure activity was in the case of men spending time in front of a computer and in the case of the women walking. Nearly half of the female students and a little more than half of the male students practise their recreational activities outside the official school physical education classes. The men practise a little more often than the women. Football, cycling and swimming are the most popular sports among the men. The women prefer bicycle riding, gymnastic exercises, aerobics and volleyball. Both the male and female students gave as their first two most important motives for recreational physical activities their health and fitness aspects. The third motive varies, depending on sex. The female students appreciate rest and relaxation which they achieve through recreational physical activities. The men highlight the value of being in touch with nature. Although the students from the surveyed group say they do not engage in physical activity in their free time in any planned way, nearly 50% of them do so on a regular basis.