The Signs of Self-Reflection in Building Character Among First-Year Physical Education Students

Abstract

The Signs of Self-Reflection in Building Character Among First-Year Physical Education Students Introduction . The concept of self-upbringing is identified with self-activity, building and shaping one's character, selfimprovement and self-realization. The aim of the research was to define the degree of self-upbringing of first year physical education students taking into consideration self-reflection on their behaviour. Material and methods . The method applied in the research was the diagnostic survey and the accompanying research technique was a questionnaire called ‘The questionnaire of self-upbringing activity’ designed by Tatarowicz. The survey was conducted in Academic Year 2008/2009 among 667 respondents in the eight state and non-state Polish universities. Results . The results show that students (57%) tend to do self-reflection. The major reasons for this were failures in life and behaviour against prevailing norms. The majority of questioned (72.0%) showed a high degree of complacency that was due to self-acceptance and the state of feeling good in the accepted community. The participants who declared a lower degree of complacency claimed that it was due to different kinds of failures, a sense of having many faults and the awareness of making mistakes. On the hole, the participants did not feel different or distinct in regard to other people - more than 70.0%. Those that have such a feeling claim that the differences concern mainly the look and the way of behaving. Conclusions . An important role in searching the specific ways of coping with negative sides of life plays constant education and the state of self-upbringing which influences the awareness and the development of an individual.