Structural Specifics of the Physical Ability of Secondary School Students

Abstract

Physical ability is a key indicator of the quality of the educational process at sports in schools. It is the subject of multiple publications, where the information analyzed by experts is used as the basis for tracking the quantitative changes in the development of motor qualities. Not much attention is given to determining its structure, which is defined by the interrelations when its specific qualities are manifested. The changes of the pre-determination of the motor qualities as a result of applying existing methodologies are not being analyzed. This, however, is of great interest to practice, since determining the structure of physical ability can provide for more precise planning of the process for the physical preparation of a lesson. The purpose of the study is to define the structural specifics of physical ability of secondary school students. To achieve this goal, a group of 581 students from 4th, 7th, and 12th grade (the grade levels of elementary, middle school and high school completion) was studied. The analysis of the results aims to reveal the interconnections between motor qualities, as the relationships observed reflect the effect of the subject content mastered by the students as this is defined by the state educational standards. It was observed that speed is the most informative indicator of the structure of physical ability among students from 1st grade to 7th grade, and the strength of the lower limbs is the most indicative indicator for students from 8th to 12th grade. Female students from the primary and secondary levels of education have a more harmonious structure of physical ability in comparison with the one of male students. The interconnections revealed lead to the creating specific methodological recommendations for the physical preparation of lessons for each educational stage.