Сorrecting the physical health in 10–12-year-old schoolchildren through a creative approach to health-focused physical education

Abstract

Improving the physical health and postural status of schoolchildren continues to be an important and popular problem of physical education. Purpose. To improve the physical education and health-improving methodology for increasing the level of physical health and postural status in 10–12-year-old schoolchildren. Material and methods. The experiment involved 87 schoolchildren aged 10-12 years, who studied at a secondary school (Siberia, Russia). The children were divided into an intervention group (IG, n=45) and a control group (CG, n=42) and attended mandatory physical education classes, which were held 3 times a week for 45 minutes each according to the traditional curriculum. The improved methodology provided for the use of a set of staticdynamic, coordination exercises and balance loads in the structure of the physical education curriculum. The set of exercises was performed for 15 minutes in the main part of each physical education lesson. In addition, the IG children independently performed the proposed set of physical exercises at home under the supervision of their parents. Boundary testing of the main motor skills, balance, posture, and strength of the spine and abdominal muscles was conducted. Results. At the end of the school year, the results of testing the proposed methodology were analyzed. Reliably higher values of the indicators in the tests of general physical fitness, static and dynamic balance, posture, and strength of the spinal muscular corset were found in schoolchildren in the implementation group compared to the result in the control group. In IG, the number of schoolchildren with symptoms of postural status disorders decreased by 2.4 times compared to children where physical education was conducted according to the traditional program. Conclusions. Testing of the proposed method for improving the level of physical fitness and postural status showed high efficiency, which allows us to recommend its use in other schools.