The Four-Year Investigation of Physical and Physiological Features of Students in a Physical Education and Sports Department
Author: Ocak, Yucel
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Physical Education Teachers,Teacher Education Programs,Foreign Countries,Physiology,Physical Fitness,Athletics,Physical Education,Curriculum,Student Attitudes,Life Style,Body Weight,Body Height,Body Composition,Muscular Strength,Exercise,Statistical Analysis

Problem Statement: Student candidates who want to be a Physical Education Teacher in Turkey should take special ability exams of Physical Education and Sports Schools. In this exam, it is required to have a high physical capability apart from a high level of special branch skills. For this reason, the students who pass and start their education at physical education and sports schools either have a good history of sports or they are active sportsmen or they have passed through a good training period. In other terms, they have high levels of physical and physiological capacity. But, the density of the curriculum at physical education teaching departments at Physical Education and Sports Schools, redundancy of theoretical courses which are defined and forced by Higher Education Council in Turkey to all the Physical Education and Sports Schools and from time to time the obligation to make a choice between school and active sportsmanship pull students away from active sportsmanship and regular training. After a dense curriculum program, the majority of students prefer education instead of sport activities and thus, when they reach their final year, they turn into sedentary people. This contradiction in the education of physical education teachers which is a model for the community and carries the task of selecting gifted people and directing people to sports for sustaining a healthy and quality life is thought-provoking. Purpose of Study: In this study, it is aimed to measure and evaluate some physical and physiological parameters of students attending physical education and sports schools from the first year on until the fourth year by taking the arguments given above. Methods: 70 male, 50 female and in total 120 students attending to Afyon Kocatepe University School of Physical Education and Sports took part in this study. Some physical and physiological parameters of the students were measured for three years in the Fall semester in November beginning from the first year on and in their final year, the measurements were made in the Spring term in May. Their weights, heights, body fat percentages, body mass indices and flexibilities, vertical jumps, anaerobic powers and aerobic capacities were identified with these measurements. Repeated measures analysis was used for statistical evaluation. The results were evaluated between 0,01 and 0,05 levels. Findings and Results: Body weights, BMIs, body fat percentages, flexibility levels, anaerobic powers and aerobic capacities of students who go through an intense and difficult exam to matriculate School of Physical Education and Sports are at levels of sportsmen. These performance levels of students decrease each passing year. These traits decline even to the levels of sedentary people in the fourth year. Conclusions and Recommendations: The students of School of Physical Education and Sports have an intense syllabus and the excess of theoretical courses prevent from regular training. Also, students in our country have to prepare for a tough theoretical exam after graduating university in order to be a teacher. This obligation moves them away from sporting activities in their free times remaining form school. In the light of this result, it is necessary to revise curriculums of Physical Education and Sports Schools in our country which train students to be teachers both for students, sportsmen and teaching staff.