Characteristic features of professional study of physical education and sports in the USA

Abstract

Innovative processes in the field of physical culture and sports, understanding the value of health, recognition of high social importance of physical education, promotion of fitness, physical activities and sports, creating a positive public attitude to physical activity and sport through the recognition and respect for the achievements of teams or individual people – all of the above leads to the need of the expansion of the services rendered by means of physical activity and accordingly requires substantial changes in the study of future professionals of physical education and sport. One of the current issues in society today is a lack of professionals in the sphere of physical education and sport. Preparation of these professionals should take into account current global trends of education and the need to consider the experience of leading countries. Methods. Methodological principles of research are: the theory of philosophical knowledge and mutual interdependence of the phenomena of objective reality; an objective study of the development and communication of specific historical conditions based on the unity logical and historical, general and special, theory and practice. Results. The study proved the theory and practice of professional preparation of specialists of physical education and sports in the USA. Scientific theory of the system of such training is generalized. Tendencies of development of physical culture and sports in the US as determinants of modernization of professional preparation of specialists are revealed. The system of professional preparation of specialists of physical education and sports is characterized as one that has a coherent, continuous and differentiated character within university education We studied majors, spheres of physical education and sports, in a wild range of USA universities. The analysis of educational programs, available at these universities, helped us to generalize them as the bachelor programs – academic specializations, which are determined as majors. We outline twelve majors of bachelor's levels which correspond with the titles of bachelor’s specializations. Data of the comparative analysis of curriculum shows that it structure has common and quite unified character and consists of three key components: general education, field disciplines and major courses. It was found that for the Parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies divides these components pretty much alike and displays slight divergences not as much in the content of curricula as in the titles of the studied disciplines. Four years is provided for a bachelor's degree education, during which the student assimilates a set of academic courses within 120 credits. Selection process at the universities is based on grade requirements for academic courses. Hence only 14–15 % of the students on average complete bachelors degree in the USA.It is studied that in US schools traditional forms of learning and modern interactive technologies are practiced. Current control and selection provide quality of professional preparation of specialists. Universities and colleges in the United States available additional paid spring and summer semester lasting 1–3 weeks to eliminate the «debt» capture additional students in disciplines such additional payment semesters