Features of educational and professional motivation of students in the situation of choosing the method of mastering physical culture

Statement of the problem. The work is devoted to the problem of identifying the individual characteristics of students in the situation of choosing elective disciplines based on the material of mastering the discipline of physical education. It is shown that in conditions of uncertainty and multitasking, the younger generation faces difficulties in choosing a way of behavior, goals, and objectives of activity. The choice is considered as a criterion of personal maturity, it is characterized by the internal activity of the individual aimed at realizing their preferences. A person faces the problem of choice throughout their life. The choice is influenced by many factors, thanks to which a person is able to make a decision. Motivation plays an important role, acting as the basis for choice. Another choice factor is the individual specificity of tolerance to uncertainty. The purpose of the article is to identify personality traits (motivation and attitude to uncertainty) among students who prefer different ways of mastering physical culture at the university. Materials and methods of research. The research took place on the basis of Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management. Two groups were formed, the first group included students who chose the Fitness Aerobics elective discipline. The second group included students who chose other sports areas, such as basketball, volleyball, athletics, swimming, athletic gymnastics and sambo (the group was entitled as ‘Sports’). The total number of students was 200, with 100 respondents in each group. The age of the students ranged from 18 to 20 years (1st year students). Two methods were used in the study: “Motivation of professional activity” (S.A. Pakulina, S.M. Ketko) and the scale “Tolerance to uncertainty McLane (E.G. Lukovitskaya). The results of the study and their discussion. The article presents the results of a study on motivation for academic activities and tolerance to uncertainty among students who make choices in favor of various elective disciplines in the field of physical education. The proposed elective disciplines are fitness aerobics and various sports activities proper (gymnastics, athletics, etc.). The choice of the method of mastering physical culture implies the choice of the content of one’s education, which is aimed either at a lightweight option that solves health problems, appearance, or at more complex activities that require effort and self-organization. An empirical study aimed at identifying differences in educational motivation and tolerance to uncertainty showed that students choosing sports disciplines, in comparison with students choosing fitness aerobics, are characterized by higher internal educational motivation and predominance of tolerance to uncertainty.