Browsing by Author "Glebov, Egor"

Earlier studies have shown that during school transition, the needs of children change and the meaning of peer increases. Transition from elementary school level to secondary school is an important time for young people. Both parents and teachers have trouble in meeting the changing needs of children both inside and outside school context. Changes can be seen in decreased school engagement, increased school burn-out and decreased self-rated health. Physical exercise during spare-time decreases and also quitting hobbies is common. The aim of this study was to find out how much and in what degree 6th and 7th graders in Helsinki are physically active during their spare-time. The research also indicates whether sport is their main interest and how do they rate their health status. The study also examined how physical exercise during spare-time, interest towards sports and self-rated health interrelate and explain the students' school engagement and burn-out. Moreover the aim of this study was to find out, what kind of changes the students experienced during the transition from elementary to secondary school, and are the changes related or explained by the students' interest towards sports, spare-time physical activity or self-rated health. This study is a part of the Mind the Gap - project (2013–2017, no. 265528) funded by the Finnish Academy. The data for this study were collected by questionnaire in two parts; the first time from 6th graders during spring of 2013 and the second time when they moved to 7th grade in fall of 2013. The correlation analysis and paired samples t-test were used to investigate changes in school engagement and burn-out, amount of physical exercise during spare time, self rated health and the form of involvement in hobbies. The participants were divided into groups based on differences in physical activity during spare time, self rated heath and interest toward sports. The differences in physical activity and self-rated health were studied with one-way ANOVA and the interest toward sports with t-test. The changes in physical activity and self-rated health were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA. The results showed that the 6th graders who rated their health as good exercised more during spare time, were more engaged and felt less burned out in school than the other participants. In 7th grade the self-rated health did not explain engagement in school. The physical activity of 6th graders did not explain school engagement or burn out of students. In 7th grade the students who exercised more felt more engaged and less burned out in school. In 6th grade the students who were interested in sports felt more burned out in school than others. In 7th grade the interest in sports did not show any affect on burn out in school. During transition from 6th to 7th grade, school engagement and spare time physical activity decreased, informal hobby participation increased and formal participation in hobbies decreased nearly significantly (p=.054). Self-rated health and burn-out in school did not change. The research showed that participants, who did not change their habits in physical activity, felt the least decrease in school engagement. The students who did not change their interest towards sports, felt the least changes. According to this study, changing interest towards sport and physical activity has a negative effect on school transition. Adult should converse with adolescent about the attitude towards sports and physical activity during spare-time, in order for adolescent to be conscious of their part of decision-making and reasons to do so.