Volume 12 - Issue 69
/ September 2023
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http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.69.09.15
How to Cite:
Shumovetska, S., Kvitka, A., Zabolotnyi, S., Gnydiuk, O., & Hnydiuk, O. (2023). Study on the development of health-saving
competence of future border guard officers. Amazonia Investiga, 12(69), 171-182. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.69.09.15
Study on the development of health-saving competence of future
border guard officers
Дослідження розвитку здоров’язбережувальної компетентності майбутніх
офіцерів-прикордонників
Received: June 12, 2023 Accepted: August 8, 2023
Written by:
Svitlana Shumovetska1
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5419-1576
Alina Kvitka2
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6763-3035
Serhii Zabolotnyi3
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3714-8570
Oleksandr Gnydiuk4
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3154-1697
Oksana Hnydiuk5
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8733-027X
Abstract
The paper presents a methodological system for
the formation of health-saving competence of
future border guard officers at higher military
educational institution. The system is focused on
the educational component of training and
familiarizing cadets with the specifics and ways
of forming this professionally important quality
using the potential of interactive and research
training methods. The article aims at
justification, implementation and verification of
the effectiveness of the methodological system
during an experimental study in which 132 cadets
aged 17-22 years took part, including 118 boys
and 14 girls. The research methods used were:
retrospective and comparative analysis,
generalization, pedagogical observation,
questionnaires and surveys, testing, expert
assessments, experiment and methods of
statistical assessment. At the end of the formative
stage of the experiment, cadets of the
1
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Pedagogy and Socio-Economic Sciences, Bohdan Khmelnytsky
National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Khmelnytsky, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: Y-4844-2019
2
Chief Scientific Researcher of the Department of Scientific Activity and International Cooperation, Penitentiary Academy of
Ukraine, Chernihiv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: AFF-5132-2022
3
Ph.D. in Psychology, Associate Professor of the Department of Firearms and Special Tactics Training, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi
National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.
4
PhD in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Physical Training and Use of Force, Bohdan
Khmelnytskyi National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID:
ABB-6937-2021
5
PhD in Pedagogy, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Border Guard Service, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi National Academy of the
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: JPA-2252-2023
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experimental group have a predominantly high
(23,88 %) and average (55.22%) levels of health-
saving competence. In the control group the
indicators were 12.31% and 46.15%,
respectively. It has been proved that the proposed
methodological system allows to increase the
motivation of cadets to preserve their health, its
physical, social and mental (spiritual)
components, improve their level of awareness of
the importance of health in personal and
professional life, improve the skills of health-
saving activities.
Key words: health-saving competence, physical
health, formation, border guard officer,
motivation, research methods.
Introduction
The profession of a border guard officer is often
considered an extreme one. The defenders of the
Ukrainian border perform tasks that involve risk
to life and often require maximum of their mental
and physical strength. Today, border guards risk
their health and even lives, protecting the
freedom and independence of Ukraine from the
russian invaders, many of them need to restore
mental strength and undergo rehabilitation. The
urgent task of pedagogical research today is to
outline the ways of forming the health-saving
competence of future border guards, identifying
the features of its physical and mental
components, specifics of the educational process
in the conditions of a higher military education
institution.
Thus, the ways to preserve the servicemen’s
health, focusing on the importance of its
physical, social and mental (spiritual)
components, as well as finding pedagogical
resources to improve future border guards’
awareness of the importance of health in personal
and professional life is an important pedagogical
task. That is why we decided to perform the
research of the problem of its formation among
future officers of the State Border Guard Service
of Ukraine. Modern border guards have to be not
only properly trained, to be in excellent physical
shape, but also to have an appropriate level of
formation of all components of health-saving
competence.
The practice shows that even if the cadets take
matters of physical fitness more or less seriously,
they certainly do not pay due attention to
developing of other components of their health,
in particular, they do not understand the
importance of taking care of their social and
mental health. In view of this, formation of
health-saving competence of future border guard
officers is relevant and requires conducting a
scientific research.
Literature Review
The first researchers who paid attention to the
importance of teaching young people to take care
of their health were J.-A. Komensky and
I. Pestalozzi. They put forward the idea of the
need to build an educational process based on
natural conformity, taking into account the
peculiarities of human nature and the laws of its
development.
Shumovetska, S., Kvitka, A., Zabolotnyi, S., Gnydiuk, O., Hnydiuk, O. / Volume 12 - Issue 69: 171-182 / September, 2023
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J.-A. Komensky noted that children's health is a
treasure more expensive than gold, that it is
necessary to pay close attention to the health of
children, because without it they will have no
future (Comenius, 2012).
In Ukraine, A. Butovsky was one of the first to
define such an educational task (Butovsky,
2009). The subject of G. Vashchenko's interest
was the relationship between the human soul and
body, the importance of physical activities for
maintaining the strength of the spirit and forming
character. He wrote that the physical activity of
every Ukrainian is necessary for better service to
good, God and Ukraine: "a Ukrainian should
really relate to life, giving himself a business
from its dark and light features. But as a
Christian, he must believe in the victory of good
over evil, truth over falsehood. Understanding
the power of evil should stimulate its energy in
the struggle for the victory of good."
(Vashchenko, 1956).
Today, the problems of health preservation are
studied by representatives of various sciences, in
particular philosophy, theology, medicine,
valeology, sociology, pedagogy, etc.
Philosophers explore health as a value
phenomenon, as a prerequisite for human self-
realization, sociologists pay attention to social
conditionality of human health, doctors – on
obstacles to health, that is, diseases and their
treatment.
Certain ways to increase motivation for physical
activity among young people were studied by
I. Mehmeti, V. Halila (Mehmeti & Halila, 2018;
Komarnytska et al., 2019), young people's
attitude to sports education – by C. Bessa,
P. Hastie, A. Rosado, I. Mesquita (Bessa et al.,
2022; Balendr, 2018). O. Mozolev et al. studied
formation of physical readiness of cadets for
professional activity under the conditions of
quarantine (Mozolev et al., 2021). Griban et al.,
researched formation of health and fitness
competencies of students in the process of
physical education (Griban et al., 2021).
К. Bargiel-Matusiewicz, R. Dziurla designed an
anti-smoking educational program entitled “run
for health” (Bargiel-Matusiewicz, et al., 2019).
Also, L. Slyvka, H. Sivkovych, О. Budnyk,
О. Tytun, А. Boichuk investigated the
possibilities of forming a healthy lifestyle of
students in English language classes, ways of
systematic and purposeful inclusion of health
preservation issues in the context of education
(Slyvka et al., 2022).
The scientists I. Burlakova, O. Sheviakov,
T. Kondes studied the health care competence in
the context of physical, spiritual and intellectual
self-development, emotional self-regulation and
self-support. In their opinion, this competence
also covers personal hygiene, caring for one's
own health, sexual literacy, internal ecological
culture, and ways of safe living. The authors
focus on the importance of quality of life in
society, harmony with other people and oneself,
which, in their opinion, requires such
psychological predictors as empathy, tolerance,
communication culture, adaptability, adequate
behavior in various life situations. For the proper
formation of health care competence, the
researchers suggest using modern approaches to
determining the content of education, as well as
the latest educational technologies, in the
educational process (Burlakova et al., 2021).
The scientific community attaches increasing
importance to such an aspect of health care
competence as mental health. Educators and
psychologists focus their efforts on finding ways
to provide psychological support to people who
are going through life crises. In particular,
S. Bilozerska, I. Leshchenko, H. Cherusheva,
V. Roksoliana, I. Ushakova study the
psychological health of the personnel of
educational and scientific organizations in war
conditions, ways to improve the psychological
state and mechanisms of protection against
stressful situations, which are available for use
even during hostilities (Bilozerska et al., 2022).
N. Korylchuk, І. Vlasenko, I. Livandovska,
S. Bokova & N. Demikhova defined theoretical
and methodological principles of providing
medical and psychological assistance in the
conditions of armed conflicts: experience for
Ukraine (Korylchuk et al., 2022). V. Overchuk,
M. Smulson, O. Vdovichenko, O. Maliar,
K. Vasuk considered the features of
psychological assistance to the individual in
situations of life crises using narrative practices
(Overchuk et al., 2023). Researchers suggest
using narrative techniques to provide
psychological support to people facing life
obstacles or crises, proving that such techniques
can be an important tool for restoring
psychological balance and psychological support
in crisis situations.
Scientists suggest paying careful attention to the
motivation of young people, to their physical
education in order to find out the most important
ways of proper physical fitness, to increase the
effectiveness of forming a set of knowledge and
skills related to maintaining health (Soroka et al.,
2019; Balendr et al., 2019). Scientists are
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unanimous that health is an important factor in
the effectiveness of the professional activity of a
border guard officer, the basis of his professional
productivity, and a prerequisite for public well-
being. Their research shows the relevance of
forming the health-saving competence of future
specialists in the process of their professional
training. In contrast to the medical field of
knowledge, which places more responsibility for
the fight against diseases on the doctor, teachers
are focused on preventing and minimizing
diseases, exploring options for using the
resources of the person himself to restore health,
ways to improve the effectiveness of physical
education, formation of responsibility for their
health among young people.
However, the ways of increasing the motivation
of future border guard officers to preserve health,
the importance of its social and mental (spiritual)
components, as well as pedagogical resources for
improving the cadets’ awareness about the
importance of health in personal and professional
life have not yet been sufficiently studied.
Hypothesis. The authors suggest that the
experimental study will determine the factors
that contribute to improving the quality of health-
saving competence formation of future border
guard officers in the process of professional
training. The aim of the experimental study is to
determine the factors of improving health-saving
competence of future border guard officers in the
process of professional training.
Material and methods
To determine the specifics of formation of
health-saving competence of future border guard
officers, the following theoretical methods were
used: the analysis of literature on the problem
and clarification of the scientific apparatus,
retrospective and comparative analysis of the
practice of health-saving. Based on the results of
the analysis of scientific sources, its essence,
content and structure are characterized, criteria,
indicators and levels of formation are
determined, and pedagogical ways of formation
are justified. The health-saving competence of a
border guard officer is understood as a specific
personal property, covering the awareness of the
importance of health for personal life and
professional activity, the ability and skills of
organizing a healthy lifestyle in the physical,
social and mental (spiritual) spheres. To test the
proposed conditions for the formation of health-
saving competence of cadets, such a method of
empirical research as a pedagogical experiment
was chosen, covering the ascertaining and
forming stages. In particular, it included finding
out the influence of the content of education,
expansion of the experience of cognitive activity
(in the form of knowledge and skills to act
accordingly and solve specific problems of
maintaining health) on the formation of the
personally and professionally important quality.
Participants. The experimental study was
attended by cadets who studied in the specialty
"State Border Security", "Law enforcement",
"Philology". A total of 132 2nd-year cadets
(including 118 boys and 14 girls aged 17 to 22)
took part in the formative stage of the
experiment. Control group (65 cadets) and
experimental (67 cadets) groups were created.
The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of
cadets (boys) and cadets (girls) do not have
reliable differences, so these groups were chosen
by the participants of the formative stage of the
pedagogical experiment. Cadets boys and girls of
these groups had a similar average score of
academic performance, in groups according to
the programs, the same number of classes was
provided. The variable conditions that were
tested during the formative stage of the
experiment were the organization of training and,
accordingly, pedagogical influences on cadets,
both boys and girls.
The organizers of the experiment previously
informed the participants about the working
procedure. The cadets agreed to participate in the
experiment, and their answers were properly
evaluated and processed.
Organization of research. The formative stage of
the pedagogical experiment lasted from
September 2020 to April 2021. It was held at the
National Academy of the State Border Service of
Ukraine named after Bohdan Khmelnytskyi (City
of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine). During this time,
empirical data were also collected and a large
number of observations were made. The
researchers recorded all the characteristics of the
health-saving competence of cadets in
accordance with the data of its structure,
observing ethical principles and requirements for
the confidentiality of working with private
information. The management of the educational
institution allowed us to record empirical data.
Procedures and tools. Various diagnostic
methods were used to determine the state of
formation of the components of health-saving
competence. So, specially designed
questionnaires, observation and expert
assessment were used to study the state of
formation of the motivational component of
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health-saving competence among cadets. The
questions of the author's questionnaire contained
questions about the importance of health-saving
competence for border guard officers, the interest
of cadets in maintaining health, how cadets work
on the formation of health-saving competence,
etc. The method of expert assessment included
studying the attitude of cadets to their health,
taking care of proper physical condition
(physical health), relationships with classmates,
teachers, ability to resolve conflicts, skills of
joint activity and cooperation (social health), as
well as satisfaction with the choice of their
profession, vision of life prospects, self-control
skills (mental health).
In turn, the level of formation of the cognitive
component of health-saving competence was
determined using the method of unfinished
sentences, the performance of test tasks by cadets
and based on the results of conversations. In
particular, according to the method of unfinished
sentences cadets added sentences regarding the
essence of health-saving competence, its
components, and the specifics of its
manifestation. Also, taking into account the
requirements of modality and minimization of
root-mean-square deviations, testing was
conducted, covering three series of 20 tasks each.
Each episode dealt with one component of
health: physical, social, or mental (spiritual). The
author's methods involved finding out how
cadets know the conditions of saving health, that
is the importance of physical culture and sports,
the essence of social health, what are their life
goals and programs, how they take care of their
spiritual health, first of all, how they exercise
self-control or experience failures. The tests
provided for the same number of simple tasks
and tasks of increased complexity, which were
used to test cadets' knowledge about the specifics
of maintaining health. Conversations with cadets
on various aspects of health-saving activities,
primarily on the peculiarities of a healthy
lifestyle, were also important. Cadets explained
the importance of health in the life of a person
and society, the essence of methods for
determining the level of physical, social and
mental health, the importance of health training.
We paid considerable attention to the cadets'
knowledge of the factors of positive influence of
a healthy lifestyle on the general state of the
body, general characteristics of individual and
public health, the essence of the concept of
"healthy lifestyle", the basics of social and
mental health, positive thinking and an optimistic
outlook.
To determine the level of formation of the
activity component of health-saving competence
cadets were offered three special tasks. In this
case, the approaches of O. Sergienkova,
O. Stolyarchuk, O. Kokhanova and O. Paseka
about the fact that objective indicators of the
formation of skills and abilities are the
correctness and quality of the action (absence of
errors), the speed of operations or their sequence
(external criteria) (Sergienkova et al., 2012). In
particular cadets had to assess the state of their
health using various methods, draw up a program
of physical self-improvement, determine
promising goals for self-development, develop
educational actions in the form of lectures,
conversations, round tables, games, trainings on
the importance of physical culture classes and on
issues of physical and mental self-improvement.
For the development of the pilot program, we
used materials by S. Strashko (Strashko et al.,
2006) regarding the specifics of human health,
O. Vinda et al. (Vinda et al., 2003), I. Matiikiv
(Matiikiv, 2012) on the formation of a life
position and ideological self-regulation,
A. Obukhovska and I. Tsushko (Obukhovska &
Tsushko, 2015) on the formation of skills to
overcome negative emotions and mental stress.
Statistical analysis. Special software "SPSS"
version 21 was used for empirical calculations of
data. The use of the Pearson criterion was
important, in particular, it was used to determine
the differences in the formation of health-saving
competence of cadets of the control and
experimental groups at the beginning and end of
the formative stage of the pedagogical
experiment.
Results
During the formative stage of the experiment, it
was planned to expand the cadets’ (boys and
girls) understanding about the essence of health-
saving competence and the importance of its
physical, social and mental components in
personal and professional life. In this case, it was
taken into account that competence is formed on
the basis of mastering the content of education,
knowledge about the requirements of a healthy
lifestyle, that is, the specifics of health-saving
activities, through the formation of desire and
motivation for a healthy lifestyle, a conscious
attitude to one's health. Given this, we organized
an optional course "Health-saving competence:
significance for a border guard officer", which
covered lectures, seminars and practical classes.
During the elective course, cadets studied the
history of formation and theoretical foundations
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of health preservation, certain aspects of a
healthy lifestyle of a border guard. They
examined the history of perceptions of health as
the highest value, as a social, economic and
personal category, as well as the interpretation of
health in alternative medicine. One of the
modules of the elective course dealt with socio-
biological health problems, features and rules of
a healthy lifestyle, the culture of motor activity
and human health promotion, and the specifics of
health psychology. Another issue was the
importance of physical exercise for maintaining
the fullness of human life and achieving high-
quality longevity.
We attached great importance to interactive
teaching methods. In particular, during the
classes it was organized discussion with cadets of
the statements of famous philosophers and
writers who helped to find out the essence of a
healthy lifestyle. For example, the words of
M. Amosov are still quite relevant today: "people
go from health to diseases. I am campaigning for
a regime of restrictions and loads"; "The optimal
life is to live long and with a high level of
spiritual comfort; "Health – an opportunity to
live and work fully" (Amosov, 1990) and others.
Methods of discussion and analysis of situations
provided great opportunities for developing
social health skills. Speaking about forms of
teaching, we used work in small groups,
organized individual work with subsequent
discussion, and work using the "brainstorming"
method. Cadets boys and girls talked about the
difference in attitude to health and physical
education classes at different ages, the
importance of emotional health, a positive
worldview and attitude towards themselves and
people, the importance of overcoming life's
difficulties, banal human laziness. For example,
cadets commented on such words of the famous
doctor, philosopher, pharmacist Avicenna about
the importance of knowledge and work for a
healthy life: "idleness and laziness not only give
rise to ignorance, they at the same time are the
cause of illness." Important for us were also the
words of M. Amosov that "most diseases are not
the fault of nature, but only of the person himself.
Most often, a person gets sick because of laziness
and lust, and often because of a lack of
understanding." (Amosov, 1990). The cadets also
explained the words of a well-known doctor that
one should not rely only on medicine, because "it
perfectly treats many diseases, but it cannot make
a person healthy" (Amosov, 1990).
Thus, cadets learned to identify life values,
priorities in work and personal life, have a
positive attitude to changes, and learn about the
elements of psychological literacy, positive
thinking technologies, they also acquired the
ability to have an optimistic perception of life
and a focus on success. Cadets also got
acquainted with the rules of a healthy lifestyle,
determined health priorities among other values,
and learned to take an active life position.
Teachers also drew attention to the motivation to
preserve their own health, the danger of alcohol
consumption, and the inappropriateness of
psychotropic substances. The subjects of
discussion were the essence of addiction and the
causes of dependent behavior, mechanisms of
manipulation, the role of advertising in the
acquisition of addictions.
According to the recommendations of O. Vinda
et al., (2003) cadets learned to know themselves
and other people more adequately, to determine
the place of feelings, values, and addictions in a
person's life. Important questions were about role
struggle, managing feelings, internal stimuli of
control, ways of constructive and destructive
responsibility for one's life. Among the
recommendations on how to quit smoking,
teachers focused on how to express their feelings.
To do this, they taught cadets verbal and
nonverbal techniques for expressing negative
emotions, improving their physical and mental
state.
Of great importance for the formation of health-
saving competence was the performance of
research tasks by cadets. In this way, cadets
acquired skills in solving complex health
problems. To perform tasks of theoretical and
practical research teachers offered cadets tasks
that included observing and studying facts,
analyzing and systematizing the results. Cadets,
performing research tasks, learned more about
history of the formation of views on health,
features, for example, Tibetan philosophy of
human health improvement, the contribution of
Ayurveda to modern health science,
philosophical views on health in ancient China,
valeophilosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome,
medical and biological sciences and
philosophical concepts of the modern period, as
well as about the physical, social, mental,
spiritual components of health. Performing
research work helped future officers learn how to
solve complex problems of professional activity
and health preservation. Of particular importance
was the study by cadets of such problems as
factors of formation of physical health, features
of formation of social health, measures to
maintain psychological health. Cadets studied
the relationship between character traits,
tolerance, intelligence and mental health, service
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factors and officer health, studied methods of
restoring health, the main ways to maintain
physical and psychological health. Using a
research approach, cadets learned new material
about a healthy lifestyle not through
memorization, but through research and solving
complex health problems. The advantage of the
research approach was also an increase in the
intensity of cadets' assimilation of information
about a healthy lifestyle, their relatively greater
independence. Such work made it possible to
significantly activate the cognitive activity of
cadets, better understand the theory, learn how to
apply the acquired knowledge in practice, and
effectively solve complex health problems.
In general, the experimental work was complex
in nature and provided for systematic measures
of pedagogical influence for the formation of
health-saving competence in future officers. For
this purpose, a special elective course was
organized to familiarize cadets with the essence
of health-saving competence and the basic
requirements of a healthy life. It was important to
use interactive and research teaching methods to
gain cadets' experience in health preservation and
expand their understanding of a healthy lifestyle.
Comparative results of the formation of all
components of health-saving competence of
cadets at the end of experimental training are
presented in Tables 1–4.
The results of the survey, observation and survey
showed that the cadets of the experimental group
significantly increased the indicators of
formation of the motivational component of
health-saving competence compared to the
control group. Among them, there were 18.97%
more people who support the need for an
appropriate level of its formation. These cadets
believe that they need knowledge about health-
saving competence for a more productive
organization of their lives, "a sense of fullness of
life." They understand that "you need to worry
about your health not when you are already ill or
when you are already retired, " but in advance.
Cadets of the experimental group became more
interested in the problems of a healthy lifestyle
and health preservation, and viewed related
information on the Internet and in the press. They
are ready to make efforts to preserve their health,
do not want to neglect their health. In the control
group, only 13.84% of those who have a high
level of motivational component of health-saving
competence were identified (in the experimental
group – 25.37% of cadets).
Table 1.
Comparative analysis of the levels of formation of the motivational component of health-saving competence
of cadets before and after the experiment (in %), n = 132 (CG – 65, EG – 67)
Levels
Criteria
Control groups
Experimental groups
At the beginning of
the experiment
At the end of the
experiment
At the beginning
of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
High
Motivational
4
6.15
9
13.84
4
5.97
17
25.37
Average
25
38.46
33
50.77
27
40.30
39
58.21
Low
36
55.39
23
35.39
36
53.73
11
16.42
Significant changes of cadets of experimental
group were revealed regarding the formation of
the cognitive component, which are determined
using the method of unfinished sentences, test
tasks, and were based on the results of
conversations. In particular, 23.88 % of cadets
of experimental group who demonstrated a high
level of formation of this component, provided a
thorough answer to questions related to the
essence and components of the officer's health-
saving competence. They also more thoroughly
revealed the question of the need for health-
saving competence, the relationship between the
health-saving competence of an officer and the
success of his professional activity (in the control
group, 12.31 % revealed these questions at a
high level). The results also showed that the
cadets of experimental group compared to the
control group, are more thoroughly guided in
various aspects of health-saving competence, in
particular regarding the features of a healthy
lifestyle. They were able to more
comprehensively reveal questions about
individual concepts of health and its role in the
life and development of society and people; the
history of the development of health teachings,
methods for determining the level of physical and
mental health, the importance of health training
and nutrition, as well as the harmful effects of
alcoholism, tobacco smoking and narcotic
substances on human health. Cadets of
experimental group also noted the importance of
regulating the psychoemotional state, constant
physical and spiritual self-improvement.
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Table 2.
Comparative analysis of the levels of formation of the cognitive component of health-saving competence of
cadets before and after the experiment (in %), n = 132 (CG – 65, EG – 67)
Levels
Criteria
Control groups
Experimental groups
At the beginning of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
At the beginning
of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
High
Cognitive
3
4.62
8
12.31
3
4.48
16
23.88
Average
23
35.38
30
46.15
25
37.31
37
55.22
Low
39
60.0
27
41.54
39
58.21
14
20.90
Regarding the activity component it was found out
that cadets of experimental group were able to
perform tasks at the highest level that characterized
their health-saving skills. They were able, firstly, to
more thoroughly assess the state of their health
using various research methods, secondly, to
characterize the methods of regulating their own
emotional state and overcoming stressful situations,
and, thirdly, to create a program of
psychoprophylactic and educational actions in the
form of lectures, conversations, round tables,
games, trainings. Among the cadets of experimental
group there were 13.06% more people than the
control group who have a high level of knowledge
of the main methods for diagnosing the level of
health and can characterize ways to maintain a
healthy lifestyle. According to the results of
completion the tasks by cadets, it was found out that
22.39 % of cadets of experimental group were able
to characterize at a high level the features of
emotional and volitional regulation of behavior,
regulation of their own emotional states and
overcoming stressful situations, showed the ability
to select individual means and methods for
developing their physical and personal qualities
(only 17.77% of them were identified in the control
group).
Table 3.
Comparative analysis of the levels of formation of the activity-based component of health-saving
competence of cadets before and after the experiment (in %), n = 132 (CG – 65, EG – 67)
Levels
Criteria
Control groups
Experimental groups
At the beginning
of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
At the beginning
of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
High
Activity-based
5
7.69
7
10.77
2
2.98
15
22.39
Average
21
32.31
27
41.54
23
34.33
35
52.24
Low
39
60.0
31
47.69
42
62.69
17
25.37
In turn, the data in Table 4 confirm that at the end
of the formative stage of the experiment, cadets
of the experimental group have a predominantly
high (23,88 %) and average (55.22%) level of
health-saving competence. In the control group
the indicators were 12.31% and 46.15%,
respectively. In this group, the percentage cadets
with a low level of Education health-saving
competence, it is 41.54% (20.64% more than in
the experimental one).
Table 4.
Comparative analysis of the levels of formation of health-saving competence of cadets before and after the
experiment (in %), n = 132 (CG – 65, EG – 67)
Levels
Criteria
Control groups
Experimental groups
At the beginning of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
At the beginning
of the
experiment
At the end of the
experiment
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
Q-ty
%
High
Average value
4
6.15
8
12.31
3
4.48
16
23.88
Average
23
35.39
30
46.15
25
37.31
37
55.22
Low
38
58.46
27
41.54
39
58.21
14
20.90
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Further, to check the effectiveness of work on the
formation of health-saving competence of future
border guard officers, we conducted a statistical
analysis of the results obtained using the Pearson
criterion (table. 5).
Table 5.
The level of formation of health-saving competence of cadets of the control and experimental groups
according to the average values of criteria (at the end of the experiment), n = 132
Levels
i
i
e
n
i
t
n
i
t
n –
i
e
n
2
)
i
t
n –
i
e
(n
i
t
/ n
2
)
i
t
n –
i
e
(n
2
)
i
e
(n
i
t
/ n
2
)
i
e
(n
High
1
8
6
14
196
32.67
64
10.67
High
1
16
10
6
36
3.60
256
25.60
Average
2
30
-22
8
64
2.91
900
40.91
Average
2
37
-22
15
225
10.23
1369
62.23
Low
3
27
-22
5
25
1.14
729
33.14
Low
3
14
-6
8
64
10.67
196
32.67
Σ
132
X
X
205.22
So, X2EMF = 205,22.
Let's define the number of degrees of freedom: v
= 2. Using the tables of critical values of the
corresponding criterion, we will determine the
critical point X2kr by significance level α=0.05:
X2kr = 6,00
Considering that X2EMF = 205,22 ≥ 6,00 = X2kr, we
can consider the results of the formation of
health-saving competence of future border guard
officers according to the average values of
criteria, in the control and experimental groups at
the end of the experiment as statistically reliable.
The differences between the two distributions
can be considered significant if χ2EMF reaches or
exceeds χ20.05, and especially reliable if
χ2EMF reaches or exceeds χ20.01. In general, such
data confirm the effectiveness of implementing
the author's method of forming health-saving
competence of future officers. Comparison of the
results obtained indicates the expediency of
using methods, tools and organizational forms of
training for the formation of this personal
property.
Discussion
The results of the study indicate the importance
of pedagogical efforts to expand young people's
ideas about the role of health in personal and
professional life. The influence of the content of
education and expanding the experience of
cognitive activity (through the elective course
"Health-preserving competence: importance for
a border guard officer", the use of interactive
methods and research tasks to solve specific
health-preserving problems) on the formation of
the specified property has been confirmed. So,
the appropriate selection of the education content
allowed to enhance the knowledge about the
requirements of a healthy lifestyle, specifics of
health-preserving activities, formation of desire
and motivation for a healthy lifestyle, a
conscious attitude to one's health, and the whole
idea of cadets about the essence of a healthy
lifestyle, as well as the importance of physical,
social and mental components of health. The
results of the pedagogical experiment confirmed
the expediency of the proposed ways, content
and means of learning, which is evidenced by the
discrepancy in the results of the formation of
health-saving competence obtained in the
experimental and control groups before and after
the experiment.
The research conducted by I. Burlakova,
O. Sheviakov, T. Kondes (Burlakova et al., 2021)
helped reveal health-preserving competence in
the context of physical, spiritual and intellectual
self-development of a person, considered the
health-preserving competence as a holistic unity
of physical, spiritual and intelligent components.
It is about the importance of young people's
attention not only to the physical component, but
also to what can be covered by the concept of the
quality of human life: the importance of a
harmonious life with oneself, with other people
and society. There is also a common vision
regarding the need to find new approaches to
determining the content of education, in
particular, raising the awareness of young people
about the essence of a healthy lifestyle and ways
to achieve harmony in professional and personal
life.
The research of the authors L. Slyvka,
H. Sivkovych, O. Budnyk, O. Tytun, A. Boichuk
unites the idea of the possibilities of the
educational process for the formation of a healthy
lifestyle of students, of the pedagogical potential
180
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
of the content of education for expanding the
awareness of young people about the importance
of preserving all components of health (Slyvka et
al., 2022). The results of this study proved the
importance of informational and persuasive
methods to familiarize young people with the
requirements of a healthy lifestyle. As a rule, it is
almost impossible to force people to smoke less,
give up alcohol and other destructive practices by
violent methods. In this case, methods of
persuasion are more appropriate and effective. It
is with the help of interactive teaching methods,
during contact learning sessions, conversations
and discussions, that young people can be
introduced to positive examples of health care,
inclined to make important decisions about
taking care of their health. In this, the study also
agrees with the one conducted by V. Overchuk,
M. Smulson, O. Vdovichenko, O. Maliar,
K. Vasuk (Overchuk et al., 2023). In our case,
narrative practices were invaluable as a tool for
restoring psychological balance and
psychological support. In this way, cadets could
decide on life values, priorities in work and
personal life, acquire necessary basics of
psychological literacy, learn the importance of an
optimistic perception of life and readiness for
life's difficulties.
Since the research was carried out in one
educational institution, in further scientific
papers it is advisable to increase the sample,
which can give more reliable results. It is
recommended to organize the experiment on a
relatively larger scale, among other educational
institutions. It is also necessary to track the
results of the experiment in the future, a few
years after the cadets have graduated from the
educational institution, to find out their views on
various aspects of health care activities. This
would allow, among other things, to develop
more precise recommendations on pedagogical
ways of increasing the readiness of young people
to use health-preserving practices.
The study was limited by several factors. First of
all, by the fact that the participants of the
experiment were representatives of one
educational institution and that could affect the
level of generalization. Secondly, the
methodology of the research encompassed
questionnaires, the method of incomplete
sentences, testing, expert evaluation,
conversations, performance of tasks, although it
did not provide detailed written answers of young
people regarding various aspects of health care.
Analysis of such answers could strengthen the
credibility of the findings.
Conclusions
The relevance of the study is determined by the
need to outline the ways of forming the health-
saving competence of future border guards,
primarily its physical and mental components. At
this age, young people do not always understand
the meaning of health as the highest value, the
specifics of health psychology, do not pay
attention to the importance of maintaining the
completeness and quality of human life. In the
pedagogical aspect, it is necessary already during
the training of cadets in a higher educational
institution to increase their motivation to
preserve health, as well as to identify
pedagogical resources ensuring familiarization
of future border guards with the importance of
social and mental (spiritual) components of
health.
Based on the analysis of the results of the formation
stage, it was found that cadets of experimental
groups began to take a more responsible attitude to
their health and the health of other people, paying
more attention to working with information about
a healthy lifestyle, improve, maintain and
promote health, apply a set of technologies to
relieve psychoemotional tension, master the
skills of introspection, self-assessment and
elements of physical and emotional self-
improvement. The cognitive component of their
health-saving competence has significantly
increased. They found out the features of a healthy
lifestyle, that is, the specifics of health-saving
activities, the need for a responsible attitude to their
health, constant health care. Cadets (boys and girls)
also payed attention to the need for physical and
spiritual development, they learned how to create
an algorithm for the formation, preservation and
development of health, individual health
programs, and apply a set of technologies to
relieve psychoemotional tension. Such
differences can be explained by the fact that during
the experimental training, they had the opportunity
to become more thoroughly acquainted with the
problems of a healthy lifestyle and health
preservation, mastered the necessary techniques
and methods for improving their industriousness,
restoring mental and psychological balance.
Cadets of experimental group also learned to
identify long-term plans for their professional
development, to see the positive aspects of
various life situations. Organization of research
work of cadets of experimental group it allowed
to teach them how to process large amounts of
necessary information, find the necessary
solutions to health problems. In contrast no
significant changes in levels of the formation of
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health-saving competence were found in the
control group. In this group positive changes in
the formation of health-saving competencies do
not reach the level of statistical significance, they
are the result of the entire educational process in
an educational institution. In general, the results
of the formative stage of the pedagogical
experiment confirmed the expediency of the
proposed ways of forming health-saving
competence, the content and means of training,
which is evidenced by the discrepancy in the
results of the formation of health-saving
competence obtained in the experimental and
control groups before and after the experiment.
Taking into account the fact that cadets (boys and
girls) during the training period do not fully
realize the importance of health saving and
health-saving competence. It is important to
familiarize them with the importance of
maintaining health, motivate them to health-
saving activities. In the pedagogical aspect the
primary subject of consideration should be
health-saving and health-saving technologies for
personal development in the educational process.
Even at the stage of initial professional
development, cadets (boys and girls) should
understand the importance of health preservation
to ensure harmonious spiritual and physical
development. The purpose of health-saving
education (training and upbringing) should be to
prepare cadets for a full and harmonious active
life.
In order to form the health-saving competence of
future specialists and their motivation for health-
saving activities, it is necessary to expand the
understanding of the essence of health-saving
competence and the importance of its physical,
social and mental components in personal and
professional life by means of elective courses. In
this case, it is important to take into account that
competence is formed on the basis of mastering
the content of education, knowledge about the
requirements of a healthy lifestyle, that is, the
specifics of health-saving activities. In turn, with
the help of interactive teaching methods, it is
advisable to teach cadets to determine their life
values, priorities in work and personal life, and
to form the ability to have an optimistic
perception of life. To develop cadets' (boys and
girls) health-saving skills, it is also necessary to
use the potential of research tasks. By studying,
systematizing and analyzing the facts, cadets
(boys and girls) will be able to learn more about
history of the formation of views on health,
features of various health improvement systems,
that is learn new material about a healthy lifestyle
not through memorization, but through research
and solving complex health problems.
Prospects for further development
Further research can specify the pedagogical
possibilities of influencing young people and
increase their level of responsibility for their
health. The study of this problem can be carried
out in the following directions: 1. Increasing the
scope of the study: it is important to cover a
larger number of educational institutions, to
compare the health care awareness of a larger
number of students. 2. Study of health-saving
practices of representatives of civilian youth and
cadets: it is important to find out the daily
components of young people's concerns about
their physical, social and mental health. 3.
Analysis of the impact of psycho-traumatic
factors: it is advisable to reveal the
awareness/readiness of young people to protect
their health in wartime conditions. These studies
can expand the pedagogical possibilities of
forming health-preserving practices of young
people.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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