Formation of the Cognitive Component of Future Physical Education and Sports Specialists’ Readiness for Educational Activities in Sustainable Development

Objectives. To determine the effectiveness of the author’s methodological system for training future specialists in physical culture and sports for educational activities related to sustainable development, focusing on the formation of the cognitive component of readiness. Materials and methods. The study involved 390 students from the faculties of physical education at T.H. Shevchenko National University “Chernihiv Colehium”, the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Sumy State University, and Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A.S. Makarenko – future specialists in physical culture and sports. The participants, who were from various courses and were of both sexes, were divided into control and experimental groups. The methods used included surveys, testing, pedagogical experiments, analysis, synthesis, and generalization of information, and mathematical statistics methods. Results. At the beginning of the study, 93.33% of the students in the control group and 86.67% of the students in the experimental group had low levels of cognitive readiness for educational activities related to sustainable development. The final test revealed a significant improvement in this indicator within the experimental group: 32.22% of the students had a low level of cognitive readiness, 48.89% had a satisfactory level, 17.78% had an average level, and 1.11% had a high level. Relevant improvements were observed across all criteria (content components) of readiness, including: knowledge of the history of the new paradigm of human development and international documents on sustainable development; understanding the essence of sustainable development; comprehension of ecological laws governing human existence; and knowledge and understanding of the ecological, economic, and social components of sustainable development, as well as the role of physical culture and sport in promoting sustainable development. In the control group, no significant changes were observed in the levels of cognitive readiness for educational activities related to sustainable development by the end of the experiment. Conclusions. The results of the pedagogical experiment confirm the positive impact of the developed methodological system on the formation of the cognitive component of future specialists’ readiness in physical culture and sports for educational activities related to sustainable development.