Abstract

The paper emphasises that investigation of values among sporting students is urgent and expedient in the context of Olympic education, for namely orientation to Olympic ideals enables to avoid number of bad things in sport, that occur when universal human values are rejected. The goal of research is to determine the values among sporting students of Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LAPE). The study raised the following tasks: to survey personally most important values among sporting students of LAPE; to reveal moral values among sporting students of LAPE. It was presumed that men and women have different values. The survey of sporting students employed M. Rokeach’s methods for main values’ estimation and Ch. Osgood’s methods of semantic differential for moral values’ estimation. The results of research proved that for sporting students of LAPE personally the most important values are health (good physical and psychic condition), family welfare (taking care of family members) and true friendship (close contact). Such values as pleasures, usefulness to others and public recognition remain less important to all sporting students of LAPE. Comparing the most important personal values it was established that sporting men and women of LAPE consider health to be the most important value; however the subjects did not differ by this value (p > 0.05). Family welfare and true friendship are no less significant both for sporting men and women of LAPE. The values of material welfare are more emphasized by men (p < 0.05). The values of true friendship are more emphasized by women (p < 0.05). It was found out that for sporting students of LAPE the following moral values are mostly characteristic: friendliness, happiness, self-confidence and courage. Meanwhile, the least evident are such moral values as discipline and self-control. The results of research on moral values show that women are happier, more sensitive and more honest than men, while men are more courageous and more self-confident than women. Statistically reliable gender differences were established when comparing the moral values of courage (p < 0.05), honesty (p < 0.05), self-confidence (p < 0.05) and sensitivity (p < 0.01). Verf.-Referat