Introduction

Traditionally, the problem of individualization in education has been associated with the individualization and differentiation of the teaching methods applied to school or university subjects (SIMONOVA; POULOVA, 2015). The study of individualization in the context of education is most often focused on the categories of students with inclusive problems (TEIXEIRA et al., 2018). Thus, the goal is to develop the inner potential of each inclusive student and to support their integration into social life. It has been postulated that all students should be able to reach their maximum potential, despite their differences (KRATOCHVÍLOVÁ; HAVEL, 2013).

One of the pressing problems of modern psychological and pedagogical sciences is the search for a connection between the individual characteristics of a child and the issues related to ensuring their safety. Victimization of students has become one of the most relevant topics in modern education, as the range of ways to turn students into victims has increased, including bullying on social networks and the presence of aggressive sites (SHAW et al., 2019; IGE, 2020). These events have stimulated research on the formation of anti-victim personality traits, the presence of which makes a person more resistant to the negative effects of their social environment. An anti-victim personality is a personality that includes a developed anti-victim consciousness and a set of anti-victim characteristics that increase their invulnerability to criminogenic and other negative factors (BUDYAKOVA,2020).

Meanwhile, in science, there is no direct correlation between the victimization of children and their personality problems in the future. It has been shown that negative personality changes depending on the victimization are mediated by a child’s personality. In particular, the predictors of personality that cause a greater or lesser probability of victimization have been identified. They include status among peers, behavioral disorders, family relationships (warm, tense), and personality traits (openness/reserve, conscientiousness, benevolence, neuroticism etc.) (MEEHAN et al., 2020). The importance of education on the choice of method of psychological assistance for victims was revealed (TASHCHEVA, 2005; STOYANOV et al., 2021). At the same time, the influence of physical education on the formation of an individual’s anti-victim characteristics and the application of individualization through the use of physical education as a means of victimological security have barely been studied.

Modern research on the problems of the individualization of education through physical education is one-sided. The problem of an individual approach when introducing children and students to physical education classes to form the need for a healthy lifestyle or health protection has been studied (AGUIAR; SOARES; LEITÃO, 2019; BOBROVA; BOBROVA; EREMENSKAYA, 2018; POPKOVA, 2010).

For our research, works that focus on the relationship between individual resistance to victimological factors and physical activity are significant. These studies have had mixed results. On the one hand, the frequency and degree of physical activity directly correlated with the physical response to stress, reducing the physiological negative effects of stress in physically active subjects and increasing the physiological acuity of the reaction in physically passive subjects. On the other hand, the degree and frequency of physical activity did not compensate for the moral and psychological losses from stress in either physically active or physically passive study participants (KLAPERSKI et al., 2013). Klaperski et al. (2013) used a situation of artificially induced stress. However, the same conclusions were obtained from subjects who experienced stress from a real crime. It was found that victims of sexual violence who were in good physical shape were more stable in physiological terms (pulse, blood pressure etc.) than victims who were not. At the same time, both categories of victims suffered almost equally from psychological trauma resulting from violence. However, the authors only described the resulting phenomenon but did not explain it (HECKMAN; CLAY, 2005).

It should be noted that the above studies were conducted on women. Similar experiments conducted on men produced different results, finding that men’s psychological endurance and physical fitness were two factors that directly correlated with each other. Men who had high endurance and good physical fitness were better able to recover after a stressful incident (SANDVIK et al., 2020). In general, it can be argued that the ambivalence of the data obtained makes further study of the role of physical activity in overcoming victimization relevant.

In pedagogy, the principle of individualization is generally interpreted as considering the personal characteristics of each student (VOLOSACH; TERTYCHNY, 2008). Depending on the object of education, it can be somewhat refined. Therefore, concerning adolescents with deviant behavior, this principle looks like the development of an individual trajectory of socio-pedagogical prevention, considering the individual characteristics of the child (SAVITSKAYA, 2019). Other authors have a similar understanding of the content of the principle of individualization of education (CHAN et al., 2005; KNAUDER; KOSCHMIEDER, 2019).

We believe that the principle of individualization requires further development to solve the problems of forming an anti-victim personality. To prevent victimization, to learn safe rules of behavior, it is necessary not only to consider the existing individual differences of potential or real victims but also to form uncharacteristic ways of displaying the individual typological characteristic of a particular person to ensure his safety. The victim must be able to resist the negative influences of society, not despite, but because of their differences from other people. In other words, it is necessary not just to consider the individual characteristics of the victim, but also to actively adapt the existing individual differences to ensure their safety, when a particular individual feature turns from a defect into an advantage. This type of individualization can be facilitated by physical education and sports (GAFFAR; YUNIAWATI; RIDWANUDIN, 2019). At the same time, we believe that physical education will become a means of not only physical but also psychological stability only if the potential victim perceives such activities in the right anti-victimological context.

Materials and methods

Research hypotheses

1. Physical education contributes to the formation of anti-victim traits of personality, mainly in the case when the individual as an anti-victim agent perceives it.

2. The individualization principles in the education of an anti-victim personality means that the method of education should correspond to the level of awareness of the need for physical education and sports to ensure their safety.

Research methods

The research methods are structured interview and victimological analysis.

The methodology of victimological analysis is described in our previous works (BUDYAKOVA, 2020). Its general essence is that in the factual material, based on a sequence of analytical steps, aspects related to the victimization of the individual are highlighted. In this study, we used four such steps: a) identification and analysis of the typical response of the individual to the facts of victimization; b) identification and analysis of the atypical response in the situation of victimization; c) awareness of the atypical response to the source of danger and distress as an anti-victim security measure of the individual; d) awareness of the impact of the fact of physical education on the psychological stability of one's personality.

Research material

A list of statements that the students had to evaluate.

1. 1. Do not be afraid to be different from others. If others do not regularly engage in physical education and sports, you should still do them.
2. 2. Physical education and sports are an effort. It is leaving your comfort zone. Learn to leave your comfort zone and get satisfaction from it.
3. 3. In physical education and sports, the most important competition is the competition with yourself.
4. 4. Life is not only physical education and sports, but it is a road on which you will understand what you are capable of.
5. 5. With physical education and sports, you prolong your life, make it brighter, and invest in your future.

All these statements have a hidden victimological meaning. For example, the setting “Physical education and sports are an effort. It is leaving your comfort zone. Learn to leave your comfort zone and get satisfaction from it”, allows a person not to give in to difficult situations and even get satisfaction from overcoming them, and not to feel the fear that a victim experiences – for example, in illegal situations – but to look for an acceptable way out of them. In our study, we attempted to identify students who were able to identify independently this meaning in physical education and sports and made it part of the semantic organization of their personality.

Instructions to respondents

“Carefully read the statements and write whether you have ever used these principles in your own life. Give examples of how you used them or could have used them if you had known about them before.”

Participants of the study

The participants of the study are 60 teenagers who are secondary school students in the city of Yelets. Of these, 30 people are actively engaged in physical education, go to sports clubs, 30 are engaged in physical education only as part of school classes, and do not feel the need to engage in physical education more actively.

Results

Table 1 shows comparative data on the evaluation of the principles of attitude to physical education in active adolescents-athletes and passive students concerning physical education.

The Pearson chi-square test used in the statistical processing of the survey results to test the hypothesis about the non-random nature of the frequency of grade distributions in active and passive adolescent-athletes proved the reliability of the obtained data. The values of χ2 ranged from 0.178 to 3.35, with p < 0.05.

Most participants in the study, both “active” and “passive” athletes, positively assessed all three principles. The difference was in the argumentation and the ability to provide examples to support the chosen position. The study revealed a low level of awareness of attitudes for physical education and sports among school children who do not regularly engage in these activities. In some cases, there was a clear lack of understanding of the relationship between physical education or sports and the development of own personality. As an example, we can cite the statements of some “passive” athletes: “There are more interesting things than physical education and sports, they take time away from reading books, communicating with friends”, “Physical education and sports interfere with preparing for a future profession, distract from preparing for lessons”, “Creativity, travel, a favorite hobby is more interesting than sports”; “You cannot force a person to do what he does not want, and I do not want to do physical education and sports”; “Now – the XXI century and people prefer mental work”. In general, such statements indicated a low level of formation of anti-victim attitudes. The general aspiration of this group of participants was to enjoy life and physical education and they perceived sports as activities that did not bring joy. Such attitudes contribute to the demoralization of the individual when getting into difficult life situations that cannot be avoided on the principle of, “I don't like it”.

In other cases, students who were “passive” concerning physical education, positively perceiving the attitude as a whole, did not associate it with physical education and sports. For example, one of the schoolgirls justified the importance of the attitude “Don't be afraid to be different from others. If others do not regularly engage in physical education and sports, then you should still do them” – “I want to stand out and not be like others”. However, the study participant could not link this desire with going into physical education and sports. Similar arguments were made with a positive attitude to another principle: “Physical education and sports are an effort; it is a way out of the comfort zone. Learn to step out of your comfort zone and get satisfaction from it”. Formal statements that were not directly related to physical education and sports were chosen as arguments: “If you do not get out of your comfort zone, then you will not be able to move on”.

A different picture was observed in “active” athletes. Most of them gave not only arguments in favor of the principles presented in the study, but also gave examples confirming their correctness. For example, highlighting his attitude to the statement “In physical education and sports, the most important competition is a competition with yourself”, a teenager who is engaged in the free-style wrestling section wrote: “If you do not overcome yourself, you will not overcome your opponent”. As an example, he cited a case when after a loss he was psychologically depressed but formulated a rule for himself: “You need to train more, and achieve every day at least a small, but progress in professionalism”. This helped me not to stop training and improve further. He felt the respect of his rivals for him, as he was able to prove that he can develop. This example shows one of the ways to form an anti-victim personality in sports - through the conscious overcoming of difficulties and increasing the level of self-esteem. It is characteristic that “active” athletes also gave the formulas that allow them to be resistant to the negative factors of sports life: “It did not work out the first time – we must try not to work out yet”; “I must engage in physical education and sports today, not to say to myself: “Now is not the right time””, etc.

Discussion

The participants in our study can be divided into four groups according to their awareness of the importance of physical development. The first group consists of students who do not understand the role of physical education and sports in maintaining their health and personal development and ensuring their own safety. Due to their age and high level of health, these teenagers did not develop an interest in physical education and sports. They are focused on other activities that they find more interesting and promising for the future.

The second group consisted of students who, in principle, are aware of the importance of physical education and sports for maintaining health but do not understand its role in the developing their personality and ensuring safety.

The third group included study participants who understand the role of physical education for both health and personal development but cannot assess their victimological significance.

The smallest group was formed by teenagers who noted, among other things, the importance of physical education and sports to ensure the safety of their personality. The statements given in the methodology contained victimological implications, which was seen only in this group. These study participants were actively engaged in physical education and sports and were the most motivated adherents of these types of activity. They were also able to present victimological arguments, illustrated by events from their experience. Therefore, for example, the victimological meaning of the statement “Do not be afraid to be different from others. If others do not regularly engage in physical education and sports, then you should still do them” is that a person who behaves outside the box may be afraid of becoming a victim of ridicule and ostracism. A person who is not afraid to become such a victim, who has brought up anti-victim attitudes, is put as the winner according to the formula known in victimology: “The victim can win!”. These are non-standard forms of behavior, the possession of which provides the advantages of a potential victim. Non-standard behaviors that contribute to the survival of the victim in critical situations were described earlier (BUDYAKOVA, 2014).

The results obtained show that methodological techniques in the formation of an anti-victim personality should contain at least four types of measures that ensure the implementation of the principle of individualization. These measures should differ depending on the level of awareness of the students of the need for physical education and sports to safeguard their health, develop their own personalities, and secure their safety. Studies of the personalities of athletes who have become victims of wrestling prove the correctness of the approach chosen since the lack of education regarding anti-victim attitudes turned even elite athletes into victims (KOVALENKO, 2015).

Sports activities and, often, physical education have a competitive orientation. Because of this, there are always winners and losers; in any case, there is a ranking by results. On a psychological level, losers may think of themselves specifically as victims. With the correct attitude, their awareness of being a victim can be redefined, and instead of disillusionment with sports activities, it can stimulate their development. The anti-victim personality does not allow the perception of themselves as victims. In addition, it is possible to transfer such attitudes to educational and other activities that involve ranking people by results. Thus, correlations were found between participation in sports and increased independence in other areas of life in athletes with disabilities (SINGH et al., 2013). In contrast, the development of resentments and personal complexes during sports training stimulated the formation of either consciousness of victimhood or aggression (TAKAHASHI; OZAWA; HARIZUKA, 2020).

Conclusions

1. Our first hypothesis has been fully proven. Indeed, physical education and sports contribute to the formation of anti-victim properties in a person, mainly in the case when that person perceives them to combat victimhood.

2. The individualization principle in the upbringing of an anti-victim personality through physical education and sports means that the methods of such education must correspond with the level of awareness of the need for these activities to ensure their safety. Empirically, four of such levels have been identified:

Level 1 – lack of understanding of the importance of physical education and sports for maintaining one's health, developing personality, and ensuring its safety.

Level 2 – understanding the importance of physical education and sports for the preservation and development of one’s health while not placing importance on the role of such activities in the development of one’s personality and safeguarding one’s safety.

Level 3 – awareness of the importance of physical education and sports, not only for the preservation and maintenance of health but also for the development of one’s personality without being aware of the significance of victimhood.

Level 4 – awareness of the importance of physical education and sports both for the preservation and development of health and to safeguard against the psychological effects on one’s personality.

Training and physical education classes should promote the development of the personality of an athlete from the first to the fourth level.

Acknowledgments

The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 20-013-00020 А “Physical education and sport as predictors of the formation of an anti-victim personality in people with disabilities and with a health standard”.

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Notas de autor

Información adicional

How to reference this article: BUDYAKOVA, T. P. Individualization in the upbringing of an anti-victim personality through physical education and sports. Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional, Araraquara, v. 25, n. 2, p. 1451-1463, May/Aug. 2021. e-ISSN:1519-9029. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22633/rpge.v25i2.15184

Reviewers: 1. Alexander Valeryevich Maslennikov, Associate Professor, Candidate of Sciences (Pedagogy), Professor of the Department of Theory and Methods of Athletics, Department of Theory and Methods of Athletics, the Faculty of Summer Olympic Sports, Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. 2. Olga Alexandrovna Shavandina, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Theory and History of State and Law, Altai State University, Barnaul, Russian Federation