Self-Assessment of Attitudes of the Lithuanian and European Judo Coaches and Athletes Towards Spiritual and Moral Traits of Their Personality

Abstract

The aim of the research was to identify the self-assessment of the attitudes of the judo coaches and athletes possessing different levels of mastership towards their own spiritual traits and moral behaviour. The research was based on the assumption that different levels of sport mastership as well as age might influence the self-assessment of the personal attitudes of the judo sportsmen and coaches to their own spiritual traits and moral behaviour. The research volume and organization. Following the aforementioned assumption, the four groups of the respondents were chosen: members of the Lithuanian National Youth Team of Judo (n = 20), their mean age was 17.2 ± 1.25 years; the youth elite of European judo, i.e. champions and prizewinners (n = 20), their mean age was 17.5 ± 1.6 years; Lithuanian judo coaches (n = 20), their mean age was 38.7 ± 2.8 years; and coaches of the champions and other prizewinners of contests (n = 20), their mean age was 40.5 ± 3.6 years. The main method of research was an anonymous interview in writing. A questionnaire with closed questions aiming to analyze the self-assessment of the attitudes of the Lithuanian and European judo coaches and athletes towards their own spiritual traits and moral behaviour was worked out on the basis of the semiotic models offered by J. Dailidienė (1997). The questionnaire appendices provided a clear conceptual definition of each trait (the concepts were explained on the basis of L. Jovaiša (1993 a, b) “Dictionary of Pedagogic Terms” and “Principles of Education” (1993)). The respondents were asked to mark their personal consideration of all the traits that were characteristic of them. By following Dalidienė’s suggestion, they were grouped into two blocks: the ones related with morality and the ones related with spirituality. Mathematical statistics. The data were analyzed by employing the statistic data analysis software SPSS 13.0 applying the method of descriptive statistics. The reliability of the difference between the groups was estimated on the basis of the chi square criterion. When its value was p < 0.05, the differences were regarded as statistically significant. The majority of the Lithuanian and European judo coaches and athletes included diligence (85—100%) and persistency (60—90%) into their Self-image. Lithuanian judo coaches (p < 0.05) distinguished courageousness as their common trait, whereas the European judo coaches (p < 0.05) distinguished dutifulness and fellow-feeling; a significant part of the European judo elite athletes (p < 0.05) emphasized friendliness and attentiveness.

Keywords: self-assessment of judo coaches and judo athletes, spiritual features, moral features.