Revival of traditions: patriotic education of high school students in preparation for the GTO complex in physical education lessons

Abstract

The article reveals the pedagogical potential of integrating patriotic education into the process of preparing high school students to meet the standards of the All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Complex «Ready for Labor and Defense» within the framework of physical education lessons as a mechanism for reviving historical traditions and forming a system of value orientations in the younger generation. The current sociocultural situation in Russian education highlights the need to integrate educational components into all subject areas, and physical education occupies a special position by combining the development of physical qualities with the formation of volitional characteristics, discipline, and collectivist consciousness. Senior school age is a sensitive period for the formation of worldview beliefs, civic self-determination, and a stable self-concept, in which patriotic values take center stage. Historical and pedagogical analysis shows that the TRP complex, created in 1931 as a tool of the mass physical education movement, combining physical fitness with the idea of civic service, in modern conditions requires creative reconstruction taking into account the changed realities, rather than mechanical reproduction of past forms. The developed and tested integrative pedagogical model includes a historical and educational module that involves a systematic approach to the history of the complex, its symbols, the biographies of outstanding athletes, and its connection to the country's military history; an activity-based module that is implemented through teamwork, folk games, and military exercises; and a reflective and value-based module that focuses on understanding the personal and social significance of physical education activities. The results of a long-term study conducted on a sample of 412 high school students in six educational institutions in various regions demonstrate that the use of this model leads to a significant increase in physical fitness indicators across all standards, a significant increase in the proportion of students who successfully meet the requirements for honors, and a pronounced positive trend in all components of patriotic education, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects. The synergy between physical education and patriotic education has been identified, which manifests itself in the fact that the saturation of the training process with historical and cultural content and reflective practices not only does not reduce the effectiveness of physical training, but also significantly increases motivation, contributes to the formation of stable civic positions, initiative in collective activities, and active participation in extracurricular patriotic events. The findings emphasize that turning each lesson into an educational event that is rich in the meaning of belonging to a national tradition ensures the comprehensive development of the individual, bridging the gap between declared values and actual behavior. This approach corresponds to the priorities of the state educational policy and opens up prospects for increasing the effectiveness of patriotic education in mass school practice through the professional development of the educational potential of the GTO complex by physical education teachers.