Structural and functional model of professional training of future specialists in physical culture and sport for organizing and conducting training sessions

Abstract

The aim of the study is to develop and theoretically substantiate a structural and functional model for the professional training of physical culture and sports specialists for the organization and delivery of training sessions, ensuring the consistent development of students' readiness to design, implement, monitor, and adjust the training process. The methodological framework of the study was based on systemic, competency-based, activity-based, personality-oriented, and contextual approaches. The research methods included a structured content analysis of 18 peer-reviewed publications published between 2021 and 2026, a comparative analysis of coach training models, pedagogical modelling, and functional and structural analysis. As a result, a model comprising four interrelated blocks was developed: the goal-oriented and methodological block, the content and process block, the organizational and technological block, and the diagnostic and outcome-oriented block. Five functions of the model were identified: orientation, educational, organizational, developmental, and reflective and corrective. Three stages of its implementation were substantiated: motivational and diagnostic, operational and practical, and reflective and corrective. The content of professional training was specified through the development of the motivational and value-based, cognitive, activity-based, and reflective components of professional readiness. The pedagogical conditions include the purposeful development of professional motivation among future physical culture and sports specialists and their awareness of responsibility for the outcomes of professional activities and the safety of participants; the integration of theoretical, methodological, and practical training of future physical culture and sports specialists through the completion of typical professional tasks; the systematic modelling of professional situations with a gradual increase in their complexity and variability, aimed at developing students' readiness to make independent professional decisions; and the provision of systematic feedback through a combination of pedagogical observation, peer assessment, self-analysis, and digital recording of the outcomes of students' professional activities. The scientific novelty of the study lies in integrating the structural components of professional readiness with the functions, stages, pedagogical conditions, methods, and diagnostic procedures within a unified model specifically focused on the organization and delivery of training sessions. The practical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of applying the model to update educational components, practical training programmes, coach education courses, and systems for assessing the learning outcomes of students majoring in Physical Culture and Sports. The proposed model represents a theoretically substantiated framework and requires further experimental verification of its effectiveness in real educational settings.