Health as a Value and Component of the Social Well-Being of Students of Pedagogical Universities and Colleges

Abstract

The article is devoted to the perception of the value of health and a healthy lifestyle by students of pedagogical universities and colleges. It is based on the results of the author’s sociological research (Internet survey of stu-dents of pedagogical universities and colleges at the age of 14 to 35 years, n = 1800), conducted in order to find out the value attitude of future teachers to health and to identify the factors influencing a healthy lifestyle. The research data show that for student youth from pedagogical educational institutions health is more of an instrumental than a terminal (M. Rokic) value. The major factors contributing to the support of healthy lifestyle were the age of respondents, minimization of interference with healthy lifestyle, absence of bad habits in the social environment of respondents. To a lesser extent, the healthy lifestyle of students is influenced by material conditions (availability of equipped infrastructure for physical culture and sports).