THEORY OF UPBRINGING: PHYSICAL SELF-EDUCATION IN LATE MATURITY THROUGH ANIMATIVE APPROACH IN ANDRAGOGICAL PRACTICE

Abstract

The transition to retirement is often accompanied by a gradual decline in physical activity and an increasing tendency towards sedentary living. For many women in late adulthood, movement has not become a stable personal value during earlier stages of life, which may contribute to heightened anxiety, reduced self-confidence, and lower levels of social participation. Within this context, physical self education assumes particular importance as a process through which individuals consciously take responsibility for maintaining an active lifestyle. The article explores the possibilities for fostering physical self education in late adulthood through an animative approach grounded in the Theory of Upbringing and the principles of andragogy. An authorial model was developed and implemented among women in late adulthood, employing group dance activities, music, movement, and social interaction as educational means for encouraging participation and strengthening motivation for physical activity. The empirical study involved 48 women divided into an experimental group and a control group. Anxiety levels were assessed using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Following participation in the animative programme, the experimental group demonstrated a reduction in both state anxiety and trait anxiety. The findings indicate that regular engagement in animative physical activities contributes to the development of a more favourable attitude towards movement and encourages greater personal commitment to maintaining physical activity. The contribution of the study is associated with the interpretation of the animative approach as an educational mechanism through which insufficient physical activity and elevated anxiety may become a starting point for the development of physical self education in late adulthood. The results highlight the potential of animative practices to support active ageing and to strengthen the relationship between the Theory of Upbringing, andragogy, and physical self education.